In Islam, Jannah (, jannāt, ) is the place of the righteous in the afterworld, their final and permanent abode.Joseph Hell Die Religion des Islam Motilal Banarsidass Publishers 1915 According to one count, the word appears 147 times in the Qur'an. Belief in the afterlife is one of the six articles of faith in Islam and is a place in which the righteous will enjoy pleasure.Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", Numen, 56, 2009: p.401 Jannah is believed to have several levels, the higher the more desirable and higher in prestige and pleasure. The afterlife experiences are described as physical, psychic, and spiritual.
Jannah is described with physical pleasures such as gardens, beautiful houris, wine that has no aftereffects, and "divine pleasure". Their reward of pleasure will vary according to the righteousness of the person.Tom Fulks, Heresy? The Five Lost Commandments, Strategic Book Publishing 2010 p. 74 The characteristics of jannah often have direct parallels with those of jahannam. The pleasure and delights of jannah described in the Qu'ran, are matched by the pain and horror of jahannam.Thomassen, "Islamic Hell", Numen, 56, 2009: p.405Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p.86
Jannah is also referred to as the abode of Adam and Eve before their expulsion. Muslims believe jannah co-exists with the temporal world, rather than being created after Judgement Day. Humans may not pass the boundaries to the afterlife, but the afterworld may interact with the temporal world of humans.
Terminology Jannah is found frequently in the Qur'an (2:30, 78:12) and often translated as "heaven" in the sense of an abode in which believers are rewarded in afterlife. Another word, samāʾ (usually pl. samāwāt) also found frequently in the Quran and translated as "heaven", has the meaning of sky above or the celestial sphere. (It is often used in the phrase as-samawat wal-ard "the heavens and the earth", an example being Qu'ran 38:10.) The Qu'ran describes both samāʾ and jannah as being above this world.
Jannah is also frequently translated as "paradise", but another term with a more direct connection to that term is also found, (Arabic: ), the literal term meaning paradise, is used in Qu'ran 18:107 and 23:11Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p.87 and also designates the highest level of heaven. In Persian the word (), is the source of the English word "paradise".
In contrast to jannah, the words , , , , and other terms are used to refer to the concept of hell. There are many Arabic words for both heaven and hell that also appear in the Qu'ran and in the hadith. Most of them have become part of Islamic beliefs.
Jannah is also used as the name of the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Hawa (Eve) dwelt.
Salvation/inhabitants
Scholars do not all agree on who will end up in jannah, and the criteria for whether or not they will. Issues include whether all Muslims, even those who've committed major sins, will end up in jannah; and whether any non-Muslims will go there.
Inhabitants according to Quran The Quran specifies the qualities for those allowed to inhabit jannah (according to Smith and Haddad) as: "those who refrain from doing evil, keep their duty, have faith in God's revelations, do good works, are truthful, penitent, heedful, and contrite of heart, those who feed the needy and orphans and who are prisoners for God's sake." Another source (Sebastian Günther and Todd Lawson) gives as the basic criterion for salvation in the afterlife more detail on articles of faith: the belief in the oneness of God (), angels, revealed books, messengers, as well as repentance to God, and doing good deeds (amal salih). All these qualities are qualified by the doctrine that ultimately salvation can only be attained through God's judgment.Moiz Amjad. "Will Christians enter Paradise or go to Hell? ". Renaissance – Monthly Islamic journal 11(6), June, 2001.
Angels, devils, and jinns The idea that jinn as well as humans could find salvation was widely accepted, based on the Quran (Q.55:74) where the saved are promised maidens "untouched before by either men or jinn" – suggesting to classical scholars al-Suyūṭī and al-Majlisī that jinn also are provided their own kind of houri maidens in paradise. Like humans, their destiny in the hereafter depends on whether they accept God's guidance. Angels, on the other hand, because they are not subject to desire and so are not subject to temptation, work in paradise serving the "blessed" (humans and jinn) guiding them, officiating marriages, conveying messages, praising them, etc. The devils cannot return to paradise, because Islamic scripture states that their father, the fallen angel Iblis, was banished, but never suggests that he or his offspring were forgiven or promised to return.
The eschatological destiny of these creatures is summarized in the prophetic tradition: "One kind of beings will dwell in Paradise, and they are the angels; one kind will dwell in Hell, and they are the demons; and another kind will dwell some in Paradise and some in Hell, and those are the jinn and the humans."
Salvation of non-Muslims Muslim scholars disagree about exact criteria for salvation of Muslim and non-Muslim. Although most agree that Muslims will be finally saved – shahids (martyrs) who die in battle, are expected to enter paradise immediately after death – non-Muslims are another matter.
Muslim scholars arguing in favor of non-Muslims' being able to enter paradise cite the verse:
Those arguing against non-Muslim salvation regard this verse to have applied only until the arrival of Muhammad, after which it was abrogated by another verse:
Historically, the Ash'ari school of theology was known for having an optimistic perspective on salvation for Muslims, but a very pessimistic view of those who heard about Muhammad and his character, yet rejected him. The Maturidi school also generally agreed that even sinners among Muslims would eventually enter paradise, but its unclear whether they thought only Muslim would go to jannah, or if non-Muslims who understood and obeyed "God's universal law" would be saved also. The Muʿtazila school held that free will and individual accountability was necessary for divine justice, thus rejecting the idea of intercession (shafa'a) by Muhammad on behalf of sinners. Unlike other schools it believed Jannah would be created only after Judgement Day. Like most Sunni, Shia Islam hold that all Muslims will eventually go to jannah,Awaa'il al-Maqaalaat by Shaikh al-Mufeed, p.14 and like the Ash'ari school, believe heedless and stubborn unbelievers will go to hell, while those ignorant of the truth of Islam but "truthful to their own religion", will not. Modernist scholars Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida rejected the notion that the People of the Book are excluded from jannah, referring to another verse.Der Koran, ed. and transl. by Adel Theodor Khoury, Gütersloh 2004, p. 67 (footnote). ˹Divine grace is˺ neither by your wishes nor those of the People of the Book! Whoever commits evil will be rewarded accordingly, and they will find no protector or helper besides Allah. But those who do good—whether male or female—and have faith will enter Paradise and will never be wronged ˹even as much as˺ the speck on a date stone. (Q.4:123–124)
Descriptions, details, and organization Sources Sources on jannah include the Quran, Islamic traditions, creeds, Quranic commentaries (tafsir) and "other theological writing".Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p.vii "Third Islamic century traditionalists amplified the eschatological material enormously particularly in areas on where "the Quran is relatively silent" about the nature of Jannah.Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p.viii Some of the more popular Sunni manuals of eschatology are Kitāb al-rūḥ of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzīya and al-Durra al-fākhira ft kashf 'ulūm al-ākhira of Abǖ Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī.
Delights Inside jannah, the Quran says its inhabitants "will have whatever they wish for, forever"; (Q.25:16).Annemarie Schimmel. Islam and The Wonders of Creation: The Animal Kingdom. Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 2003. Page 46 Other verses give more specific descriptions of the delights of paradise: 'And whoever is in awe of standing before their Lord will have two Gardens ... ˹Both will be˺ with lush branches. ... In each ˹Garden˺ will be two flowing springs. ... In each will be two types of every fruit. ... Those ˹believers˺ will recline on furnishings lined with rich brocade. And the fruit of both Gardens will hang within reach. ... In both ˹Gardens˺ will be maidens of modest gaze, who no human or jinn has ever touched before. ... Those ˹maidens˺ will be ˹as elegant˺ as rubies and coral. ... Is there any reward for goodness except goodness? ... And below these two ˹Gardens˺ will be two others. ... Both will be dark green. ... In each will be two gushing springs. ... In them are fruits, palm trees, and pomegranates. ... In all Gardens will be noble, pleasant mates ...˹They will be˺ maidens [houris] with gorgeous eyes, reserved in pavilions. .... No human or jinn has ever touched these ˹maidens˺ before. ... All ˹believers˺ will be reclining on green cushions and splendid carpets. Then which of your Lord's favours will you both deny? (Q.55:46–76, Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran)
Smith and Haddad summarize some of the Quranic pleasures: Choirs of angels will sing in Arabic (the only language used in paradise), the streets will be as familiar as those of the dwellers' own countries, inhabitants will eat and drink 100 times more than earthly bodies could hold and will enjoy it 100 times more, their rooms will have thick carpets and brocade sofas, on Fridays they will go to a market to receive new clothing to enhance their beauty, they will not suffer bodily ailments or be subject to functions such as sleeping, spitting, or excreting; they will be forever young.
As the gates of jannah are opened for the arrival of the saved into jannah they will be greeted (Q.39:73) by angels announcing, "Peace be upon you, because ye have endured with patience; how excellent a reward is paradise!" (Q13:24).
Inside there will be neither too much heat nor bitter cold; there will be fountains (Q.88:10), abundant shade from spreading tree branches green with foliage (Q.53:14–16, also Q.36:56–57). They will be passed a cup (Q.88:10–16) full of wine "wherefrom they will get [no] aching of the head” (hangovers) [Q.56:19], and "which leads to no idle talk or sinfulness" (Q.52:23), and every meat (Q.52:22) and trees from which an unceasing supply of fruits grow (Q.36:56–57), "that looks similar ˹but tastes different˺"; (Q.2:25) adornment with golden and pearl bracelets (Q.35:33) and green garments of fine silk and brocade (Q.18:31); attended upon by [ghulman] (Q.52:24), servant-boys (eternal youths (56:17, 76:19)) like spotless pearls (Q.52:24).
While the Quran never mentions God being in the Garden, the faithful are promised the opportunity to gaze upon His face, something the inhabitants of the Fire will be deprived of.
Inhabitants will rejoice in the company of any parents, spouses, and children who were admitted to paradise (Q52:21) —conversing and recalling the past.Quran 55:56-58, 56:15–25
Non-physical pleasures While the Quran is full of "graphic" descriptions of the "physical pleasures" for the inhabitants of the Garden, it also states that the "acceptance