This blog continues the series of studies looking at references to the Garden(s) of Paradise, as depicted in the Qur’an. Our last blog on this matter was on September 8.
The next relevant passage is from Surah 46:13-16 (Yusuf Ali):
13 Verily those who say, “Our Lord is Allah,” and remain firm (on that Path),- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
14 Such shall be Companions of the Gardens, dwelling therein (for aye): a recompense for their (good) deeds.
15 We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents: In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months. At length, when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years, he says, “O my Lord! Grant me that I may be grateful for Thy favour which Thou has bestowed upon me, and upon both my parents, and that I may work righteousness such as Thou mayest approve; and be gracious to me in my issue. Truly have I turned to Thee and truly do I bow (to Thee) in Islam.
16 Such are they from whom We shall accept the best of their deeds and pass by their ill deeds: (They shall be) among the Companions of the Garden: a promise! of truth, which was made to them (in this life).
The import of verse 13 is brought out more clearly by Khan:
Khan: Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is (only) Allah,” and thereafter Istaqamu (i.e. stood firm and straight on the Islamic Faith of Monotheism by abstaining from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which Allah has forbidden and by performing all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained), on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
For Muslims the confession “Our Lord is Allah” necessarily involves a disavowal of all possibilities of shirk, of any ‘sharing’ or partnership with Allah. As per Christianity it is a commitment to absolute monotheism. The Bible teaches that God is one God, not three and yet that there are three persons in the Godhead. For Muhammad, committed as he was to a strictly mathematical concept of oneness this is inconceivable and intolerable. The Qur’an insists that only those who hold to the strictly Islamic conception of deity can be assured of admittance to paradise. As verse 14 indicates, it is presupposed that commitment to this belief will be expressed in suitable deeds or works for which paradise is the reward.
In verse 15 Allah commands Muslims to show kindness to their parents and to commit themselves to raising their own children as Muslims, having joined those who have submitted themselves to Islam.
The meaning of verse 16 is clear as is similarly expressed by other translators:
Khan: They are those from whom We shall accept the best of their deeds and overlook their evil deeds. (They shall be) among the dwellers of Paradise, a promise of truth, which they have been promised.
Pickthal: Those are they from whom We accept the best of what they do, and overlook their evil deeds. (They are) among the owners of the Garden. This is the true promise which they were promised (in the world).
Rashad: It is from these that we accept the righteous works, and overlook their sins. They have deserved Paradise. This is the truthful promise that is promised to them.
Sarwar: These are the ones from whom We accept righteous deeds and ignore their bad deeds. They will be among the dwellers of Paradise. It is the true promise which was given to them.
Here Allah says that with respect to dedicated Muslims, that is, those who have submitted themselves to Islam, he will judge them on the basis of the best they have done and that he will overlook their sins, the evil things they have done. This is deeply disturbing and here we have a point of immense contrast with the Bible.
Revelation 21 describes paradise via the image of the “holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God” (v10). The chapter ends:
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life (v27).
James explains: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10). As Paul puts it: For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Galatians 3:10; my emphasis). As Paul concludes, “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law…” (v11). The point is that God is 100% pure and holy. Consequently, imagine it were possible – which it is not – for a person to live a perfectly pure life with the exception of one sin that would be considered relatively trivial on the human stage. It is utterly impossible for God to wink his eye and ignore such a transgression no matter how peripheral we might consider this to be. He cannot ignore any bad deed. Of course, in reality, as the Bible emphasizes over and over again, no person who has ever lived since the Fall has been guilty of merely trivial offences. Morally speaking, every one of us is radically flawed and is guilty of monumental evil. Thus there is an immense gulf between the Islamic concept of a god who can wink his eye at sin and the biblical revelation of God who must judge all sin. The only hope for anyone lies in the substitutionary atoning work of Christ which alone deals with the penalty, power and presence of sin.
Posted September 9, 2011
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