Salaam and welcome to another episode of our weekly series titled “Path towards Enlightenment” which is an endeavour to make you and us familiar with an easy and fluent explanation of God’s Final Scripture to all mankind, the holy Qur’an that was revealed to the Last and Greatest of all Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

As you know, last week we took up explanation of Surah “Surah Waqe’ah”, that is, the Imminent Hour or the Inevitable Event to occur at the end of time. It is the Day of Resurrection followed by the Final Judgement, which the disbelievers deny. On the Day of Judgement there will be sorting out of good and evil. People will be divided into three classes. Those brought near to the Divine Threshold for having reached the highest degree of faith; those on the right or ordinary believers who might have made mistakes but turned in repentance to Allah and thereafter lived a pious life; and those on the left, that is, the disbelievers who denied God’s message and the Prophets, lived in sins, and died in the state of disbelief. Ample proof is given in this Surah of the infinite power of the Almighty Creator and consequently His ability to bring about the Resurrection.

If you might recall, last Friday in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of Surah Waqe’ah we said Paradise is for the persons of true belief, including those who had sincerely repented of their misdeeds and earned forgiveness from God, while Hell is for the disbelievers, the heretics, the tyrants, the misleaders of people, and the unrepentant sinners. We also said that pride of place in the highest echelons of Paradise is for the foremost in faith and deeds, some of whose rewards we have already recounted, and here we present to you some more of their rewards as mentioned in Ayahs 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26:

“And such fruits as they prefer’

“And such flesh of fowls as they desire;

“And big-eyed houris;

“Like guarded pearls;

“A reward for what they used to do.

“They will not hear therein any vain talk or words of ill will,

“But only the watchword, ‘Peace!’ ‘Peace!”

The Foremost of the faithful are called “sabeqoun”, and since on the Day of Judgement they will be nearest to God Almighty because of their degree of unblemished faith, they are referred to as “muqarraboun”. This group comprises the Prophets, the Infallible Imams, the Saints, and those who strove relentlessly for the salvation of mankind and deliverance from darkness, even if this led to the loss of their own life and possessions. Thus, the Almighty rewards them with the highest echelons of Paradise and its unimaginable bounties. These include, as is clear from the Ayahs that we recited to you now, fruits that they prefer, the meat of fowls that they desire, and the company of houris, which as we said last week, are a species of heavenly females, endowed with large attractive eyes, and are like pearls of transparent beauty untouched and unseen by any others, except the one to whom they have been granted.

These Divine Blessings are not because of no reason, but as rewards for their unfaltering belief without the least doubt and their constant doing of righteous good deeds. The important point to note here is that, since Paradise is the abode of peace, sincerity, and serenity, the pleasures for its residents, whether spiritual or material, shall not be accompanied by the psychological pain of vain talk and words of resentment, but of expressions of perpetual peace and purity of intentions.

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. The bounties of Paradise are beyond our imagination and only a few glimpses of this perpetual state of bliss is provided here, as rewards for firm faith and good deeds, while abstaining from anything or act that are considered unlawful and undesirable.
2. Paradise is the place of unspoiled purity and cleanliness, and thus the women therein are not just endowed with beauty but also chastity to keep aloof from anyone except the lawful spouse.
3. Paradise is the place of perpetual peace and serenity, where the expressions are of gratitude to God and His praise, undisturbed by any idle talk or words of grievance.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the same Surah:

 “And the People of the Right Hand- what (or how fortunate) are the People of the Right Hand?

“(They shall reside) amid thornless lote trees,

“And clustered spathes (of plantains);

“And extended shade;

“And ever-flowing water,

“And abundant fruits;

“Neither inaccessible, nor forbidden;

“And noble spouses.

“We have created them with a special creation,

“And made them virgins;

“Loving, of a like age,

After mentioning some of the rewards for the foremost of the faithful, these Ayahs describe the blessings reserved for the second rank of believers, who are called “ahl al-yameen” or “people of the right” for being fortunate to receive the record of their brilliant deeds in their right hand with tidings to enter Paradise. This group too, whether men or women, will enjoy various kinds of blessings as rewards for their degrees of faith and the good deeds they had done in the world. They will reside in gardens of shady trees bearing all kinds of fruits and devoid of any thorn, amidst an exquisite atmosphere of fresh flowing springs of water, surrounded by orchards of fruits available at all times. The virtuous men shall be granted spouses of immaculate characteristics that remain constantly fresh for them, with the essence of loyalty and no withering in age and beauty. As for the virtuous women of Paradise, they have the option to be with their husbands and children, if these were virtuous as well, to deserve the blessings of heaven.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. Unlike the pleasures of the mortal world which are not always beneficial and in case of being unlawful may end in self-destruction, the bounties of Paradise are devoid of any harm and always accessible without the least trouble.
2. Paradise is the place of exquisite beauty and blessings as rewards for those who were firm of faith and did righteous deeds, and in case of any fault or sins, earnestly turned to the All-Merciful Lord in repentance for forgiveness.
3. Worldly marriages may end in death or separation and at times, divorce, but heavenly spouses are perfectly matched with each other on the basis of love and loyalty, without the least disassociation, distraction or discord.

In conclusion of this week’s episode of Path towards Enlightenment, here are Ayahs 38, 39, and 40 of Surah Waqe’ah:

“For the People of the Right Hand.

“A multitude from the former [generations],

“And a multitude from the latter [ones].”

These Ayahs that give tidings to the People of the Right Hand who will enter Paradise, mean to say that this group is not limited to any specific period of history, but are made up of virtuous believers of each and every generation, whether from the nations of the remote past or those to be born in the distant future.

From these Ayahs we learn:

1. The path towards the bliss of Paradise is open for all mankind striving towards monotheism and virtue in every age and era and in all places around the world, irrespective of the superficial differences of ethnicity, colour of skin, social class, and the language spoken.
2. This is indeed the Infinite Mercy of the One and Only Creator of the universe, Who has given ample opportunities and respite to the human beings to repent, reform, and rectify their wrongs, while abstaining from the satanic tendencies of sins, disbelief, atheism, polytheism, and the like.

RM/AS/SS