TYPES OF THE PEOPLE OF PARADISE

TYPES OF THE PEOPLE OF PARADISE Importance of God-realization T HESE words are mentioned in chapter Iron (Al-Hadid) of the Quran while describing Paradise: Vie with one another for your Lord’s forgiveness and for a Paradise as vast as heaven and earth. (57: 21) In another verse, these words are mentioned in the language of the people of Paradise: And they will say, ‘Praise be to God who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of this land.’ (39: 74) This statement of the Quran suggests that Paradise will be a world that is open to all. A person in Paradise will be able to make his abode in this vast world wherever he wants. Everyone will have equal freedom in terms of choosing their residence or habitat. Other Quranic verses and a number of Hadith reports prove that there will be a difference in rank in Paradise. Some people in Paradise will have a higher rank in Paradise than others. For example, according to the Quran, some of them will be those who excelled in good deeds, and some will be those who kept half way between right and wrong (35: 32). The question now is what would be the basis of this difference? Pondering over it, we understand that the basis of this difference will be the capacity of a person to enjoy the blessings of Paradise. Paradise will probably be the same for everyone in terms of its appearance, but the matter of relishing the blessings of Paradise will not be the same for everyone. Some will get more from the blessings and amusements of Paradise, and some will get relatively less. This difference in the capacity of amusement will be based on the difference in the level of God-realization. A person who has reached a particular level of God-realization in the life of this world will be able to enjoy the blessings of Paradise to the corresponding degree. It is as if all the people of Paradise are equally involved in the abode of Paradise in terms of residence, but the person who is consciously at a particular level of God-realization will be able to enjoy the blessings of Paradise to a commensurate degree. A person who has reached a particular level of Godrealization in the life of this world will be able to enjoy the blessings of Paradise to the corresponding degree.