Is Heaven and hell literal, metaphorical or both combined
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Peace
The commentary of the version of Qur'an I'm reading mentions that Heaven and Hell are metaphorical.
I know you've all heard of this concept before. I'm just mentioning it because I always thought it was meant literally for most of my life. I mean, I always dreamt of going to Paradise, where everything is perfect, nobody dies, everyone's kind, no accidents, great relationships, happiness, no depression, no loneliness etc. and also palaces, great food, being fit whilst eating anything you want, choosing your looks, material possessions etc. So if it's metaphorical then we won't really get any of these blessings???
Anyone who has knowledge of this please care to explain...
Thanks
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Salam Sarah,
And give good news to those who believe and do good works that they will have estates with rivers flowing beneath them. Every time they receive a provision of its fruit, they say “This is what we have been provisioned before,” and they are given its likeness. And there they will have pure mates, and in it they will abide.
Wassalam,
Ade -
Salam Sarah,
And give good news to those who believe and do good works that they will have estates with rivers flowing beneath them. Every time they receive a provision of its fruit, they say “This is what we have been provisioned before,” and they are given its likeness. And there they will have pure mates, and in it they will abide.
Wassalam,
AdeThat's the verse I thought of too. Theres literally no evidence that the verses are metaphorical at all..
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First thing to ponder WHAT is it that go to heaven/hell?
Your body
Your brain
Your conscience
Your sense of feelingWhatever game you wana play ask these fundamental things about a personality of any character/s.
What is personality?
A character that build up entirely on memories?Explaining to a blind person how does colors look? He will not understand.
Our brain interpret what we see?
Is it possible all consciousness in universe is actually one unit as a whole?
Like a river flowing and everydrop in it share same atoms/particles and sepration of that water make it to other form/shape and one day that form goes back to source again.What is it that make us "FEEL" we are this and that?
And this and that will happen when we end the continuity as living oraganism? -
salam
paradise and hell are very true and not metaphors or whatever ... please do not make the mistake to think they are not true places
and as we know there are also descriptions of them in the Quran
our aim should be to make it to the paradise with the forerunners at best, and to paradise with the people of the right at least ... making it to either of the two paradises with The God’s permission is the great and true triumph for anyone
we should strive in our worship of The God and make our worship of The God the true passion and goal of our existence
i understand we should striiiive in charity and helping others the maximum we can and even go the extra miles in my opinion (The God did gave us guidelines to charity in The Quran), invite others to the path of The God no matter what, living in honesty and with compassion and altruism, constant prayer with our heads to the floor, constant thinking of The God and imploring Him in fear and hope, etc ...
... and we should absolutely avoid hell with The God’s permission as it is the true tragedy
peace
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The body and brain will be going nowhere. They will rot and become earth.
As for the conscience and feelings, they will be coupled with another "body"- not necessarily like this one- with a new"brain" in it.
The new body and brain will be adapted to whatever "dimension/world(heaven or hell) they will occupy.. GOD will initiate the new creation in next life, like He initiated our creation as humans. -GOD initites all new creations and repeats the process according to His knowledge of the souls.
"Wa Zawwajnahum Bihurin Een"
Heaven / hell are just another world for the consciense/soul when this world expires. Who ends up where is exactly where the soul decided /deserved.
How can we even imagine this? All will be speculation and guess work to describe heaven/hell in reality except what Qoran has described for us using the capabilities of our reality in allegorical terms.
Like the bible calls it A new kheaven and a new earth?
GOD bless.
Peace. -
Peace everyone,
thank you all for the answers.
I'm going a little off topic because I guess this links up with the topic of Heaven. I've always wished for palace or palaces in Heaven lol should I be lucky enough to enter it. In Qur'an it says the people of paradise will have mansions/ estates but it doesn't mention palaces. I know it may seem a bit petty but I have this sort of fantasy I day-dream about where I have like a gigantic palace and it's taller than the Burj Khalifa lol (I feel a bit embarrassed but that's part of my fantasy)...Would I or anybody else be able to get something like that hypothetically speaking since we can have anything halal we want in paradise (to my understanding)?
On a previous discussion about Heaven, jkhan gave this answer
Peace all....
1721 ?Look how We have favored some of them over others. But the Hereafter is greater in degrees and greater in distinction.?
6132 And for all are degrees from what they have done. And your Lord is not unaware of what they do.?
Above verses are very clear that we can?t go beyond what is destined for us in the Janna we are assigned? we can?t wish for the status given to one who flawless in his life of test for him Allah would have bestowed the best of destination?
We can only wish with what is created for us in the Janna we have been assigned?We can?t change our status or even we can?t become male to female or female to male? we can?t have the company of Prophets unless we have been given according to our deeds in this world such status?.
If one claim that what our minds wishes will be given hereafter, then we can ask can we become Malak.. no chance.. or even ask beyond that.? no, we won?t get everything what we wish but we will get everything what is made in the Janna we are assigned?
When you read Chapter 55 or 56 you will find most of the answers to the topic? Janna is destined according to deeds?. Janna has gates and janna is classified with its features and delight?.4145 ?Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them?
Same scenario in the Jahanna(hell) as well?. No one will be put to the worse heaven unless they really deserve it? it also has the status according the deeds of them ?.
How just God is? that?s heart touching?.So we won?t get everything we wish in Janna but everything what is created in the assigned Janna where you live? not beyond that.. that?s what verses 21102 & 4131 means? Simply you can?t get the status of the Foremost (Shaabiqun)5610?. To deserve whatever mind wishes needs hard work in this world.. to be the most nearest to God (Mukarrabun)5610?.
So in my simple understanding based on above? You can?t wish everything what you wish even in Janna? but limited as per our deeds and the Janna furnished to us?then we can wish what we want in that particular assigned Janna?I think a lot of what he's discussed is correct particularly about the degrees because there's Quranic evidence backing it up. But for instance, what about change in gender/ sex or appearance?
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Peace
I think you kinda answered the question. I mean how can it all just be metaphorical when stuff like fruits/ estates are mentioned and we get similar stuff like in this world...but i still think that perhaps part of the description of heaven is not literal and part of it is very literal.
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salam
paradise and hell are very true and not metaphors or whatever ... please do not make the mistake to think they are not true places
and as we know there are also descriptions of them in the Quran
our aim should be to make it to the paradise with the forerunners at best, and to paradise with the people of the right at least ... making it to either of the two paradises with The God’s permission is the great and true triumph for anyone
we should strive in our worship of The God and make our worship of The God the true passion and goal of our existence
i understand we should striiiive in charity and helping others the maximum we can and even go the extra miles in my opinion (The God did gave us guidelines to charity in The Quran), invite others to the path of The God no matter what, living in honesty and with compassion and altruism, constant prayer with our heads to the floor, constant thinking of The God and imploring Him in fear and hope, etc ...
... and we should absolutely avoid hell with The God’s permission as it is the true tragedy
peace
Peace tutti frutti,
love the ambitious answer )
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salam sarah
haha i’m just very passionate about worshipping The God
but truly heaven and hell are places and not metaphors at all ... let’s all aim for paradise with The God’s permission shall we? ... and hope that He has mercy on us and that He accepts our worship of Him ...
peace )
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Peace
I think you kinda answered the question. I mean how can it all just be metaphorical when stuff like fruits/ estates are mentioned and we get similar stuff like in this world...but i still think that perhaps part of the description of heaven is not literal and part of it is very literal.
Salam Sarah,
Related to literal vs non literal, let us ponder the following verses
It has been adorned for people to love the desire of women, and sons, and ornaments made from gold and silver, and horses of high mark, and livestock, and fields. These are the enjoyment of the world, and with God is the best abode.
For us who live in this age, probably horses of high mark (literally) are not something that are very attractive or even not attractive at all. What is something in our age, that people at the time of revelation would describe using arabic word translated here as horses of high mark? I would say branded cars (other people can have different things in mind). Do we have example in Quran in which horse can be understood non literally? I believe yes, as below.
And prepare for them all that you can of might, and from horses tethered, that you may instill terror with it towards the enemy of God and your enemy, and others besides them whom you do not know but God knows them. And whatever you spend in the cause of God will be returned to you, and you will not be wronged.
In this age, if we prepare horses tethered (literally), would it instill terror toward the one having tanks, missiles, jet fighters, etc? So to achieve the objective, what we need to prepare is non literal horses tethered.
So going back to verse 314, people at the time of revelation would probably never imagine that one day the verse would be more relevant if interpreted non literally.
It has been adorned for people to love the desire of women, and sons, and ornaments made from gold and silver, and horses of high mark , and livestock , and fields . These are the enjoyment of the world, and with God is the best abode.
Overall, what we are being promised is real and will definitely make us very happy (regardless literal and non literal) sun
Additionally, if we analyze how paradise is described. It is clear that what is being described is literally extremely attractive for people in specific region at the time of revelation (the very people of prophet Muhammad).
God has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide eternally. That is the great attainment.
And those who believed and did righteous deeds will be admitted to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein by permission of their Lord; and their greeting therein will be, "Peace!"
So if we live in region in which gardens beneath which rivers flow are common thing (we and everybody else around us see the gardens every day since we were born), always imagine we are in desert and then we will appreciate better why paradise is described as such.
Wassalam,
Ade
