LETTER 100: HEAVEN

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin, when the sorrows and evils of this abode have been experienced, you should know that there is another abode that is just the opposite of this one. Consider its blessings and pleasures! It is inevitable that the further a person is from either of these two, the closer he is to the other. Arouse both fear and hope within your heart! You should be greatly afraid at the thought of hell, but full of hope at the thought of the blessings of heaven! Your fear will enable you to attain an exalted status, while your hope will enable you to escape the divine torments! Whoever is afraid of standing before his Lord has two gardens destined for him (Q55:46). (Some traditions about heaven are then quoted.)

When a person arrives at one of the doors of paradise, he will find two trees nearby. Beneath the trunks of these two trees, two springs appear and flow through the garden. He chooses one of these, according to what has been ordained for him, and drinks from it. Whatever fear or grief is within him is removed. He then goes to the second stream and bathes in it. His face will shine with the freshness of the divine blessings. Even his hair will no longer be capable of being polluted. No darkness at all can cloud his face-it will appear to be shining with oil. He has reached paradise and is greeted with, Peace be to you, for you remained pure in the world! Enter herein for all eternity! (Q39:73). He will see himself surrounded by servants just as a nobleman in this world is surrounded by his. They will be waiting for him as he returns from his journey. They will say to him: Rejoice, for the Lord God has prepared all sorts of blessings for you!

One of his slaves will go to the damsel of paradise who is destined for him. He will say, I saw so and so using his earthly name-coming this way. She will say, Did you really see him coming He will reply, I saw him, and he is following me. She will rush to the door, beside herself with joy! She will be ready to greet him when he arrives. When he does, he will see that his mansion is built on a huge, precious stone, and that it is constructed of, emeralds, rubies, and yellow-colored gems. He will lift up his eyes to the roof and there he will see a dazzling light like lightning. If God Almighty did not give him a special strength, he would certainly lose his sight. He will look hither and thither and see his wives. Everywhere he will see glasses and pitchers. He will see couches and pillows aligned together, and a carpet spread on each floor. Then, seated on a large cushion, he will say: Praise and thanks be to the bountiful Lord who showed me the way to this place! If He had not guided me, where else could I have found guidance? Then a herald will come and proclaim, Live forever! You will never die! Stay here, for you will never have to leave! Remain healthy, for you will never fall sick!

Look carefully at the windows of heaven, noticing the different heights of each. Just as there is a clearly recognizable difference be tween the devotion and behavior of men, so also in heaven there will be differences in their reward. Hence, if you want to secure a high rank in heaven, you should not allow yourself to be outdone in worship of God. If your friends and neighbors get a bigger reward, or a more splendid mansion than you do, you will experience a certain heaviness of spirit, and your life will be rendered miserable. It will be much better for you if you fix your attention on heaven now, and not allow yourself to be outdone in the worship of God. Yes, fix your eyes on heaven, but do not allow yourself to feel secure about it, lest any group take precedence over you, for there is absolutely no comparison between the blessings that will be experienced tomorrow and those of this world! [Many traditions about the joys and delights

of paradise are then quoted.] A man asked the Prophet: O Apostle of God, will there also be horses in paradise, because I have a great love for horses? He replied:

If you like horses, you will be given a magnificent stallion to bear you swiftly wherever you wish to go in heaven! Another asked him if there would be camels in heaven, for he was fond of them. The reply came: O slave of God, if you go to heaven, you will find there whatever you want, as well as whatever pleases you He also said that men will have children in heaven. Whenever they want a child, then in the twinkling of an eye the child will be born and, after but one hour, he will grow up into a young man. Also, if somebody wants to talk to another, his carpet will bear him instantaneously to wherever his friend is. They will discuss various events that occurred upon earth. (More traditions follow.)

O brother, what you have heard is fitting for you and me, for it describes our capacity. But what is this all about? It reminds us that, God willing, we should never be without hope! Now we come to what is the Desire of the righteous and the Object of the souls of the prophets and the saints. There is more in store for those who have done well. This is the vision of God himself! It is such a source of de light that all the pleasures of paradise are completely forgotten there- in! Jarir Abdullah said: I was once in attendance upon the Prophet when a full moon was shining He said: Undoubtedly, you will see your Lord without any veil, just as you see this moon!

It is related that when those destined for both paradise and hell have gone there, a herald will cry out: O people of paradise, did God Almighty promise you anything? They will reply: Lord, didn't You create our faces white? He will say: That promise still remains. They will say: O God, didn't You save us from hell and grant us paradise He will say: That promise still remains. They will say: Didn't You give us, in our right hands, the record of our good actions? He will say Something still remains the vision of My very Self Then all veils will be removed, and those people will behold their Lord'

You should realize, however, that in orthodox Islam the vision of God is not a recompense for good deeds. No, it is due, purely and simply, to the Grace of God! (More traditions follow.)

One Tradition says: Come, I am your Lord Look upon Me! Peace be upon you! You have been purified. Remain here for all eternity!

Those who are especially close to God will remain at all times in His court. In comparison to the pleasures of being close to the Lord Himself, all the blessings of paradise weigh no more than a particle of dust! Khwaja Hasan Basri said: When those destined for paradise arrive there, God Almighty will reveal Himself to them. They will remain in utter astonishment at His glory and beauty for eight hundred thousand years because, when they catch sight of His beauty, they will be overjoyed at What they see and, when they see His glory, they will simply melt away! In other words, they will be beside themselves with joy! No pleasure of eating or drinking, of beautiful maidens or anything else will remain in them, even to the extent of the smallest particle.

It is also related that, when the believers go to heaven, they will hear this command: Desire your great, exalted, and unique Lord! The trouble is that they will not know how to desire Him! They will go to their teachers and tell them. While they were in the world, if they ever had any difficulty, they also used to go to them for a solution. Now we have been commanded to desire. Tell us what exactly we should desire! The scholars will reply: DESIRE THE VISION OF GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF! The Prophet, it has been reported, was once asked about the vision that creatures have of their Lord. He replied: Some will see their Lord once a month, some will see Him once a week; and others will see Him morning and evening, that is to say, day and night.

May all the believers through the protection of the prophets and saints experience the beneficence and kindness of God! May His peace be upon all the prophets and apostles, for there is no power nor strength but in God, the Exalted, the Mighty! [Concluding invocatory prayers.]

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin, when the sorrows and evils of this abode have been experienced, you should know that there is another abode that is just the opposite of this one. Consider its blessings and pleasures! It is inevitable that the further a person is from either of these two, the closer he is to the other. Arouse both fear and hope within your heart! You should be greatly afraid at the thought of hell, but full of hope at the thought of the blessings of heaven! Your fear will enable you to attain an exalted status, while your hope will enable you to escape the divine torments! Whoever is afraid of standing before his Lord has two gardens destined for him (Q55:46). (Some traditions about heaven are then quoted.)

When a person arrives at one of the doors of paradise, he will find two trees nearby. Beneath the trunks of these two trees, two springs appear and flow through the garden. He chooses one of these, according to what has been ordained for him, and drinks from it. Whatever fear or grief is within him is removed. He then goes to the second stream and bathes in it. His face will shine with the freshness of the divine blessings. Even his hair will no longer be capable of being polluted. No darkness at all can cloud his face-it will appear to be shining with oil. He has reached paradise and is greeted with, Peace be to you, for you remained pure in the world! Enter herein for all eternity! (Q39:73). He will see himself surrounded by servants just as a nobleman in this world is surrounded by his. They will be waiting for him as he returns from his journey. They will say to him: Rejoice, for the Lord God has prepared all sorts of blessings for you!

One of his slaves will go to the damsel of paradise who is destined for him. He will say, I saw so and so using his earthly name-coming this way. She will say, Did you really see him coming He will reply, I saw him, and he is following me. She will rush to the door, beside herself with joy! She will be ready to greet him when he arrives. When he does, he will see that his mansion is built on a huge, precious stone, and that it is constructed of, emeralds, rubies, and yellow-colored gems. He will lift up his eyes to the roof and there he will see a dazzling light like lightning. If God Almighty did not give him a special strength, he would certainly lose his sight. He will look hither and thither and see his wives. Everywhere he will see glasses and pitchers. He will see couches and pillows aligned together, and a carpet spread on each floor. Then, seated on a large cushion, he will say: Praise and thanks be to the bountiful Lord who showed me the way to this place! If He had not guided me, where else could I have found guidance? Then a herald will come and proclaim, Live forever! You will never die! Stay here, for you will never have to leave! Remain healthy, for you will never fall sick!

Look carefully at the windows of heaven, noticing the different heights of each. Just as there is a clearly recognizable difference be tween the devotion and behavior of men, so also in heaven there will be differences in their reward. Hence, if you want to secure a high rank in heaven, you should not allow yourself to be outdone in worship of God. If your friends and neighbors get a bigger reward, or a more splendid mansion than you do, you will experience a certain heaviness of spirit, and your life will be rendered miserable. It will be much better for you if you fix your attention on heaven now, and not allow yourself to be outdone in the worship of God. Yes, fix your eyes on heaven, but do not allow yourself to feel secure about it, lest any group take precedence over you, for there is absolutely no comparison between the blessings that will be experienced tomorrow and those of this world! [Many traditions about the joys and delights

of paradise are then quoted.] A man asked the Prophet: O Apostle of God, will there also be horses in paradise, because I have a great love for horses? He replied:

If you like horses, you will be given a magnificent stallion to bear you swiftly wherever you wish to go in heaven! Another asked him if there would be camels in heaven, for he was fond of them. The reply came: O slave of God, if you go to heaven, you will find there whatever you want, as well as whatever pleases you He also said that men will have children in heaven. Whenever they want a child, then in the twinkling of an eye the child will be born and, after but one hour, he will grow up into a young man. Also, if somebody wants to talk to another, his carpet will bear him instantaneously to wherever his friend is. They will discuss various events that occurred upon earth. (More traditions follow.)

O brother, what you have heard is fitting for you and me, for it describes our capacity. But what is this all about? It reminds us that, God willing, we should never be without hope! Now we come to what is the Desire of the righteous and the Object of the souls of the prophets and the saints. There is more in store for those who have done well. This is the vision of God himself! It is such a source of de light that all the pleasures of paradise are completely forgotten there- in! Jarir Abdullah said: I was once in attendance upon the Prophet when a full moon was shining He said: Undoubtedly, you will see your Lord without any veil, just as you see this moon!

It is related that when those destined for both paradise and hell have gone there, a herald will cry out: O people of paradise, did God Almighty promise you anything? They will reply: Lord, didn't You create our faces white? He will say: That promise still remains. They will say: O God, didn't You save us from hell and grant us paradise He will say: That promise still remains. They will say: Didn't You give us, in our right hands, the record of our good actions? He will say Something still remains the vision of My very Self Then all veils will be removed, and those people will behold their Lord'

You should realize, however, that in orthodox Islam the vision of God is not a recompense for good deeds. No, it is due, purely and simply, to the Grace of God! (More traditions follow.)

One Tradition says: Come, I am your Lord Look upon Me! Peace be upon you! You have been purified. Remain here for all eternity!

Those who are especially close to God will remain at all times in His court. In comparison to the pleasures of being close to the Lord Himself, all the blessings of paradise weigh no more than a particle of dust! Khwaja Hasan Basri said: When those destined for paradise arrive there, God Almighty will reveal Himself to them. They will remain in utter astonishment at His glory and beauty for eight hundred thousand years because, when they catch sight of His beauty, they will be overjoyed at What they see and, when they see His glory, they will simply melt away! In other words, they will be beside themselves with joy! No pleasure of eating or drinking, of beautiful maidens or anything else will remain in them, even to the extent of the smallest particle.

It is also related that, when the believers go to heaven, they will hear this command: Desire your great, exalted, and unique Lord! The trouble is that they will not know how to desire Him! They will go to their teachers and tell them. While they were in the world, if they ever had any difficulty, they also used to go to them for a solution. Now we have been commanded to desire. Tell us what exactly we should desire! The scholars will reply: DESIRE THE VISION OF GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF! The Prophet, it has been reported, was once asked about the vision that creatures have of their Lord. He replied: Some will see their Lord once a month, some will see Him once a week; and others will see Him morning and evening, that is to say, day and night.

May all the believers through the protection of the prophets and saints experience the beneficence and kindness of God! May His peace be upon all the prophets and apostles, for there is no power nor strength but in God, the Exalted, the Mighty! [Concluding invocatory prayers.]