Paradise and Hell

Paradise and Hell

What is our (Ismaili) concept pertaining to heaven and hell as described in the holy Qur’an?

Whatever is said in the holy Qur’an regarding paradise and hell is true, but we are more and more satisfied with wisdom and ta’wil. Thus [according to ta’wil] paradise exists as the inner aspect (batin) of the universe and the existents. That is, according to the Qur’an, it is in the length and width of the heavens and the earth (3:133; 57:21) and where according to verse (50:35). “There they have all that they desire, and there is more with us”. That is, in paradise there are all those bounties which men desire and also those for which desire has yet not been created in them, such as the desire for Divine vision (didar-I ilahi), union with the origin, (asl mei wasil hona), eternal kingdom (azali wa abadi saltanat) etc.

Since the bounties of paradise are based on desire, let us see how many kinds of desire we have, if we have true love, it is highest element of our existence and thus we can say that there are: desires of true love ( Ishq-I haqiqi), desires of intellect (aql), desires of spirit (ruh) and desires of the carnal soul (nafs). Thus, there are four kinds of desires upon which the bounties of paradise are based and their classification shows that the highest comes in the form of Divine vision, then in the form of intellect and knowledge, then in the form of spiritual pleasures, and the last are in the form of carnal soul, which again are not in dense form but in subtle form. This paradise is internal (batini) and spiritual, and therefore, a mu’min can enter it not only after death, but he can also observe it partially in this life. Thus, it is a fact that those mu’mins who have progressed to the higher stages of spirituality through the special bandage can [partially] see paradise with the eye of the heart, and when they sever their relationship with this world they will continue to observe it completely.

According to verse (29:64) of the Qur’an. The home of hereafter is living, and it is obvious the living are human beings and animals. This shows that the palaces of paradise, which have intellect and soul are the Prophet, the Imam and the true mu’mins, within whom can be seen the above mentioned paradise of spirituality if their batin (inner aspect) is observed in the illumination of divine light. Contrary to this, the narrow houses of hell are animals and also those people who according to the decision of the Qur’anic verse (7:179): “These are as the cattle – nay, but they are worse” have been included among animals.

Here, it would not be out of place, if I mention some of my spiritual observations and experiences. When I was in china and was undergoing the full course of spirituality. I saw a dog in front of the gate of my house.

The dog was passing by slowly and there were innumerable mean souls attached to it. They were additional to its’ won soul. When I was observing this state in front of me, my physical eye and spiritual eye had become one. Another time, I observed a similar thing in a cat, form which souls were coming out on extremely minute particles and again entering it, as if they were trying to escape from the narrow house of hell unsuccessfully, but a Divine power was bringing them back into it.

When I was in prison the last time, I was with the heart’s eye that there were some horses in a stable near or far from the prison and I observed similarly the ingress and egress of countless souls, although I was in the enclosure of the prison and there was no way for me to observe physically other than what was in front of me.

It should be noted that there are two kinds of souls in human beings and animals. One kind is of their own, which keep them alive and the other, those which use these human beings and animals as their temporary or permanent houses. Thus, when a righteous person performs spiritual exercises through knowledge and good deeds in accordance with the pleasure of God, the Prophet and the ulu ’l-amr, as a result his own soul improves and also good souls come into him and he can see those souls. This is his spirituality, in which there is not only the macrifat of God, but also the observation of paradise and hell.

A Humble Servant, 

The Author. Allama Nasir Uddin Hunzai

August 05. 1978