On The Threshold of Paradise
Today man stands on the threshold of Paradise. The present transitional period is a condition which may be called Paradise-in-the-making.
Paradise is the final period of the journey of civilization. Such a world, by the law of nature, will definitely come into existence in due course. Therein, all types of limitations and disadvantages will be brought to an end: there will be no fear or grief, nor will there be any noise or pain. All those potentialities which have been apparent to man from the very first day will be fulfilled in the world of Paradise.
Moreover, the human personality will also attain new heights of development. This for man will be the culmination point: he will become the perfect man. He will find an eternal life in which old age, accidents, disease and death are absent. This will be the ideal world where man will be in a position to utilize the full potential of his personality, thus experiencing complete fulfillment.
Paradise is the final period of the journey of civilization. Today man stands on the threshold of Paradise. The present transitional period can be called, ‘Paradise-in-the-making’.
Paradise will be the culminating point of the evolutionary process in human civilization. Paradise will be the dawning of the perfect and ideal world of which man has always dreamt. On reaching Paradise, man will be eternally free from all sorrows and hardships. Paradise will be the ideal realm of joy, peace and eternal happiness.
It should be borne in mind though that Paradise is not a place of stagnation. In Paradise, man will make new discoveries all the time and this series of discoveries will be unending. For this reason there will be no boredom in Paradise, because boredom prevails only where new discoveries do not take place. To man, fresh experience is the greatest source of happiness, and in Paradise, the doors of unlimited truth continue to open every single day. The pure bliss of Paradise will, therefore, not be fleeting in nature but truly eternal.
The making of Paradise is just as possible as the making of the earth and the development of different civilizations on earth. In the ancient Stone Age, there lay hidden a developed agricultural period, which emerged in due course. Similarly, in the agricultural period, the far more developed industrial period was hidden, and it also emerged at the proper time. We can, by the same token, say that there lies hidden in this industrial period a far more developed and refined spiritual period, which will appear in time for all to see. The emergence of this spiritual, or heavenly period is in practical terms as much of a possibility as that of previous periods of history.
In the industrial period, the earth has once again been beautified. Its construction has been meticulously planned. Developments in science and technology have made the earth, a far better place to live in. Similarly, with the dawn of the final period, the spiritual age, the earth will be further improved and it will then become an ideal world. There are a number of verses in the Quran giving clear indications of this. For instance, verse three of the 84th Chapter speaks of the earth expanding, while another verse says: “Praise be to God who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of this land, letting us settle in the Garden wherever we want.” (The Quran, 39:74) Verse 21 of the 57th chapter describes Paradise as being “as vast as heaven and earth, which has been made ready for those who believe in God and His messengers.”
According to the Islamic tradition, the earth in its beginning was in the charge of the Jinns. Then it was handed over to human beings. Later, a period will ensue when the earth will be completely under the domination of the Angels. At that time tremendous changes will be made to the earth which, in the fullest sense of the expression, will be an ideal and perfect world. This evolutionary period of earth has been referred to thus in the Quran:
“The earth will shine with the light of its Lord.” (The Quran, 39:69)
Today our world is potentially a paradise. Tomorrow this potential will become a reality and then the earth will become a place of eternal happiness and joy.
Today our world is potentially a paradise. Tomorrow this potential will become a reality and the earth will become a place of eternal happiness and joy.
Events have shown that the present state of the earth is not an ideal one, even although on the earth there exists nature’s life support system in its perfect form. On the earth, this system may be at its best, but there is one thing in all this which is far from ideal. Here, good and bad people exist alongside each other. The presence everywhere of seriously flawed individuals is the source of all kinds of evil. But when the final phase of civilization approaches, all the bad people will be separated from the good. They will be deprived of all the resources of the earth, and the earth will be entrusted solely to the good people. This is the truth which has been mentioned in the following verse: “And indeed We have written in Psalms (Az-Zabur) that My righteous slaves shall inherit the land.”(i.e. the land of Paradise) (The Quran, 21: 105). This statement made in the Quran is recorded in detail in the Book of Psalms in the Bible: “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever.” (Psalms, 37:29).
Studies show that in this vast universe our earth is a rare exception. In the vastness of space, there are huge stars in such multitudes that they outnumber the grains of sand on the sea-shore. But many of these stars are only balls of fire. It is a known fact that these stars have remained in the same condition for the last 13 billion years. In this apparently stagnant universe, only our earth is constantly changing and renewing itself. In an exceptional way, an evolutionary process is at work, for the earth continues to witness one stage after another. Ten billion years ago, the earth was just a fireball. But then it cooled down to become a temperate planet. Subsequently there was a phase of heavy rains which led to the growth of vegetation. Then came the animals. Lastly the humans appeared. After the appearance of human beings, the process of civilization set in on the earth. In the first phase man was only able to build a primitive world. But later, he became more and more successful at constructing a highly developed world. This human success goes hand in hand with a continuous evolutionary process. And it is but natural to believe that one more stage is in the offing—that of a perfect world.
Paradise is the final stage of this evolutionary process, the perfect world where all types of limitations will come to an end. It is the eternal world man has been searching for, for thousands of years, in response to his natural urges.
Paradise is not something mysterious: it is the final stage of the known evolutionary process. So far as animals are concerned, organic evolution is a baseless assumption. But the periodic evolution of the non-living world is a generally accepted fact. According to this natural law, the advent of Paradise is entirely understandable. Studies show that, approximately 10 billion years ago, our earth was a ball of fire, before it became the cool planet on which we live today. Then when man first came to inhabit the earth, there was a period of what we would now call under-development. After this came another evolutionary phase in the wake of the industrial revolution—a period of development.
Now according to the evolutionary law itself, the earth is heading towards a superior stage. This will be the last evolutionary stage of the earth which we can call the perfect world. In this ideal world, all types of limitations will come to an end. By Divine arrangement, justice will prevail in its most perfect form. The wicked will be removed from the earth and only the virtuous will gain entry into this ideal world, where there will be no pollution of any sort. Calamities will cease to occur and all disadvantages such as disease, accidents, old age and death will be eradicated forever.
In the present world, all tasks are performed by hard work: indeed, hardship and success are inseparable. Such a state of affairs will no longer prevail in paradise for such refined changes will take place that each activity will be an enjoyable one. As it is said in the Quran: “Truly, the dwellers of Paradise that day (the Day of Resurrection) will be busy in joyful activities.” (The Quran, 36: 55)
In Paradise, there will be no need for special arrangements for human diversion, for, there all activities will be a source of entertainment and enjoyment.
The world man has been searching for thousands of years, in response to his natural urges, will find it in a state of perfection. He will find a life of joy, peace and happiness forever in this world. There will be no necessity for physical labour; pleasant intellectual activities will suffice for the achievement of all desired goals.
Man has been seeking a Paradise on earth for thousands of years, in response to his natural urges. With the coming of the industrial revolution and the age of consumerism, man actually thought that he could build a Paradise on earth, that the industrial age would culminate into the perfect world—Paradise—that he longs for. The superficiality of the notion that man could make a Paradise on Earth was savagely dashed with the coming of pollution, acid rain and global warming. And now the Covid-19 pandemic has made man realize to the last extent that he cannot build a Paradise on earth.
Today we have realized to the last extent that the Paradise on earth that man has been seeking for thousands of years in response to his urges, cannot be built on earth. It will be found in a state of perfection in the world hereafter.
Paradise will only be found in a state of perfection in the world hereafter. There man will find a life of joy, peace and happiness forever in this world. There will be no necessity for physical labour; pleasant intellectual activities will suffice for the achievement of all desired goals. Man must realize that he stands on the threshold of Paradise. The present earth is a Paradise-in-the-making, not Paradise. The question is how can man achieve the Paradise of his dreams? To find an answer to this question one must become aware of the Creation Plan of God.
