8 Jannah: The Garden from the Qur'an and Hadith - The Abundant Wealth of the Garden

In non-religious societies, wealth has always been the symbol of power
and respect and it has been among the major goals that people strive
for throughout their lives. One of the reasons for this is that people
without faith believe that they will only be truly happy if they are
wealthy. They think that they can only secure their possessions and
achieve comfort, ease and the beautiful things they like in this way.
For this reason, they spend their whole lives amassing property and
possessions, saving money and making the right investments. They worry
that their possessions will be used up and so they do not make use of
them, they avoid spending money at all costs and do everything they
can to preserve their wealth.
But in the life of this world, a person's wealthwill not bring him the
pleasure he expects no matter how hard he works for it. It may give
him comfort in some ways, but in this flawed and imperfect world
wealth is also flawed and imperfect. The Arabic word dunya (world) is
derived from the word dani which means "low, inferior, simple,
worthless."
A reason why Allah created the world flawed, and as a transitory place
is to allow people to appreciate better the good things of the Garden.
For example, if aperson who has lived in poverty since childhood is
invited to a home withmagnificent furniture and priceless works of
art, decorated with precious stones, and is offered rare foods to eat,
he would be struck by the beauty of the place. Doubtless, this
person's delight would be much greater than that of someone who has
lived in such an environment since childhood. Our position in this
world is similar tothat of a person broughtup in poverty and want. But
even the world's wealthiest person is poor in comparison to the riches
of the Garden.And, in this world, a person can never attain this true
wealth. Even the richest person in the world will finally be wrapped
in a few metres of cloth or put into a coffin and buried in the
ground, leaving all his wealth behind. Allah tells us in the Qur'an
that the blessingsof the world are transitory:
"They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They
will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold..." (Surat
al-Kahf: 31)
The metaphor of the life of the world is that of water which We send
down from the sky, and which then mingles withthe plants of the earth
toprovide food for both people and animals. Then, when the earth is at
its loveliest and takes on its fairest guise and its people think they
have it under their control, Our command comes upon it by night or day
and We reduce it to dried-out stubble, as though it had not been
flourishing just the day before! In this way We make Our Signs clear
for people who reflect. (Surah Yunus: 24)
The wealth of the Garden, unlike the wealth of this world, is an
everlasting wealth that people will experience in their hearts and
with their bodies and senses, without worrying that it will ever come
to an end. This verse in the Qur'an tells us about the beautiful
wealth of the Garden: "Seeing them, you see delight and a great
kingdom." (Surat al-Insan: 20)
The wealth of the Garden is a harmony containing the artistry
ofAllah's endless bounty and dazzling splendour. All of this beauty is
presented in such a way as to fulfil the believers' passions and
desires, because it is only when wealth is turned into beauty in this
way that itcan give meaning to the human spirit.
In the following pages several hadith are included illustrating how
beautiful it is to dwell in the Garden and we will describe its wealth
at the same time.The beauty of these places, apart from their
aesthetic qualities, comes from the value of the materials used to
decorate them. In a hadith, our Prophet replied to someone who asked
about what materials the Garden is built from:
One brick of gold andone brick of silver, its mortar is of strongly
scented musk, its stones are pearls and emeralds,and its soil is of
saffron… (Narrated by Abu Hurayra, at-Tirmidhi)
The wealth promised to the people of the Gardenis limitless; it is in
abundance, and there is no worry that it will everbe used up.

7. Jannah: The Garden from the Qur'an and Hadith - Allah will reward them for what they say with Gardens withrivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever. That is the recompense of the good-doer. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 85)

When considering the blessings that Allah will grant in the Garden, it
must not be forgotten that the human mind is very limited. For this
reason, people really cannot imagine the abundance, variety and
incomparable beauty of the blessings promised. Any description of the
blessings of the Garden, if it is to be enlighteningfor people, must
be done by way of comparison with the beautiful things of this world.
But the blessings of the Garden will be absolute in their perfection.
In His infiniteintelligence, Allah has created the Garden as a
magnificent place free from all imperfection.
The following example illustrates the limitationsof human thought. If
a human being had been created with the senses of taste, smell,
hearing and touch but without the sense of sight, he would never have
been able to conceive of visual beauty no matter how much it was
described to him. He would never be able to understand when people
spoke to him of colour, daylight, proportion, symmetry orvisual
splendours. By thesame token, there may be other senses that we know
nothing about at present, but which Allah will create in the Gardento
give us a totally new outlook. Therefore, in this world where we
arelimited to five senses, wecannot imagine what kind of blessings
there may be that may be beyond our ability to conceive. With our
limitations of sight, thought and imagination, we are like people in a
windowless house who never come out. Such people are unaware of the
beautiful things outside the house – mountains, rivers, trees,
beautiful flowers, animals, clear skies, bright sun-lit days – and so
cannot be aware that they live deprived of many blessings. In
addition, the comparison we make is based on the good things of this
world. The blessings of this world are extremely lacking when compared
with the blessings of the Garden and a person of faith must avoid the
error of interpreting even the limited things he knows about the
Garden from a narrow viewpoint. Apart from the things our Lord has
revealed about the Garden, a person has no idea of what surprises have
been prepared for the people of the Garden. Here is one of the verses
of the Qur'an that tells us about this: "They will have there
everything they want and with Us there is still more." (Surah Qaf:
35)
It is said that our Prophet described the blessings of the Garden in
these words:
Isn't there anybody hastening to the Garden? Because in the Garden
there are unimaginable blessings. (Mukhtasar at-Tadhkirah,
al-Qurtubi, pp. 306-307/499)

Al-Imam Al-A'zam, Abu Hanifa (r.a.) (699-767)

Al-Imam Al-Azam Abu Hanifa (ra), one of the most prominent figures
of the Islamic world, was a foresighted and highly insightful
scholar. His sound personality and profound fear of Allah were
greatly instrumental in his being embraced by the Islamic world.
Abu Hanifa (ra) was a very intelligent sharia scholar who always
kept his mind on the remembrance of Allah , meticulously observed
Allah's bounds, avoided vain and unbeneficial talk, and concisely
responded to questions. He attached great importance to what was
entrusted to him. He was a person who kept his lower-self under
control in all circumstances. He was a person of great compassion.
The objections and unbecoming words he faced throughout his life
never daunted him from his services rendered for the cause of Allah.
He possessed a pure wisdom that Allah granted him. He never
experience any breakdown in his line of thought and never ran
behind in responding. If anyone acted stubbornly or raised
difficulties, he tried to teach him the morality of Islam in the
most calm and gracious manner.
Imam Hanifa devoted a great part of his life to knowledge. Among his
principles were trusting in what was reliable, avoiding the
unreliable, tending towards the one that did not stir up trouble
among people and ensuring that no complications arose .
The method employed by Al-Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) in assessing issues
was based on the following seven principles:
Book: The pillar of the Religion and the strong rope of Almighty Allah.
Sunnah: Explanation of Allah's Book that provided details regarding
the general provisions.
The Accounts: The accounts of the Companions who transmitted the
"risalat" and personally witnessed the revelations.
Comparison: A method resorted to by sharia scholars in the absence
of evidence about an issue in the Qur'an, the Sunnah of our Prophet
(saas) or a statement of a Companion.
Istihsan: The particular judgment of a Sharia scholar that makes it
necessary for him to abandon previous judgments he made for similar
issues relying on an evidence such as a nass (injunction), ijma, a
state of necessity, concealed qiyas or recommendations.
İjma: The consensus of sharia scholars on any issue in any age. All
scholars agreed that ijma is an "evidence".
Tradition: The practices of Muslims about any issue in which no
nass (injuction) exists in the Qur'an, Sunnah and the practices of
the Companions.
Al-Imam Al-A'zam, Abu Hanifa
AL-IMAM AL-AZAM ABU HANIFA, THE IMAM OF OUR SCHOOL, STATED THAT THE
DESCENT OF THE PROPHET JESUS (AS) AND THE APPEARANCE OF HAZRAT
MAHDI (AS) ARE THE "ISSUES THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO DENY"
Fiqh al-Akbar and the Wasiyyat , the two risalets of Abu Hanifa, are
the most precious and earliest texts on Islamic creed. The Fiqh
al-Akbar of Abu Hanifa is the fundamental book of Ahl al-Sunnah. In
this work, Imam Azam Abu Hanifa relates that the descent of the
Prophet Jesus (as) and the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) as the
"issues that are impossible to deny":
The appearance of the dajjal (anti-Christ) and the Gog, the sunrise
from the West, the descent of Prophet Jesus (as) from the sky and
other portents of the Day of Judgment informed by trustworthy
hadiths are right and they will happen. There are also other great
portents of the Day of Judgment, like the coming of Hazrat Mahdi
(as). All these happenings are correct , as brought and related by
trustworthy hadiths. and they will accordingly happen. (Translation
of Fiqh al-Akbar, Al-Imam Al-Azam Abu Hanifa, Prepared by Ali Riza
Kasheli, p.99)
The appearance of dajjal (anti-Christ) and the Gog, the sunrise from
the West, the descent of Prophet Jesus (as) from the sky and other
portents of the Day of Judgment are right, as the trustworthy
accounts relate us, and they will happen. (Abu Hanifa, Nu'man ibn
Sabid (150/767), Fiqh al-Akbar , Translated by: H. Basri Chantay,
Ankara, 1982)
When the Day of Judgment will come, Prophet Jesus (as) will descend
on Earth and thus all nations will come to become a single nation as
an Islamic nation. Before the advent of Prophet Jesus (as), Hazrat
Mahdi (as) will appear in the realms of Mecca and Medina and then
arrive to Jerusalem. Then dajjal will come and remain with him.
Prophet Jesus (as), on the other hand, will come down from the East
Minaret in Damascus to render the dajjal ineffective and there he
will make him ineffective by a blow. When Prophet Jesus (as)
descends, dajjal will dissolve and disappear as if salt dissolves in
water. Then Prophet Jesus (as) will meet Hazrat Mahdi (as).
Meanwhile they will pray together. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will point to
Prophet Jesus (as) to lead the prayer, but Prophet Jesus (as) will
offer his excuse telling that this prayer is fulfilled for him and
thus he deserves more to lead the prayer. Prophet Jesus (as) will
follow Hazrat Mahdi (as) to reveal that he complies with the sharia
of our Prophet (saas) and thus they will fulfill their prayers
together. (Imam al- Azam, Fiqh al-Akbar, Aliy al-Qari
Interpretation, Translated by: Yunus Vehbi Yavuz, Additional 3rd
edition, Cagri Publishing, p. 284)

Behold! verily to Allah belong all creatures, inthe heavens and on earth. What do they follow who worship asHis "partners" other than Allah? They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but lie. (Qur'an, 10:66)

Behold! verily to Allah belong all creatures, inthe heavens and on
earth. What do they follow who worship asHis "partners" other than
Allah? They follow nothing but conjecture, and they do nothing but
lie.
(Qur'an, 10:66)
-
ifferent concepts may come to mind when the theory of evolution is
mentioned. Some people, mainly materialists who think that it is a
scientifically proven fact, fiercely support it and, equally fiercely,
reject all ideas opposed to it.
A second group consists of people who are not well-informed about the
theory of evolution's claims. They are not particularly interested in
it, since they do not realize the harm that Darwinism has done to
humanity over the last century and a half. They see no problem with
how it is imposed on people and fiercely defended, despite its
scientific invalidity, for they have closed their eyes to what is
going on.
Even if they know that this theory has lost all scientific
credibility, they cannot take seriously those who still find it
important, because they themselves do not consider it important. They
consider it unnecessary to explain the theory's invalidity or to
publish books and hold conferences on the subject, for in their eyes
the theory is already "oldhat" or passé.
A third group consists of those who, under the influence of
materialist suggestion and propaganda, view this theory as scientific
fact and look for a "middle way" between it and belief in God. They
acceptDarwinism's account of the origin of life word for word, yet try
to build a bridge between the theory of evolution and religious belief
by maintaining that this account operates under God's control.
In reality, each of these views is mistaken, for thetheory of
evolution cannot reasonably be portrayed as scientific fact, passed
off as unimportant, or adapted to religion. As we shall see throughout
this site, the theory's ideological framework consists of
anti-religious thought put forward to strengthen atheism and to give
it a firm foundation. Moreover, it is fiercely defended by people who
have been persuaded by materialism, for it is constructed on
materialist philosophy and offers a materialist commentary on the
world. From the time it was first put forward by Charles Darwin and
right up to the present day, it has brought humanity nothing but
conflict, exploitation, war, and degeneration. Given this,it is
essential that we acquire a sound understanding of the subject and
launch a serious fight against it onthe ideological level.
This site replies from a very different perspective to the errors of
those believers who still support the theory ofevolution. It offers a
response to those Muslims who look for common ground between the
theory of evolution and the fact of creation, and who even try to find
evidence for the theory in the Qur'an. The purpose is not to criticize
Muslim evolutionists, but rather to explain that their attitude is
mistaken, to assist them on the level of ideas, and to be a means
whereby they can adopt a more correct perspective.
Two other facts will be discussed in this site: First, that Darwinism
is a theory that lacks any scientific foundation, and second, that its
real target is religion. Therefore, it will emphasize how wrong it is
for Muslims to take the theory lightly or to underestimate it, and to
see no need to wage an intellectual struggle against it.
Believers should avoid defending this theory and its ideological
meaning, for both contradict the truths of Islam. Some may support the
theory because they are unaware of the disasters that it has visited
upon humanity, that it is supported by people who hate religion, and
that it rejects the fact of creation. That being the case, those
Muslims who have only a little information on the subject should avoid
going down that road, for as Allah tells the faithful in the Qur'an:
Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of. Hearing, sight and
heartswill all be questioned. (Qur'an, 17: 36)
Exemplary Muslims should research the matter in all sincerity
andbehave according to the realization that:
... Those who have become Muslim are thosewho sought right guidance.
(Qur'an, 72: 14)
As the above verse commands, Muslims who believe in the theory of
evolution must consider this theory carefully, carry out wide-ranging
research, and make their decision according to their consciences. This
site has been prepared tohelp them do so and to shed some light upon
thepath that they are following.
The men and women of the believers are friends of one another. They
command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish prayer
and pay welfare and charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. They
are the people on whom Allah will have mercy. Allah is Almighty, All -
Wise. (Qur'an, 9: 71)