What Is Paradise?

For one to be deserving of Paradise, one must discover the glory of God in the present world and acknowledge it from deep within his heart. Glorifying God means discovering God through thinking and reflection, as the Lord of the Universe, while He is unseen. This discovery must be intellectually so profound that it should bring about a revolutionary change in his personality. In this way, he becomes a Rabbani (divine) person. (The Quran, 3:79) The society of Paradise will be a collection of the best individuals from the whole of human history. Every member of this society will possess the fine qualities of positive thinking, peaceful behaviour, sublime character, truthfulness, sincerity and amiable personality, an idealist in thought and a perfectionist in behaviour. Those who have developed this kind of personality are competent members of such a society in the present world. Only those persons will find entry into Paradise who have qualified themselves in the present world, as mentioned in the Quran, thus: “[In the Hereafter] man shall have only that for which he strives.” (The Quran, 53:39) Paradise is not anyone’s birth right, nor will one receive entry into it through recommendation or