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But the verdict of damnation is not delivered upon the members of the other revealed religions. They belong to the greater community of believers and have their share of eternal life. This is why the name "Muslim" in the 'Qur'an' does not apply solely to the followers of Muhammad and his revelation but in general to those who were devoted believers in one of God's revealed religions. Islam never claimed to be the unique source of salvation for man. It only claims to be God's last and most perfect revelation to mankind. (166:1) The "joys of heaven", those (apparently) grossly sensual descriptions given in the 'Qur'an' about heaven, are looked upon with suspicion by Christian believers. In Islam, heaven is the garden of Eden where the servants of the Almighty shall hear no vain discourse "but only 'Peace'", where "their food shall be given them at morn and even" where they will dwell in the company of the prophets, the righteous, the martyrs and the pious, the garden "neath which rivers flow", where the believers are well protected, "therein no weariness shall reach them, nor forth from it shall they be cast for ever", the garden wherein they shall "have wives of perfect purity". It is obviously the dark-eyed heavenly companions, the "houris", who arouse the suspicions of the Christians about the joys of heaven promised in the 'Qur'an'. But the 'Qur'an' does not promise a dissolute life after death, for the black-eyed beauties are virgins and behave in a chaste manner. In many passages the 'Qur'an' enjoins believers of both sexes to obey the law of chastity and exhorts them to shun and incontinent life. Of course in some ways the joys of heaven appear to be sensual. But they are all allegories by which Muhammad seeks to familiarize his people-- inhabitants of the desert!-- with the concept of paradise. In contrast to the Jews, Greeks and Romans, the people addressed by Muhammad were uncivilized, barbaric and unaware of spiritual truth. How could he make these people understand the believer's life in "heaven" other than through symbols which reflected their ideals: meadows, streams, springs and the like? Muhammad himself calls this sensual description of heaven and hell an allegory: "A picture of the Paradise which is promised to the God-fearing! Sufism is an example of the heights later reached by Islamic mystics in their understanding of God. They, too, have expressed the metaphysical, spiritual realities by means of sensual allegories; for instance, the famous lovers Layli and Majnun were symbols of the mystic journey and the search for truth.
(166:2)
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