Consider it this way. Our access to GOD is like drawing from a well. Each person’s well is different in terms of what length of rope he needs to reach water, what he uses to take it up, how often he draws, where he pours it, how pure it is, and what it tastes like to him. Remember, though, that the devoutest mystic and the stubbornest atheist have one thing in common – they are all drawing from the surface of the water in their well. No one can tell how deep it goes, or how all those individual wells are connected.
No one has a complete and comprehensive view of GOD, nor is there anyone who possesses all the absolutes by which He can be known. No one ‘arrives’ in GOD’s presence in the same way that one can arrive in the court of a king, despite the many parables that convey that impression, simply because GOD cannot be localized in space, time, or even spirit. Rather we are all on an everlasting journey into His Infinity, participating in more absolutes as our knowledge of Him deepens and grows. Even the prophets and messengers of AL-LAH (peace be upon all of them) are each identified with particular absolutes or manifestations of GOD, as Ibnu ‘Arabi propounded in some of his works, and thus have room to advance to ever higher ‘stations’.
The characters in the nine scenarios of Chapter 31 were all ‘saved’ (from the Proto-Indo-European root *solh₂-, to be whole or complete) in the light of an absolute (derived from the Latin absolvo, to loosen or set free) reflected from AL-LAH, the Source and Owner of all absolutes.
- The slave from Kalimantan attained freedom with the help of Al-Ghani (The Independent).
- The merchant in Ningxia attained a realization of fairness from Al-‘Adl (The Just).
- The sorceress in Tibet attained the gift of tenderness from Ar-Ra’uf (The Kind).
- The bridegroom in Arunachal Pradesh attained serenity from As-Salam (The Tranquil).
- The grandmother in Yakutia attained a vision of grandeur from Al-‘Aziz (The Mighty).
- The pilot in Greenland attained the rank of nobility from Al-Jalil (The Exalted).
- The cripple in Venezuela attained the state of love from Al-Wadud (The Affectionate).
- The pregnant schoolgirl in South Dakota attained a new start from Al-Mu’id (The Restorer).
- The fisherman in Madagascar attained a liberating insight from Al-Hakim (The Wise).
No matter who we are, or where we are in our spiritual development, the door of yet another unrealized absolute awaits us. For some of us, nothing but a calamity or the onset of death can spur a soul to walk through that gate, to take that leap of faith which marks our nighttime journey (isra) to AL-LAH. There are many such moments of transition presented as lessons and examples for us in the Qur’an. No individual can afford to reject them when they appear, but many do.
Indeed We overtook them with chastisement, but they would not yield to their Lord, nor would they supplicate, / Until We opened up a gate of heavy punishment for them, and then they fell into despair. (Q23:76-77)
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ
حَتَّى إِذَا فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا ذَا عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ إِذَا هُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ
Even if we do accept the enlightenment or grace such moments represent, we cannot force them to huddle tamely behind the walls of our sectarian assumptions because we think we are their gatekeepers.
They say, “No one shall enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or Christian. That is wishful thinking on their part. Say, “Bring your proof if you are truthful.”
Nay, but one who has turned his face submissively to GOD and does his best obtains his compensation from his Lord, and he has nothing more to fear nor need he grieve. (Q2:111-112)
وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلاَّ مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِين
بَلَى مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلاَ خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
No one is guaranteed admission to the Garden simply on the basis of a nominal belonging to this or that religion. Rather, as the verse states, there are two conditions: 1) that one submits to GOD, and 2) that one verifies this submission by performing ihsan, or excellence, as defined by the tradition, “Excellence is that you worship GOD as if you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, truly He sees you.” Broadly understood, excellence can also be an act that manifests one of GOD’s absolutes, such as those exemplified by the nine scenarios, or the prostitute and the dog, or in traditions such as these:
From Abi Hurairah, from the Prophet (may GOD bless him and give him peace), who said, “Verily AL-LAH has ninety-nine names; whoever has enumerated them has entered the Garden.” (Jami’ut-Tirmidhi, Book 48, Hadith 139)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ اسْمًا مَنْ أَحْصَاهَا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ
From Abi Sa’idinil-Khudri, that the Messenger of AL-LAH (may GOD bless him and give him peace) said, “Anyone who has three daughters or three sisters and is good to them has entered the Garden.” (Al-Adabul-Mufrad 79)
عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: لاَ يَكُونُ لأَحَدٍ ثَلاَثُ بَنَاتٍ، أَوْ ثَلاَثُ أَخَوَاتٍ، فَيُحْسِنُ إِلَيْهِنَّ، إِلاَّ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ
The canonic literature pertaining to the Garden is detailed, abundant, and immensely challenging for anyone who wants a simple answer to the question, ‘What must I do to be saved?’. The dilemma in determining a judgement on one’s own conduct can be highlighted by this hadith:
From ‘Abdil-Lahi, who said, “The Messenger of AL-LAH (may GOD bless him and give him peace) said, ‘No one enters the Fire in whose heart is a mustard seed’s weight of faith, and no enters the Garden in whose heart is a mustard seed’s weight of pride.’” (Sahihu Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 172)
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لاَ يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ أَحَدٌ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةِخَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ وَلاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ أَحَدٌ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةِ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ كِبْرِيَاءَ
What happens to the soul who has equal amounts of faith and pride? What about the soul who has committed both deeds that condemn one to the Fire (such as the woman who injures her neighbours by her tongue) and actions that assure one’s entry to Paradise? And then we read:
From Abi Hurairah, who said, “The Prophet (may GOD bless him and give him peace) said, ‘Not one of you will be saved by deeds.’ ‘Not even you, O Messenger of GOD?’ He replied, ‘Not even me, unless GOD envelops me in Mercy.’” (Al-Adabul-Mufrad 461)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: لَنْ يُنَجِّي أَحَدًا مِنْكُمْ عَمَلٌ، قَالُوا: وَلاَ أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، قَالَ: وَلاَ أَنَا، إِلاَّ أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِي اللَّهُ مِنْهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ
Entering the Garden, therefore, is never just the outcome of being born into the right religion or any other similar technicality. Like faith, which is its prerequisite, it is the act of a heart that is drawn towards GOD Himself. To enter the Garden is to enter His Kingdom, the Domain of Fruitfulness. Paradise, in other words, is a metonym, a way of referring to The Absolute by a complex image that represents all our deepest desires for absolutes like happiness, growth, and beauty.
The Qur’an portrays those heartfelt ideals in physical terms, but a believer should never disparage their literality or sensory ‘surface’ as unworthy of the Reality that infuses them. After the first appearance of Paradise in the Qur’an (2:25), we are immediately reminded that AL-LAH is not ashamed of (i.e. disconnected from) any parable, no matter how small the example, let alone those (such as the Garden) that are greater. GOD, beyond time and place, is infinitely present to us in all good places and pleasures. That is what faith in GOD really means. It is the flowering of an individual reality, namely a believer’s faith, within The Real, one of whose Names is Al-Mu’min (The Faithful).
The GOD You Already Know 