Reality of Heaven and Hell (Part 1)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

نحمده ونصلى على رسوله الكريم

After having conducted a careful and intensive study of the Suhuf-i-Mutahharah (Qur’an) vis-¡-vis the reality of Heaven and Hell, I have come to the conclusion that these two places will be manifested on the Earth.

This may be a shocking revelation for many religionists for whom the concepts of Heaven and Hell have been excessively spiritualized.

The Suhuf-i-Mutahharah refers to heaven as Jannah (lit. “garden”) and to hell with the proper noun Jahannam which is borrowed from the Hebrew word Gehinnom meaning the Valley of Hinnom. Gehinnom is an actual valley near Jerusalem. Similarly, Jannat al-Adn or the Garden of Eden from which Adam and Eve were expelled was a Paradise on Earth.

Consider the following:

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ

And We have already written in the Book of Psalms after the (previous) mention that My righteous servants shall inherit the Earth.

(The Holy Qur’an; Surah 21: 105)

The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever.

(Psalm 37: 29)

Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the Earth.

(Matthew 5:5)

However, it should be borne in mind that while the Paradise promised for the righteous and the Gehinnom promised for the wicked unbelievers shall be on the Earth, it will be a transformed Earth with important differences as well as similarities to the Earth in its present state:

يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الْأَرْضُ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ ۖ وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّـهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

On the Day the Earth will be changed into another Earth, and (likewise) the Heavens, and all will appear before Allah, the One, the Irresistable.

(Surah 14: 48)

The Christian Apocalypse attributed to John of Patmos describes the reality of this transformed Earth:

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1)

There will be a new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21:2)

The Heavenly city of Jerusalem will have no sun or moon, which instead shall receive Light from the Glory of God (Revelation 21:23; 22:5)

This book also describes heavenly Jerusalem as being a place of gold and precious stones like sapphire (Revelation 21:18-19)

There is mention of a pure river of the “water of life” (Revelation 22:1)

Interestingly enough, the Holy Qur’an also states that there will be no sun in Jannah (Paradise):

لَا يَرَوْنَ فِيهَا شَمْسًا وَلَا زَمْهَرِيرًا

They will not see therein any sun or freezing cold

(Surah 76:13)

The Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) has explained this reality by revealing that on Judgment Day Allah will hurl the sun and the moon into Hellfire.

Many Verses of the Qur’an and countless traditions from the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) talk about Jannah as being adorned with gold, silver and precious stones like sapphire, etc. Finally, the river of the water of life in the Christian Apocalypse corresponds to the Hawd al-Kawthar mentioned in the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions.

To be continued (In Sha Allah)