Jannah

"Firdaus" redirects here. For the city in Iran, seeFerdows.

"Cennet" redirects here. For the Turkish television series, seeCennet'in Gözyaşları.

Not to be confused withJanna.

InIslam,Jannah(Arabic:جَنَّةٍ,romanized:janna,pl.جَنّٰتjannāt,lit. 'garden')is the final and permanent abode of the righteous.According to one count, the word appears 147 times in theQur'an.Belief in the afterlife is one of thesix articles of faithinSunniandTwelver Shi'ismand is a place in which "believers"(Mumin) will enjoy pleasure, while theunbelievers(Kafir) will suffer inJahannam.BothJannahandJahannamare believed to have several levels. In the case of Jannah, the higher levels are more desirable, and in the case of Jahannam, the lower levels have a higher level of punishments — inJannahthe higher the prestige and pleasure, inJahannamthe severity of the suffering.The afterlife experiences are described as physical, psychic and spiritual.

AKashmiridepiction of Jannah, 1808

Jannah is described with physical pleasures such as gardens, beautifulhouris,wine that has no aftereffects, and "divine pleasure".Their reward of pleasure will vary according to the righteousness of the person.The characteristics ofJannahoften have direct parallels with those ofJahannam.The pleasure and delights ofJannahdescribed in the Qu'ran, are matched by the excruciating pain and horror ofJahannam.

Jannah is also referred to as the abode ofAdam and Evebefore their expulsion.Most Muslims hold thatJannahandJahannamco-exist with the temporal world, rather than being created afterJudgement Day.Humans may not pass the boundaries to the afterlife, but it may interact with the temporal world of humans.

According to some Islamic teachings, there are two categories of the people of heaven: those who go directly to it and those who enter it after enduring some torment in hell; Also, the people of hell are of two categories: those who stay there temporarily and those who stay there forever.

Terminology

Jannahis found frequently in theQur'an(2:30, 78:12) and often translated as "Heaven" in the sense of an abode in which believers are rewarded in afterlife. Another word,سماءsamāʾ(usually pl.samāwāt) is also found frequently in the Quran and translated as "heaven"but in the sense of thesky aboveor thecelestial sphere.(It is often used in the phraseas-samawat wal-ardٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ"the heavens and the earth", an example being Qu'ran 38:10.) The Qu'ran describes bothsamāʾandjannahas being above this world.

Jannahis also frequently translated as "paradise", but another term with a more direct connection to that term is also found,Firdaus(Arabic:فردوس), the literal term meaningparadise,which was borrowed from thePersianwordPardis(Persian:پردیس), which is also the source of theEnglishword "paradise".Firdausis used in Qu'ran 18:107 and 23:11and also designates the highest level of heaven.

In contrast toJannah,the wordsJahannam,an-Nār,jaheem,saqar,and other terms are used to refer to the concept ofhell.There are many Arabic words for both Heaven and Hell that also appear in the Qu'ran and in theHadith.Most of them have become part of Islamic beliefs.

Jannahis also used as the name of theGarden of Edenin whichAdamandHawa(Eve) dwelt.

Salvation/inhabitants

Diagram of "Plain of Assembly" (Ard al-Hashr)on the Day of Judgment, from an autograph manuscript ofFutuhat al-MakkiyyabySufi mysticandMuslim philosopherIbn Arabi,ca. 1238. Shown are the 'Arsh (Throne of God), pulpits for the righteous (al-Aminun), seven rows ofangels,Gabriel(al-Ruh), A'raf (the Barrier), thePond of Abundance,al-Maqam al-Mahmud (the Praiseworthy Station; whereMuhammadwill stand to intercede for the faithful), Mizan (the Scale),As-Sirāt(the Bridge),Jahannam(Hell), and Marj al-Jannat (Meadow of Paradise).

Further information:Islamic eschatology § Who will enter_Heaven or hell

Scholars do not all agree on who will end up in Jannah, and the criteria for whether or not they will. Issues include whether all Muslims, even those who've committed major sins, will end up in Jannah; whether any non-Muslims will go there or all go to Jahannam.

Inhabitants according to Quran

The Quran specifies the qualities for those allowed to inhabit Jannah (according to Smith and Haddad) as: "those who refrain from doing evil, keep their duty, have faith in God's revelations, do good works, are truthful, penitent, heedful, and contrite of heart, those who feed the needy and orphans and who are prisoners for God's sake." Another source (Sebastian Güntherand Todd Lawson) gives as the basic criterion forsalvationin theafterlifemore detail on articles of faith: the belief in theoneness of God(tawḥīd),angels,revealed books,messengers,as well asrepentanceto God, and doing good deeds (amal salih).All these qualities are qualified by the doctrine that ultimately salvation can only be attained through God's judgment.

Jinn, angels, and devils

The idea thatjinnas well as humans could find salvation was widely accepted, based on the Quran (Q.55:74) where the saved are promised maidens "untouched before by either men or jinn" – suggesting to classical scholarsal-Suyūṭīandal-Majlisīthat jinn also are provided their own kind of houri maidens in paradise.Like humans, their destiny in the hereafter depends on whether they accept God's guidance. Angels, on the other hand, because they are not subject to desire and so are not subject to temptation, work in paradise serving the "blessed" (humans and jinn) guiding them, officiating marriages, conveying messages, praising them, etc.The devils cannot return to paradise, because Islamic scripture states that their father, the fallen angel Iblis, was banished, but never suggests that he or his offspring were forgiven or promised to return.

The eschatological destiny of these creatures is summarized in the prophetic tradition: "One kind of beings will dwell in Paradise, and they are the angels; one kind will dwell in Hell, and they are the demons; and another kind will dwell some in Paradise and some in Hell, and those are the jinn and the humans."

Salvation of non-Muslims

Muslim scholars disagree about exact criteria for salvation of Muslim and non-Muslim. Although most agree that Muslims will be finally saved –shahids(martyrs) who die in battle, are expected to enter paradise immediately after death– non-Muslims are another matter.

Muslim scholars arguing in favor of non-Muslims' being able to enter paradise cite the verse:

"Indeed, the believers, Jews, Christians, and Sabians—whoever ˹truly˺ believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good will have their reward with their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve."

— Surah Al-Baqara2:62

Those arguing against non-Muslim salvation regard this verse to have applied only until the arrival ofMuhammad,after which it wasabrogatedby another verse:

"Whoever seeks a way other than Islam, it will never be accepted from them, and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers."

— Surah Al Imran3:85

Historically, theAsh'arischool of theologywas known for having an optimistic perspective on salvation for Muslims,but a very pessimistic view of those who heard about Muhammad and his character, yet rejected him.TheMaturidischool also generally agreed that even sinners among Muslims would eventually enter paradise,but its unclear whether they thought only Muslim would go to Jannah,or if non-Muslims who understood and obeyed "God's universal law" would be saved also.TheMuʿtazilaschool held that free will and individual accountability was necessary for Divine justice, thus rejecting the idea ofintercession(Shafa'a) by Muhammad on behalf of sinners.Unlike other schools it believed Jannah and Jahannam would be created only after Judgement Day.Like most Sunni, Shia Islam hold that all Muslims will eventually go to Jannah,and like theAsh'arischool, believe heedless and stubborn unbelievers will go to hell, while those ignorant of the truth of Islam but "truthful to their own religion", will not.Modernist scholarsMuhammad AbduhandRashid Ridarejected the notion that thePeople of the Bookare excluded from Jannah, referring to another verse.

• ˹Divine grace is˺ neither by your wishes nor those of the People of the Book! Whoever commits evil will be rewarded accordingly, and they will find no protector or helper besides Allah. But those who do good—whether male or female—and have faith will enter Paradise and will never be wronged ˹even as much as˺ the speck on a date stone. (Q.4:123–124)

Descriptions, details, and organization

Sources

Sources on Jannah include the Quran, Islamic traditions, creeds, Quranic commentaries (tafsir) and "other theological writing". "Third Islamic century traditionalists amplified the eschatological material enormously particularly in areas on where" the Quran is relatively silent "about the nature of Jannah.Some of the more popular Sunni manuals of eschatology areKitāb al-rūḥof Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīya andal-Durra al-fākhira ft kashf 'ulūm al-ākhiraof Abǖ Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī.

Delights

Inside Jannah, the Quran says the saved "will have whatever they wish for, forever"; (Q.25:16).Other verses give more specific descriptions of the delights of paradise:

'And whoever is in awe of standing before their Lord will have two Gardens
... ˹Both will be˺ with lush branches.
... In each ˹Garden˺ will be two flowing springs.
... In each will be two types of every fruit.
... Those ˹believers˺ will recline on furnishings lined with rich brocade. And the fruit of both Gardens will hang within reach.
... In both ˹Gardens˺ will be maidens of modest gaze, who no human orjinnhas ever touched before.
... Those ˹maidens˺ will be ˹as elegant˺ as rubies and coral.
... Is there any reward for goodness except goodness?
... And below these two ˹Gardens˺ will be two others.
... Both will be dark green.
... In each will be two gushing springs.
... In them are fruits, palm trees, and pomegranates.
... In all Gardens will be noble, pleasant mates
...˹They will be˺ maidens [houris] with gorgeous eyes, reserved in pavilions.
.... No human or jinn has ever touched these ˹maidens˺ before.
... All ˹believers˺ will be reclining on green cushions and splendid carpets.
Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny? (Q.55:46–76, Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran)

Smith and Haddad summarize some of the Quranic pleasures:

Choirs of angels will sing in Arabic (the only language used in paradise), the streets will be as familiar as those of the dwellers' own countries, inhabitants will eat and drink 100 times more than earthly bodies could hold and will enjoy it 100 times more, their rooms will have thick carpets and brocade sofas, on Fridays they will go to a market to receive new clothing to enhance their beauty, they will not suffer bodily ailments or be subject to functions such as sleeping, spitting, or excreting; they will be forever young.

Pomegranate flower and fruit, mentioned as a fruit in paradise in the Quran (55:68). Therefore, it is used as an ingredient in a dessert (Ashure) used to commemorate prophetic events.

As the gates of Jannah are opened for the arrival of the saved into Jannah they will be greeted (Q.39:73)by angels announcing, "Peace be upon you, because ye have endured with patience; how excellent a reward is paradise!" (Q13:24).

Inside there will be neither too much heat nor bitter cold; there will be fountains (Q.88:10), abundant shade from spreading tree branches green with foliage (Q.53:14–16, alsoQ.36:56–57).They will be passed a cup (Q.88:10–16) full of wine "wherefrom they will get [no] aching of the head” (hangovers) [Q.56:19],and "which leads to no idle talk or sinfulness" (Q.52:23), and every meat (Q.52:22) and trees from which an unceasing supply of fruits grow (Q.36:56–57),"that looks similar ˹but tastes different˺"; (Q.2:25) adornment with golden and pearl bracelets (Q.35:33) and green garments of fine silk and brocade (Q.18:31); attended upon by [ghulman] (Q.52:24), servant-boys (eternal youths (56:17, 76:19)) like spotless pearls (Q.52:24).

While the Quran never mentions God being in the Garden, the faithful are promised the opportunity to gaze upon His face, something the inhabitants of the Fire will be deprived of.

Inhabitants will rejoice in the company of any parents, spouses, and children who were admitted to paradise (Q52:21) —conversing and recalling the past.

One day in paradise is considered equal to a thousand years on earth. Palaces are made from bricks of gold, silver, pearls, among other things. Traditions also note the presence ofhorsesandcamelsof "dazzling whiteness", along with other creatures. Large trees whose shades are ever deepening, mountains made ofmusk,between which rivers flow in valleys ofpearlandruby.

Non-physical pleasures

While the Quran is full of "graphic" descriptions of the "physical pleasures" for the inhabitants of the Garden, it also states that the "acceptance [riḍwān]from God "felt by the inhabitants" is greater "than the pleasure of the Gardens (Q.9:72),the true beauty of paradise,the greatest of all rewards, surpassing all other joys.On the day on which God brings the elect near to his throne (‘arsh), "some faces shall be shining in contemplating their Lord".

The visit is described asMuhammadleading the men andFatimahleading the women to approachthe Throne,"which is described as a huge esplanade of musk". As "the veil of light before the Throne lifts, God appears with the radiance of the full moon, and His voice can be heard saying, 'Peace be upon you.'"

Hadith include stories of the saved being served an enormous feast where "God Himself is present to offer to His faithful ones delicacies kneaded into a kind of pancake".In another series of narratives, God personally invites the inhabitants of Jannah "to visit with Him every Friday".

Houri

Main article:Houri

"Perhaps no aspect of Islamic eschatology has so captured the imagination" of both "Muslims and non-Muslims" as houri (ḥūr). Men will get untouched Houri in paradise (Q55:56), virgin companions of equal age (56:35–38) and have large, beautiful eyes (37:48). Houri have occasioned "spectacular elaborations" by later Islamic eschatological writers, but also "some derision by insensitive Western observers and critics of Islam".

The Quran also states the saved "will have pure spouses," (without indicating gender) (Q2:25,Q4:57), accompanied by any children that did not go toJahannam(Q52:21), and attended to by servant-boys with the spotless appearance similar to a protected pearls (Q52:24).

Despite the Quranic description above,Hourishave been described as women who will accompany faithful Muslims in Paradise.Muslim scholars differ as to whether they refer to the believing women of this world or a separate creation, with the majority opting for the latter.

Size, geography and structure

Layers of Jannah according to different scholars (in descending order)
al-Suyuti	Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma
al-firdaws (Paradise)	jannāt ʿadn ( "garden of Eden" ) white pearl
jannat al-na'im ( "garden of bliss" )	jannat al-firdaws red gold
jannat al-ma'wa ( "garden of refuge" )	Jannat al na'īm ( "garden of bliss" ) white silver
jannat 'adn ( "garden of Eden" )	jannat al-khuld ( "garden of eternity" ) yellow coral
dar al-khuld ( "abode of eternity" )	jannat al-ma'wan ( "garden of refuge" ) green chrysolite
dar al-salam ( "abode of peace" )	dar al-salam ( "abode of peace" ) red sapphire
dar al-jalal ( "abode of glory" )	dar al-jinān ( "abode of the garden" ) white pearl
Source:al-Suyuti;	Source:Kitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāma

The Qur'an describes paradise as a "great kingdom" (Q.76:20) stretching out over and above the entire world,and "lofty" (Q.69:22).

Paradise is "as vast as the heavens and the earth" (Q.3:133).There are four rivers: one each of water, milk, honey, and wine (47:15).(They were later identified asKawthar,Kafur,Tasnim,andSalsabil.)

Despite the details given in the Quran about Jannah/Garden, "nowhere" is there found "an ordered picture of the structure" of the abode. "For the most part Islamic theology has not concerned itself with questions about the location and structure of the Garden and the Fire on the understanding that only God knows these particulars."

Layers/levels

Many sources agree that paradise has "various degrees and levels". One conservativeSalafisource,quotes as evidence asahihhadith where Muhammad reassures the mother of a martyr, "O Umm Haarithah, there are gardens in Paradise... and your son has attained the highestFirdaws”,indicating a hierarchy of levels, but does not how many there are. On the basis of "several scriptural suggestions", scholars have created "a very detailed structure" of paradise,but there is more than one, and not all of the traditions on location of paradise and hell "are easily pictured or indeed mutually reconcilable".

For example, Qu'ran 23:17 states "We created above you seven paths [Ṭarā'iq]" from which is drawn a heaven of seven tiers (which is also "a structure familiar to Middle Eastern cosmogony since the early Babylonian days" ).Another school of thought insists Jannah actually has "eight layers or realms" as the Quran gives "eight different names... for the abode of the blessed".

Some descriptions of Jannah/the Garden indicate that the most spacious and highest part of the Garden, Firdaws, which is directly under the Throne and the place from which the fourrivers of Paradiseflow. Others say the uppermost portion is either the Garden of Eden or 'Iliyi and that is the second level from the top.

Another possibility is that there are four separate realms of the blessed, of which either Firdaws or Eden is the uppermost. This is based on Surah 55, which talks about two Gardens: ( "As for him who fears standing before his Lord there are two Gardens [Jannatan]" ) [S 55:46). All descriptions following this verse are of things in pairs, (i.e. in the Arabic dual form) – two fountains flowing, fruit of every kind in pairs, beside these two other gardens with two springs (Q.55:62,66).

Still others have proposed that the seven levels suggested by the Qur'an are the seven heavens, above which is the Garden or final abode of felicity, while many see paradise as only one entity with many names.(According to one source – a member of the fatwa team at Islamweb.net – only God knows the exact number of the levels of Paradise, but reliable hadith say the number of levels of Jannah may be the same as the number of verses in the Quran, i.e. over 6000 verses.)

One version of the layered Garden conceptualization describes the highest level of heaven (al-firdaws) as being said to be so close that its inhabitants could hear the sound of God's throne above.This exclusive location is where the messengers,prophets,Imams,andmartyrs(shahids) dwell.Al-SuyutiandKitāb aḥwāl al-qiyāmaeach gives names to the levels that do not always coincide (see table to right).

Gates of Jannah according to different sources
Soubhi El-Saleh	Huda Omam Khalid
salat (prayer)	Bāb al-Ṣalāh: For those who were punctual in prayer
jihad (struggle for self betterment)	Bāb al-Jihād: For those who took part in jihad
almsgiving	Bāb al-Ṣadaqah: For those who gave charity more often
sawm (fasting)	Bāb al-Rayyān: For those who fasted(siyam)
repentance	Bāb al-Ḥajj: For those who participated in the annual pilgrimage
self-control	Bāb al-Kāẓimīn al-Ghayẓ wa-al-‘Āfīn ‘an al-Nās: For those who withheld their anger and forgave others
submission	Bāb al-Imān: For those who by virtue of their faith are saved from reckoning and chastisement
the door reserved for those whose entry to Paradise will be without preliminary judgment	Bāb al-Dhikr: For those who showed zeal in remembering Allah
Source: Soubhi El-Saleh, based on numerous traditions	Sources: Doors of Jannah Islam KaZir

Gates/doors

Two verses of the Quran (Qu'ran 7:40, 39:73) mention "gates" or "doors" (using the plural form) as the entrance of paradise, but say nothing about their number, names or any other characteristics.

• "To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven..." (Qu'ran 7:40)
• "And those who kept their duty to their Lord (Al-Muttaqoon – the pious) will be led to Paradise in groups till when they reach it, and its gates will be opened" (Qu'ran 39:73)

As in the case of the levels of Jannah, later sources elaborate, giving names and functions but don't agree on all details (see table to right).

In traditions, each level of the eight principal gates of Paradise is described as generally being divided into a hundred degrees guarded by angels (in some traditionsRidwan). The highest level is known asfirdaws(sometimes called Eden) orIlliyin.Entrants will be greeted byangelswith salutations ofpeaceorAs-Salamu Alaykum.

Jannah is accessible vertically through its gates (Qu'ran 7:40), by ladders (ma'arij) (Qu'ran 70:3), or sky-ropes (asbab). However, only select beings such as angels and prophets can enter.Iblis (Satan) anddevilsare kept at bay by angels who throw stars at them, whenever they try to climb back to heaven (Q.37:6–10).Notably and contrary to manyChristian ideas on heaven,God(Allah) does not reside in paradise.

Rivers

A few hadith name four rivers in paradise, or coming from paradise, as: Saihan (Syr Darya), Jaihan (Amu Darya), Furat (Euphrates) and Nil (Nile).Salsabilis the name of a spring that is the source of the rivers of Rahma (mercy) andAl-Kawthar(abundance).Sidrat al-Muntahais aLote treethat marks the end of theseventh heaven,the boundary where no angel or human can pass.Muhammad is supposed to have taken apomegranatefrom jannah, and shared it withAli,as recorded byNasir al-Din al-Tusi.However, some scholars, likeGhazali,reject that Muhammad took the fruit, argued he had only a vision instead.

Literal or allegorical

According to scholars Jane I. Smith, Yvonne Y. Haddad, while there are Muslims of a "philosophical or mystical" bent who interpret descriptions of heaven and hell "metaphorically", "the vast majority of believers", understand verses of the Quran on Jannah (and hellfire) "to be real and specific, anticipating them" with joy or terror,although this view "has generally not insisted that the realities of the next world will be identical with those of this world". Besides the material notion of the paradise, descriptions of it are also interpreted asallegories,whose meaning is the state of joy believers will experience in the afterlife. For some theologians, seeing God is not a question of sight, but of awareness of God's presence.Although early Sufis, such asHallaj,took the descriptions of Paradise literal, later Sufi traditions usually stressed out the allegorical meaning.

Eternal, not temporal

While some Quranic verses suggest hellfire is eternal and some that its punishment will not necessarily be forever for Muslims who committed grave sins, verses on Jannah are less ambiguous. Eternality assured in verses about paradise such as Qu'ran 3:198, 4:57, and 57:12, which say that the righteous will bekhālidūn fīhā(eternally in it), and Qu'ran 35:35, which describes the reward ofdār al-maqāma[the abode of everlastingness].Consequently, neither "theologians nor the traditionalists" have had any doubts about the eternal nature of paradise or the residence of the righteous in it.

Other characteristics

To classical scholars on the afterlifeal-Suyūṭīandal-Majlisī,one of the characteristics of Jannah (like hellfire) is that events are not "frozen in one eternal moment", but form cycles of "endless repetition" and "unceasing self renewing clockwork".For example, when a fruit is plucked from a tree, a new fruit immediately appears to takes its place; when a hungry inhabitant sees a bird whose meat they would like to eat it falls already roasted into their hands, and after they are done eating, the bird "regains its form shape and flies away";houri regain their virginity after being deflowered by one of the saved, but they also grow like fruit on trees or plants on the land and "whenever one of them is taken" by one of the saved in paradise one for his pleasure, "a new one springs forth in her place".(So too in hellfire are the skin of the damned replaced each time that they are burned off by the fire to be burned again, and drowning sinners driven back into the sea by giant snakes and scorpions whernever they reach the safety of shore.)

Garden of Eden and Paradise

Adam and Eve, cast out from the Garden, along them the serpent and the peacock, who gave aid to Satan. Painting from a copy of the Fālnāmeh (Book of Omens) ascribed toJa´far al-Sādiq.

Further information:Islamic eschatology § The Current_existence of the Afterlife

Muslim scholars differ on whether theGarden of Eden(jannāt ʿadni), in which Adam and Eve (Adam andHawwa) dwelled before being expelled by God, is the same as the afterlife abode of the righteous believers: paradise. Most scholars in the early centuries of Islamic theology and the centuries onwards thought it was and that indicated that paradise was located on earth.It was argued that when God commanded Adam to "go down" (ihbit) from the garden, that did not indicate a vertical movement (such as "falling" from a heaven above to earth), but instead was used in the same sense as Moses telling Israelites to "go down to Egypt".

However, as paradise came over the centuries to be thought of more and more as "a transcendent, otherworldy realm", the idea of it being located somewhere on earth fell out of favor. The Garden of Eden, on the other hand lacked many transcendent, otherworldy characteristics.Al-Balluti(887–966) reasoned that the Garden of Eden lacked the perfection and eternal character of a final paradise:Adam and Eve lost the primordial paradise, while the paradisiacal afterlife lasts forever; if Adam and Eve were in the otherworldly paradise, thedevil(Shaiṭān) could not have entered and deceive them since there is no evil or idle talk in paradise; Adam slept in his garden, but there is no sleep in paradise.

Many adherences of theMuʿtazila,also refused to identify Adam's abode with paradise, because they argued that paradise and hell would not be created until afterDay of Judgement,an idea proposed byDirar b. Amr.Most Muslim scholars, however, assert that paradise and hell have been created already and coexists with the contemporary world, taking evidence from the Quran,Muhammad's heavenly journey,andthe life in the graves.

Islamic exegesis regardsAdam and Eve's expulsion from paradisenot as punishment for disobedience or a result from abused free will on their part,but as part ofGod's wisdom(ḥikma) and plan for humanity to experience the full range of his attributes, his love, forgiveness, and his creation's power.By experiencing hardship, they better appreciate paradise and its delights.Khwaja Abdullah Ansari(1006–1088) describes Adam and Eve's expulsion as ultimately caused by God,since man has no choice but to comply to God's will. However, that does not mean that complying is not a "sin" and that humans should not blame themselves for it.That is exemplified by Adam and Eve in the Quran (Qu'ran 7:23 "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be losers".)

Comparison with other religions

Comparison with Judaism

Jannah shares the name "Garden of the Righteous" with the Jewish concept ofparadise.In addition, paradise in Judaism is described as a garden, much like theGarden of Eden,in which people live and walk and dance, wear garments of light and eat the fruit of thetree of life.Like the feast of Jannah,Jewish eschatologydescribes theMessiahholding aSeudat nissuin,called theSeudat Chiyat HaMatim,with the righteous of every nation at theend time.

Comparison with Christianity

Jesusin theGospelsuses various images for heaven that are similarly found in Jannah: feast, mansion, throne, and paradise.In Jannah, humans stay as humans, but theBook of Revelationdescribes that in heaven Christ "will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:21). God (Allah) does not reside in paradise or heaven. However, in Christianity, the new heavens and the new earth will be where God dwells with humans.

See also

• Elysium
• Garden of Eden
• Islamic eschatology
• Isra and Mi'raj
• Rawdah ash-Sharifah

References

Bibliography

• Lange, Christian (2016).Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions.Cambridge United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-50637-3.
• Rustomji, Nerina (2009).The Garden and the Fire: Heaven and Hell in Islamic Culture.Columbia University Press.ISBN9780231140850.Retrieved25 December2014.
• Smith, Jane I.; Haddad, Yvonne Y. (1981).The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection.Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
• Thomassen, Einar (2009). "Islamic Hell".Numen.56(2–3): 401–416.doi:10.1163/156852709X405062.JSTOR27793798.