Jannah
In Islam, Jannah is the place of the righteous in the afterworld, their final and permanent abode. 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 "believers" will enjoy pleasure, while the disbelievers will suffer in jahannam. Both jannah and jahannam are believed to have several levels, the higher the more desirable. In the case of jannah, the higher levels are higher in prestige and pleasure, while in the case of jahannam, the lower levels have more severe and excruciating punishments. 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. 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 excruciating pain and horror of jahannam.
Jannah is also referred to as the abode of Adam and Eve before their expulsion. Muslims believe jannah and jahannam co-exist 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.
According to some Islamic teachings, there are two categories of the people of heaven: those who go directly to it and those who enter it after enduring some torment in hell; consequently the people of hell are also of two categories: those who stay there temporarily and those who stay there forever.
Terminology
Jannah is found frequently in the Qur'an and often translated as "heaven" in the sense of an abode in which believers are rewarded in afterlife. Another word, سماء samāʾ also found frequently in the Quran and translated as "heaven", has the meaning of sky above or the celestial sphere. 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, ', the literal term meaning paradise, which was borrowed from the Persian word ', which is also the source of the English word "paradise". ' is used in Qu'ran 18:107 and 23:11 and also designates the highest level of heaven.
In contrast to jannah, the words jahannam|, ', ', ', 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 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; whether any non-Muslims will go there or all go to jahannam.Inhabitants according to Quran
The Quran specifies the qualities for those allowed to inhabit jannah 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 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. All these qualities are qualified by the doctrine that ultimately salvation can only be attained through God's judgment.
Angels, devils, and jinns
The idea that jinn as well as humans could find salvation was widely accepted, based on the Quran 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" 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 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 by Muhammad on behalf of sinners. Unlike other schools it believed Jannah and Jahannam would be created only after Judgement Day. Like most Sunni, Shia Islam hold that all Muslims will eventually go to jannah, 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.
- ˹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.
Descriptions, details, and organization
Delights
Inside jannah, the Quran says the saved "will have whatever they wish for, forever";. 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 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?
Smith and Haddad summarize some of the Quranic pleasures:
Choirs of angels will sing in Arabic, 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 by angels announcing, "Peace be upon you, because ye have endured with patience; how excellent a reward is paradise!".
Inside there will be neither too much heat nor bitter cold; there will be fountains, abundant shade from spreading tree branches green with foliage. They will be passed a cup full of wine "wherefrom they will get aching of the head” , and "which leads to no idle talk or sinfulness",
and every meat and trees from which an unceasing supply of fruits grow, "that looks similar ˹but tastes different˺"; adornment with golden and pearl bracelets and green garments of fine silk and brocade ; attended upon by , servant-boys like spotless pearls.
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 —conversing and recalling the past.
;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
from God" felt by the inhabitants "is greater" than the pleasure of the Gardens, the true beauty of paradise, the greatest of all rewards, surpassing all other joys. On the day on which God brings the elect near to his throne, "some faces shall be shining in contemplating their Lord".
The visit is described as Muhammad leading the men and Fatimah leading the women to approach the Throne, "which is described as a huge esplanade of musk". As "the veil of light before the Throne lifts, God appears with the radiance of the full moon, and His voice can be heard saying, 'Peace be upon you.'"
Hadith include stories of the saved being served an enormous feast where "God Himself is present to offer to His faithful ones delicacies kneaded into a kind of pancake". In another series of narratives, God personally invites the inhabitants of Jannah "to visit with Him every Friday".
;Houri
"Perhaps no aspect of Islamic eschatology has so captured the imagination" of both "Muslims and non-Muslims" as houri. Men will get untouched Houri in paradise, virgin companions of equal age and have large, beautiful eyes. Houri have occasioned "spectacular elaborations" by later Islamic eschatological writers, but also "some derision by insensitive Western observers and critics of Islam".
The Quran also states the saved "will have pure spouses," , accompanied by any children that did not go to Jahannam, and attended to by servant-boys with the spotless appearance similar to a protected pearls.
Despite the Quranic description above, Houris have been described as women who will accompany faithful Muslims in Paradise. Muslim scholars differ as to whether they refer to the believing women of this world or a separate creation, with the majority opting for the latter.