It is
not The Paradise of Eternity
If we search the Noble Qur’an we will
find that the Noble Qur’an has used the word Jannah for more than one meaning.
The Noble Qur’an used it with its linguistic meaning of Satir [veil, screen,
cover, shelter…] and with its religious meaning of the Paradise of Eternity. We
find many Ayat holding these two meanings as the Saying of Allah, all praise
and glory is to Him:
“And present to them
an example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens of grapevines, and
We bordered them with palm trees and placed between them [fields of] crops.”
(Al-Kahf, 18: 32)
And the Ayah in which Allah says:
“Would one of you
like to have a garden of palm trees and grapevines underneath which rivers flow
in which he has from every fruit?” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 266)
And the Ayah in which Allah says:
“There was for [the tribe of] Saba’ in their dwelling
place a sign: two [fields of] gardens on the right and on the left. [They were
told], ‘Eat from the provisions of your Lord and be grateful to Him. A good
land [have you], and a forgiving Lord.’” (Saba’, 34: 15)
In all these glorious Ayat Allah, all
praise and glory is to Him, used the word “Jannah” to refer to a worldly garden
or paradise.
Some scholars said that Allah, Blessed
and Exalted is He, differentiated between the paradises or gardens of worldly
life and the Paradise of the Hereafter by using the definitive form [Al-Jannah]
to designate the Paradise of the Hereafter alone and the indefinite word
[Jannah] without “ Al" (Al: equivalent to the definite article the) to designate worldly paradises or
gardens, which is incorrect, based on the fact that a worldly garden is also
referred to with the definite article “Al” as in the Ayah in which Allah,
Blessed and Exalted is He, says:
“Verily, We have
tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the
fruits of the (garden) in the morning. Without saying: Inshâ' Allâh (If Allah
will).” (Al-Qalam, 68: 17-18)
The speech in the two aforesaid Ayahs
is about a paradise or a garden from the gardens of this world. Thus, the two
definite letters Alf-Lam “Al” do not mark the word Jannah and serve to make it
only designate the Paradise of Eternity. And here we must pause a little to
discuss some opinions that claim that Adam and Eve used to live in the Paradise
of Eternity and when they disobeyed Allah, He expelled them from paradise and
send them down to live in misery on the earth!
We reply by saying that such opinions
are absolutely untrue, because Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, before
creating Adam has already assigned his mission in life. Please read the Ayah in
which Allah, The Most Exalted and Ever-Majestic, says what means:
“And [mention, O
Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make upon the
earth a successive authority.’” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 30)
Thus, before creating Adam the purpose
of creating him was his living on the earth and making it a prosperous place
and filling it with life.
The second important issue is that if
Adam was expelled from paradise because he disobeyed what is our guilt to
inherit sin and misery? That would disagree with the Justice of Allah embodied
in His Saying, all glory is to Him, which means:
“And no bearer of
burdens will bear the burden of another.” (Fâtir, 35: 18)
Each person is hold accountable only
for his own deeds and will never be questioned about what his parents did, nor
his forefathers nor his children, because every man bears only his own good or
bad deeds. Hence, it is impossible that Adam lived in the Paradise of Eternity
then he was expelled from it because he disobeyed and we bore the consequences
of that sin. It is impossible that we inherited that sin and are tortured by it
through our expulsion from paradise, because (according to that logic) had not
Adam sinned we would have been living in paradise. To such claimers we say that
this opinion opposes the Justice of Allah Who never allows that sin should be inherited.
But why did Allah made Adam and Eve
live in a paradise after creating them?
We say that there is wisdom behind
that, for Adam was created to receive from Allah the Law of ‘Do and Do not do.’
Only through this Law life thrives on the earth. Anything that Allah commands
to be done if not done the earth would be corrupted and anything that Allah
forbids if done the earth would be corrupted.
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
placed Adam and Eve in that paradise to put them through a practical experience
in applying the Divine Law and to give them a practical warning against Satan
mission’s of distorting the Divine Law. Satan’s mission is to push Adam and his
offspring towards committing what Allah has forbidden and turn them away from
doing what Allah has commanded.
Thus, if Allah says:“Do not drink intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks)” the devil will beautify to mankind drinking intoxicants, and if Allah says: “Perform Salah” the devil will beautify to them abandoning Salah.
Thus, if Allah says:“Do not drink intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks)” the devil will beautify to mankind drinking intoxicants, and if Allah says: “Perform Salah” the devil will beautify to them abandoning Salah.
Truly, an experience simple in carrying
out but is indeed great in its meaning and significance. It was a practice to
Adam on what will happen to him when he obeys Allah and what will happen to him
when he obeys Satan. Therefore, Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, brought
Adam and provided him with all the means of living in a place called “Jannah”
and He said to Adam (what means):
“And ‘O Adam,
dwell, you and your wife, in paradise and eat from wherever you will but do not
approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.’ (Al-A‘râf, 7: 19)
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