I have already spoken on this subject repeatedly and quite at some length. You can refer to those earlier tapes, but in a nutshell, in being very brief, I’ll answer that question too. But first, before I begin the answer, I should let the others know what the question was. He has asked me, referring to a verse of the Holy Quran, that Allah told Adam and his wife to reside in Jannah. And then you know the rest of the story, according to the Holy Quran and according to the Bible, they have some similar features and certain dissimilarities and disagreements as well.
But the fundamental question which he wants to understand is this. What is referred to as Jannah, the paradise? According to the Holy Quran, the concept of that paradise is different in some important features from the concept as it is understood in the Bible. Why I have said as it is understood in the Bible, because in my belief, the biblical account of paradise and the Quranic concept of paradise must confirm if they are from the same God. It is impossible that the Bible should have given a different picture of paradise and the Holy Quran should have given a different picture of paradise.
So that shows, if I am right, then there are two possibilities. Either the Bible was later on changed by the followers, or it was not changed, but wrong interpretations were attributed to the Bible. These two possibilities are open if I am right. If I am wrong in that claim, then everything will have to be put back to the melting pot and we will start the discussion if there are contradictions between Christianity and Islam, which is right and which statement is more acceptable and so on. But leaving that apart, which I have mentioned, because there are some Christian friends sitting here, so they should understand the background of all this. I have deviated slightly from your question, which is a straightforward question about what Jannah means, what paradise means according to the Holy Quran.
According to the Holy Quran, Jannah, that is paradise, is the teaching which is brought by a prophet. And the features of those teachings are, do this and do not do that. And they are symbolically mentioned under the description of two trees. One good type of trees, two classes of trees, of which you can partake, of whose fruit you can partake at your will, as you please. And there are other types of trees, of which you must not partake, or they will cause you eternal death. That is sin. And the other is piety. Now, when I say this is the Jannah, that is the paradise described in the Holy Quran, it is not something which I am attributing to the Holy Quran.
The Holy Quran itself describes this paradise as such and solves the riddle for us. It says there are two types of kalima, kalima tayyaba and kalima khabisa. Kalima tayyaba, that is a good word and a pious word, is like unto a tree which is deeply rooted on earth, in the soil, yet it derives its fruit from the heavens. It has its branches extended to the heavens. And from there it is fed, and it is not like an ordinary tree, which is a material tree, but it is something which remains, whatever the weather, it always is a springtime for it. And it bears fruit in every condition. So that means the tree, according to the Holy Quran, is the word of God or the word of piety or a good teaching. It is very clearly mentioned, there is no doubt left at all about the interpretation of a tree.
Similarly, a bad tree means a bad word or bad conduct, in which you have no rooting. You go on shifting your positions, you follow this and follow that, without any direction, without any bearing, because there is no God to guide you. So that is the people who do not follow the law revealed to a prophet, they are free to move from one place to another without direction, without bearing, without guidance.
So when the Holy Quran clearly defines what tree means, and not only one tree but both the trees mentioned in Jannah, so it has also defined that Jannah. That means the law which is brought by a prophet, the message which is brought by a prophet, if you follow that message, you come, enter a paradise. And the society which is created of that message would be a paradise for everybody. There would be no trouble, no suffering, no poverty for anybody, somebody is dying with hunger and others are, you know, have excessive possessions and so on and so forth. So an orderly life is described in reference to this Jannah by the Holy Quran itself. That is the description of the paradise which was given to the first prophet, that is Adam, which defines the human rights, the fundamental human rights.
Whenever a prophet comes, he brings along with him a teaching where not only the spiritual requirements are met with, but the basic human requirements are also met with. And the teaching covers at least that much of economy, human economy, where it is guaranteed that no man would be permitted to die of hunger, of exposure to sun or similar basic needs of man, which if not provided for, would cause extinction of humanity. So this is again in the words of the Holy Quran, a description of the Jannah which was given to Adam. And other interesting words in this regard is, I’m sorry, I forgot that I was to be brief on this question. I have restarted all over.
Anyway, the most important point is that Holy Quran warns the followers of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa, peace be upon him, that we warn you that the Satan may not trick you as he tricked your forefathers, Adam and Eve, and cause you the same punishment. So guard your Jannah. That is the message. Like he tricked Adam and Eve out of Jannah and they slipped. The Satan must not be permitted to do that to you again. If that Jannah was a material Jannah, not belonging to this world, but belonging to somewhere in heaven, how could this verse, what could this verse mean here? Because that Jannah had already been abandoned by us, never to return unless after death.
So how could God warn us that still there is a danger of our being turned out of the same Jannah? So that positively establishes and clinches the point that according to the Holy Quran, the Jannah is the law which is brought by a prophet and the concept of life as presented by a prophet to his people. If people accept that philosophy, that message, and that law which is applicable both to the spiritual world and to the material world in part, then the human beings would be ushered into a society which would be a society of paradise. That is the meaning. If they defy the law, then they would be turned out of that paradise. Now this thing has ever been repeating exactly in the same manner at every coming of a prophet, every advent of a prophet.
A society was created which was, as compared to the rest of the human societies, really a paradise. When people started to deviate from the path, they began to violate the rules and regulations of that religion, then ultimately they ended up in hell. The present day hell created by mankind is a proof that this is how it has happened before and this is how it is happening now to us.
