Two Groups of People of Paradise
Higher level of Paradise is for those who realized Truth at the level of mere arguments, while its lower level is for people who accepted Truth when it gained ascendency.
We learn from chapter 56 of the Quran that there will be two big groups of people of Paradise, one to the fore (Assabeqoon), others on the right. Royal rewards await the first group, while rewards of a general nature (56:8-40) are reserved for the second group. What would form the basis of this difference between the people of the first category and those of the second category? The Quran tells us that the reason for this lies in the difference between the people who accepted the truth before the victory (conquest of Makkah) and those who accepted it after the victory (57:10)
Those who accepted the truth before the time of the victory and extended their full support to it would be placed in a high level in Paradise. And those who accepted and supported the truth after the period of victory, would find a place on the right. This relates not only to the Prophet’s time, but also to the nature of belief.
When the truth dawns in its initial stages, it is in abstract form. Its position can be likened to an ideological reality supported only by the power of arguments. In later times when the call of truth reaches the stage of victory and dominance, then the position of truth is no longer just a matter of ideology. Now everyone can see truth with one’s own eyes as a solid reality.
In the first stage, truth needed to be recognized in the form of argument (dalil), consisting of mere words. In the second stage, there are clear events in favour of the importance of truth. In the first stage, truth has to be recognized by argument in words, but in the second stage there are clear physical events which suffice for one to understand and accept the importance of truth. In the first stage, the acceptance of truth reduced the person to a stranger in one’s own society. In the second stage association with the victorious brings laurels, honour and popularity. The former is only a loser, while the latter is the gainer. The former found a place only in the foundation while the latter found a place on the heights of the structure. It is this difference in realization that is responsible for the first degree of reward for the former group while the second degree of reward will be earned by the latter group.
