Apostate prophet find spiritual bliss; the best reward of heaven?

In answer to the video "72 Juicy Virgins"

Although Heaven is undoubtly the place where all the desires of the righteous are granted, contrary to the dwellers of hell to whom

34:54"a barrier shall be placed between them and that which they desire",

and the only kind of toil they will experience will be one that gives pleasure 16:31,36:55-7 it is also the place where the righteous' earthly traits of nobility and satisfaction through spirituality will be even more prominent; they firstly humbly acknowledge that the abundant reward is because of Allah's grace, not simply on account of their deeds 35:35. They will love it most to sing hymns of praise to Allah and glorify His name just as they did in this world. They will wish eachother peace 10:10 in a place where there will be no room for vain, idle or mean talk, only peaceful intentions 19:62.

 So upright and spiritually aware the dweller of heaven is, that the Quran pictures a persecuted believer exclaiming, upon his entry in heaven, his wish that his nation could know God's mercy and forgiveness to him, instead of expressing his satisfaction for having ended up "victorious" or simply stating his overwhelming excitement at his own reward. The dwellers of heaven will thus be free from any ill feelings towards anyone, whether their brethren of paradise or the people who made them suffer while on earth. They will be content and appeased in the best way

89:27"O soul that are at rest, Return to your Lord, well pleased with Him, well pleasing Him. So enter among My servants, and enter into My garden".

This state of spiritual purity will make any ill or evil intention useless to them. They will never entertain the idea of desiring something inappropriate towards anyone, anything, or their God. What they will like is what will be pleasing to their appeased souls and this pleasure will always be linked to the pleasure of God.

Just as there are higher places above higher places, in this Garden that is as large as the heavens and earth 3:133,57:21 there will be Gardens beyond Gardens 55:46,62 (two beyond two just like the "two" gardens of Sheba does not mean that there were only two gardens in the whole country, but that the entire land was like a garden and wherever a man stood, he could see a garden on his right and a garden on his left 34:15-7) thus conveying once more the idea of infinity in connection with the concept of paradise, and the fact it is beyond perception

85:11"they shall have gardens beneath which rivers flow".

In contrast, hell is a place of tightness and pressure, of layers of fire above and below its dwellers who in addition are chained together 25:13,39:16,7:41,29:55. Chaining is mentioned in the Quran opposite the tyrannical nations that oppressed and chained the weak 

88:25-6"On that day, none will punish as He punishes, and none will bind with chains as He binds".

Despite its vastness, pictured as asking for more and more to be hurled into it, it keeps its dwellers constricted in a narrow space within it, in the manner of a large wall where there are many points of place for a great deal of nails, but every nail is in pressure.

An interesting linguistic nuance used in the Quran to illustrate the vastness and abundance experienced in Paradise is that at the time of stating the bounties of the people of Heaven, it does not precede the statement with the particle min/of, which denotes a portion of something. But it uses the particle in the next sentence when describing Hell's chastisement 34:4-5. This is in line with God's repeated just and merciful reckoning, inflicting a precise, limited and corresponding punishment while rewarding with boundless mercy.

But in spite of this boundless vastness, a person can buy paradise with finite actions like the often reiterated principle of "selling" this worldly life for God's sake. Once they reach heaven, the righteous will understand how its sustenance for example has similarities with what they knew on earth but is really different 2:25 so when the Quran speaks of certain earthly fruits being in heaven 55:68 it is to give us an idea through something we can relate to, of what lies in store. This reveals, once again, the principle that this universe, all of it, is in fact a "teaser" of the hereafter, giving humans a glimpse of things pleasant or not, which will be experienced in the world to come.

Just as the righteous who sacrificed many aspects of worldly pleasures to live within the limits God has prescribed, and will be correspondingly compensated in the Hereafter, the reverse is the case of those who in this life lived in the greedy pursuit of riches, using and abusing from all material benefits without any higher perspective in mind. As they freely ate and drank the unlawfully acquired or the religiously forbidden food and drinks, they will find themselves eating fire and other harmful, unwholesome food and drinks in the Hereafter 4:10,47:15,18:29,14:16,38:57,55:44,88:5.

The Quran compares them in this worldly life to cattle, enjoying food and drink while in the process devoid of the higher realities in mind. For this reason, the equivalent of these worldly foods, drinks, and means of comfort will be found but with a mirror opposite effect 56:41-72,77:29-32. The believers on the other hand enjoyed each pleasure of this life, including one of the most prominent being food and drink, in God-consciousness, which includes in consideration of the needy and within the limits set by God, as well as gratefulness. They are thus awarded that human delight with the best food and drink in abundance and unrestrictedly 

47:12-15"Indeed, Allah will admit those who have believed and done righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow, but those who disbelieve enjoy themselves and eat as grazing livestock eat, and the Fire will be a residence for them. Is the description of Paradise, which the righteous are promised, wherein are rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk the taste of which never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of purified honey, in which they will have from all [kinds of] fruits and forgiveness from their Lord, like [that of] those who abide eternally in the Fire and are given to drink scalding water that will sever their intestines?".

As they misused their garments, which are otherwise supposed to provide spiritual and physical protection, to corrupt the minds, or as symbols of their tyrannical authority, they will find themselves covered with clothing of liquid pitch 14:50. Similarly, those that unlawfully and ungratefully took advantage of the abundance of sustenance and security will find themselves confronted to hunger and fear to such an extent that it would be as if these 2 conditions are covering them like garments 16:112.

Those that only considered worldly pursuits in heedlessness of the Hereafter, neglecting their spiritual relationship with God, will find themselves despised and rejected, distanced from God's mercy 17:18,23:66,83:15,20:126,11:99.

Those that prevented people from hearkening God's words and distorted divine truths will not hear God's pleasant words in the next world 2:174. There are many other descriptions the Quran gives of how the wordly response that humans give to God's bounties, which are nothing but testing devices, manifest in the world to come.

Apostate prophet sees a parallel universe; completeness in Heaven?

In answer to the video "72 Juicy Virgins"

This is one of the Quranic axioms regarding the concept Heavenly rewards, including mating; the carnal, physical dimension and the spiritual will be linked in a most perfect way. No aspect of the human being will be left unfulfilled.

All aspects of life which the righteous denied or limited for him/herself out of fear of God and obedience to His commandements will be experienced in the hereafter with an unimaginable intensity, from a physical and spiritual aspect and without the negative, worldly side. The successful in the Hereafter will be granted all their wishes and beyond, but the Quran sometimes chooses to specify some of those rewards in order to parallel the worldly sacrifices of the pious with the corresponding compensation of the next world. Whether in the Quran or the HB, humans will be resurrected bodily to experience their blissful reward.  It would be a useless concept even from a biblical perspective, should the reward of the hereafter only be of a spiritual nature. This means humans will never cease being humans in the world to come. If that is the case then no human, besides those influenced by the writings of the Greeks and who view the body as the enemy of the spirit (pauline Christians) will deny the legitimate pleasures of the flesh, including sex.

For example those whose most prominent aspect of their spirituality was dreading the day of resurrection, will be free from any distress and worry when they are raised, while those who piously gave up from their resources for the sake of the needy will find abundant luxury from their Sustainer.

Those who suffered rejection and ostracism, hardships and even sometimes life threatening sacrifices due their uprightness and desire to be near unto God in this life, will be drawn near to their Lord in the Hereafter in full security and glory. They will in addition be raised as the greatest kings, dressed and served accordingly. The Quran in 18:28 as well as other places mentions the social ostracism and taunting the mainly poor followers of the prophet had to endure from the elite. Besides outright mocking his humble assemblies, they boasted of their worldly achievements as indicators of them being divinely approved 19:73,77. This attitude, present in mankind since immemorial times and prevalent even in our days, is personified in the Quran with Qaarun, and others too 28:79-83. They are heedless of the fact that countless people each mightier that the other were brought low and severely chastised in this life 30:7-10. These social elites would sometimes ask the prophet to send his humble assemblies away if he desired they sit with him to learn about the message. 

Consequently the Quran vindicates those that were looked down upon, describing how in the Hereafter honour will only be theirs, adorned with the attires of the greatest rulers and raised on thrones above lush gardens 18:31,22:23,35:33,76:20-1 receiving gifts surpassing what they wish for due to them compromising in this world their own desires for the sake of the needy 50:35. They will be made to inherit the land; a metonym often used to illustrate their just honouring. God's bounties were made available to all in this world as a matter of testing our conduct and morals, not as a means of honouring us, but in the Hereafter where that testing is over and only the successful will enjoy themselves and will be elevated, every benefit imaginable will only belong to the righteous believers 7:32,21:105,39:73-4,43:35.

In a realm of continuous inner and outward peace, sense of spiritual fulfilment due to nearness to God, as well as first hand experience of all higher realities that have now finally been unveiled, the meritorious will rightfully enjoy all material benefits, without envy or discrimination, nor ever compromising their spirituality. 

Another example of heavenly compensation for worldly sacrifices is that of wine, one of life's pleasures which the believer denied himself in obedience to God. He will find it in paradise without any of its negative aspects, along with many other pleasurable drinks 56:18-19. In fact all enjoyments of paradise, in whatever quantity but only of the best quality, will be free from harm, disease or discomfort as is encountered in this world, unrestricted by any natural or unnatural factor and not requiring any toil to be obtained or appreciated 13:35,15:48,44:55,56:32-33.

From the righteous male viewpoint, the woman with whom he will be coupled, though incredibly beautiful, will have an equally beautiful character, morals and spirituality. Sexual desires and thoughts are, for males, the most important urges they must learn to channel within the religious legal limits in this world. The Quran's injunctions on that matter repeatedly come in the context of success in the hereafter. Sexuality within the permissible limits is such an important notion, that it is repeatedly tied to the most basic requirements of the religion, like the daily prayers 23:1-6.

Consequently to the righteous' self-control in this life, lowering his gaze, refusing to transgress and yield to temptation 24:30, he will be satisfied in the most fulfilling way in paradise. This includes not only physical satisfaction with the opposite gender, but emotional as well. This is an objective right and natural demand of justice. He will be coupled with a mate whose moral uprightness will correspond to his. Humans wont cease being humans in paradise. Their physical and spiritual enhancement will lead to equally enhanced physical and spiritual enjoyments.

As to the righteous women, although females do have of course sexual urges which they need to control in this life and keep within the legal limits 24:31, these desires are not as overwhelmingly present and challenging to their daily, worldly, spirituality as they are with males. It just is a biological, mental and spiritual reality, so much so that the background of many criminal cases involving men are sexually motivated, whether consciously or subconsciously. The Quran therefore does not speak of this aspect of the heavenly reward of righteous females although it never is denied.

The Quran enforces, time and again the fact that all paradise dwellers, males or females, will find a just and corresponding reward, all that their hearts desire, and much more that cannot be described since entirely outside any human experience. There shall be no excess nor shortfall between the shares of the women and those of the men, in quantity or quality

3:195"I will not waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female, the one of you being from the other".

This verse as a side note was revealed prior to the one in sura ahzaab which allegedly came to reassure the person that came to the prophet asking him about the heavenly reward of women 33:35. It is very common in commentaries and ahadith to associate a verse with a real situation and make it seem that the revelation of the verse came in answer to it. Although verses did many times come in specific circumstances, at other times it is the assumption of the reporter, and is in fact an occasion of recitation rather than revelation. It is even clearer in this case, as the traditions report a similar occasion where someone approached the prophet with the same question about the reward of women, he then stood at the pulpit and recited 33:35. There are even earlier Meccan verses stressing the indiscriminate reward of heaven, including 40:40,43:70 or 

16:97"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do". 

Not every new convert was directly aware of all the intricacies of the Quran, hence their questioning of the prophet despite the presence of these verses. What is interesting is that not one Quranic verse uses the female gender in connection to the punishments of Hell, yet it is understood that, far from being favoritism towards women, the use of the male gender is only by way of representation of the whole of humanity. The axiom of gender equality in heavenly reward is well established, and whenever some of these rewards are gender specific, it is because it is addressing a male audience, not because the said reward is denied to women.

That being said, the idea of a woman having multiple husbands is not something sought after by women in general. So while it is appealing, as well as morally, religiously allowed for a man in this world to have multiple wives, it is not the case for women. The idea is distorted and sinful. It would be rejected by the vast majority of women even if given the freedom to choose. Hence the description of women in heaven as

 55:56"women limiting [their] glances, untouched before them by man or jinni".

Morally reprehensible, sinful and unappealing things will not become acceptable in heaven. The multiplicity of husbands to a woman in paradise is thus excluded. This does not negate complete emotional, spiritual, physical satisfaction with her unique husband in heaven.

The Quran therefore does not speak of every kind of heavenly rewards, but rather gives a preview, a glimpse of the main areas that will naturally, as a demand of justice, intensely be experienced by the righteous who in this life preserved him/herself from transgression. These main areas being; honor, materialism, and sex.  

The Arabs during the rise of Islam lived their life preoccupied with these 3 main things, having little to no regard to spirituality in the process. Little has changed since then, especially in our times. The message of the Quran as it addressed those Arabs, and humanity at large through them, is that these pursuits are perfectly legitimate, but that they should not be sought according to one's whims. God did not create man in a material world, with physical and mental senses while expecting him to refuse himself the appeal of these senses. Rather God, Who is the provider of these enjoyments and the Maker of our senses, wants mankind to seek those pleasures in God-consciousness. If one is able to live his/her life in the pursuit of these things while remaining within God's limits, then, regardless if one is successful or not in achieving them in this world, one will surely experience them in an exponential, unfathomable manner in the hereafter.

Apostate prophet in search of heaven; beyond imagination?

In answer to the video "72 Juicy Virgins"

Heaven belongs to the realm of the Unseen 19:61 (unreachable to human perception since outside any known experience). None can imagine the unlimited good that lies in store for the righteous believers, men and women 32:17,40:40 who will consequently never desire to leave it 18:107-8.

The description of paradise as given in the Quran is therefore expressly stated to be a parable which is why various verses describe these hidden realities such as the types of sustenance, through loan-images that are derived from our actual –physical or mental– experiences. This helps the reader and audience visualize, but not fully encompass, these otherworldly concepts 13:35,37:40-9,47:15,83:25.

Heaven/hell wouldnt have been appealing/repelling hadnt they been described using worldly similitudes, as some sort of preview, keeping in mind that the full reality is beyond any human experience and imagination. The greatest achievement of the righteous in the Hereafter is stated as being drawn back to their Lord, near to Him in a place of permanent honour, sensing God's love and pleasure 9:21,19:96 for it is this proximity to God that makes Paradise into Paradise otherwise it is nothing more than an orchard. This is beautifully and concisely reflected in the wife of Pharaoh's prayer

66:11"My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrong doing people".

Being in Paradise reflects the physical dimension and being with God Almighty is indicative of the spiritual dimension and she expressed both in one brief utterance. Nearness to Allah in the Hereafter is presented as the foremost reward of the foremost in faith, far surpassing everything that heaven may offer of delights 56:10-11.

An interesting observation is the statement that those nearest to God

21:19"are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary".

Contrary to worldly ownership and mastership, the closer a servant is to his master the more benefits he gains in terms of power, material gains and personal freedom. But as regards to God's ownership which is the true and absolute one, the closer the servant is drawn to Him the more humbled and submissive the servant becomes, aware of his insignificance in relation to the Supreme Being. That is how complete and intricate the Quran is, in its argumentations for perfect monotheism.

Heaven is thus the garden of honor above anything else. Its dwellers are honored by the Mighty king, as already seen, drawing near implies honoring and prestige in Quranic usage. Their prestige is such that their own satisfaction is mentioned beside God Almighty and His Satisfaction 9:72,50:35,54:55,56:11,88,89:28.

Heaven in addition is described as a place where the righteous, including even the prophets, can continuously evolve in pleasure, expectations and fulfilment of desires. This is implied by the description of gardens above one another

39:20"those who keep their duty to their Lord, for them are high places, above them higher places, a built (for them), wherein rivers flow. (It is) the promise of Allah. Allah fails not in (His) promise"  

What paradise contains is of such unimaginable delight that whatever one may currently wish for, will always remain less than what is prepared 

50:35"They will have whatever they wish therein, and with Us is more". 

The "more" here is connected to God because it is limitless.

In 18:3 the Quran describes the dwellers of Heaven as forever in eager expectation, as denoted with makitheen. This is because every pleasure they shall experience, whether spiritual or physical will only 

increase in intensity. This is in stark contrast with worldly experiences and pleasures, which one anxiously fears their eventual end and destruction. Heaven on the other hand is qualified with the word "aadnin" (often rendered "Eden") which conveys the idea of settlement and stability 35:33.

Humans will not cease being humans in paradise. Their human desires will perdure, whether in the areas of physical, material and spiritual pleasures. That is why one finds accross cultures and ages common references to otherworldy pleasures of the meritorious; no difficulty, no toil, no pain and grief, abundant space and resources, state of spiritual and physical bliss etc. But the Quran takes every one of those human desires and explains that the manner they will be enjoyed and the nature of these benefits and rewards will be free from blemishes, raised to a lofty state, and corresponding to the person's sacrifices in each of these spheres in this world.

Apostate prophet prefers ascetism; Islamic carnal heaven, filled with young boys and virgin girls?

In answer to the video "72 Juicy Virgins"

This Hur Ayn expression found in 44:54,52:20,55:72,56:22 is used for those with whom the dwellers of heaven will be coupled as seen in 44:54,52:20. When the word zawj is used, in the context of a man and a woman being coupled, it means they are coupled as a husband and wife.

Ayn means eyes, Hur stems from h-w-r and is used for the intense whiteness of the eye, denoting the marked contrast between the white of the corona and the black of the iris. Across all times and cultures, the eyes have always been a major beauty criteria. In a more general sense, hawar signifies "intense whiteness" in a physical or spiritual sense. It is used in a spiritual sense for Jesus' companions to denote their moral uprightness for standing with him while almost all of his people rejected him 3:52.

This description that the Quran makes of them is, as a side note, in stark contrast with the characters said to be Jesus' followers in the NT. These 12 "disciples" were doubters and cowards, deserting Jesus when he was apprehended by the authorities, later abandoning his instructions of abiding by the law of the Torah. 

Hawar when used for the people of paradise carries both spiritual and physical meanings. This physical and spiritual whiteness is the natural implication of their purification, both men and women 2:25,4:57.

As will be shown, all dwellers of heaven will be re-created at their best, with the physical whiteness of their eyes being a major feature of that physical enhancement while their high character being the metaphorical, spiritual manifestation of that intense whiteness. In a hadith, a man made the following supplication for his own mother 

"It is reported by Abu wail that someone said to Abu Nuhaylah (when he was ill), "Pray to Allah." So, he made this supplication, "Oh Allah, lessen the illness but do not diminish the reward." He was again asked to supplicate Allah and he said, "O Allah, let me be among the near ones and make my mother among the hoor al ayn”.

From a man's perspective, these purified mates will either be the righteous to whom one was married in this life, and with whom one will be coupled again, or an unknown believing and righteous female admitted to paradise with whom one will be coupled instead of one's earthly mate. In both cases and as said earlier, the righteous will be married to those hur ayn with whom they will be made azwaaj 44:54,52:20.

God will cement and amplify the righteous worldly relations, more particularly among righteous family members with whom one will be joined 13:23,40:8,43:70. This is a pervasive Quranic principle as regards relations in the hereafter. That notion is also pictured through a mention of the righteous' offspring, who naturally are the dearest things in one's life, and their situation in the hereafter. Should they merit paradise because of their own deeds, they will be reunited with the righteous even though they might be lower in spiritual rank 52:21-7. This means that as a rule the unification process will be made by upgrading some of those lower in rank, unto the higher stations in which a family member is dwelling, not by downgrading those higher in rank "and We will not diminish to them aught of their work". This is the intricate precision of Quranic eloquence.

Although the wives, and all other female dwellers of heaven will be resurrected in a different and "improved" physical shape 55:70-2,78:33 the foremost of their qualities will be their modesty and chastity which is reinforced through the analogy with the protected eggs

55:56"those who restrained their eyes; before them neither man nor jinni shall have touched them"  

37:49"As if they were eggs carefully protected".

They will be virgins, which is the consequence of their re-creation in the Hereafter 56:35-6, not necessarily a quality in and of itself from a Quranic perspective. The real value of a person, especially a prospective spouse, lies in his or her high moral character, see 66:5etc. Their analogy with protected eggs denotes self-preservation and protection from immorality. They are in addition likened to "hidden" pearls and rubies 55:38,56:23 implying untouched beauty and purity. Therefore the purification of heavenly spouses in the context of Islam means both Physical and Spiritual purity. If they had some bad traits in this life, they will be removed, so when one meets back this earthly spouse, it will be the same person but spiritually and physically beautified. The heavenly female mates are further described as "uruban", a word denoting the best qualities of a woman (in her feminity, emotions, manners, love for her husband etc), among "those restraining their eyes" 37:48,38:52 ie chaste.

Like the wives, the husbands will be resurrected too, so as to match their wives in many aspects including physical as denoted with atraban 56:37,78:33. The literal meaning of the word kawa3ib, when used to describe a female as in 78:33, is "swelling breasts". The word was not used in literature, as well as poetry of the time to describe a woman erotically, and certainly not the size of her breasts. Rather the stage of her physical development, her youthfulness. Some modern translators have focused on the literal meaning while others on its usage by the Arabs of the time. Such youthfulness doesn't imply a young age. It is physical youthfulness but of a mature age, thus combining both physical and mental attractiveness 

"The people of Paradise shall enter Paradise without body hair, Murd, with Kuhl on their eyes, thirty years of age or thirty-three years."

As stated in 56:61,71:18 all humanity will be made to grow into another creation, the "likeness" of what it once was 17:99, but whose true reality is currently unknown. The alteration and "improvement" of every human being will thus cover both his physical and spiritual aspects

56:60-61"and We are not helpless that We may change your forms and create you in another form that you do not know".

After saying how the current mode of reproduction is entirely decreed and controlled by God 56:57-8, it says how this method could be changed completely and result in different beings with another set of qualities and characteristics. In the end, Husbands and wives will be comfortably seated, enjoying eachother's presence as well as the pleasures of paradise 36:55-8,56:15-6.