The Light Shineth in Darkness by -Udo Schaefer- 2 Para

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)

Revelation is indeed dependent upon the conditions prevalent in the period of history in which it appears. Revealed truths are clothed in a mantle suitable to the period concerned. This fact is duly stressed by modern Christian theologians. In Christianity, too, the modern concept which regards heaven and hell as spiritual states was the result of a development approaching our modern understanding of life. As long as heaven and hell were considered to be places-- that is until very recently-- statements concerning them often included traits of primitive mythology. And while the torments of the sinner were painted in vivid colours, allusions made to the spiritual joys bestowed upon the dweller of Paradise were less abundant. A special joy for the saved-- and this could be taken as an objection against the Christian concept of the celestial joys-- is to observe the torments and misery of the damned, heaven's "greatest attraction", as Karl Heinz Deschner sarcastically observes. Tertullian, Cyprian and Lactantius depicted these "joys" in glowing colours and Thomas Aquinas taught: "In order that they better appreciate salvation and that they be more thankful to God for it, the saved ones may watch the punishments suffered by the damned ones." In comparison, the heaven described by the 'Qur'an' can easily by accepted. (167:1)

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