(55:46-48)(19:60-63)(38:54)(56:16-24)(13:35)(9:34)(70:17-18)(3:10)(104:2-7)
The Quran says that all those who work in accordance with the law of God, individually and collectively, and believe that they are answerable for their actions will have two Jannats, one in this life and the other in the life to come. What will happen in the next life after death? Nobody can know exactly in this life at the present state of consciousness. Therefore, it is explained in similes and metaphors in the Quran. All the examples are concrete, with the explanation that these are only analogies.
The society formed in accordance with the laws of God in this life is called Jannat in the Quran, and Jesus calls it the kingdom of God. It is a society where all human beings will have their basic needs met. No one will suffer from hunger, or worry about the change of weather. It is a place with flowing springs of water, canals, and an abundance of provisions, such as fruits, the meat of birds and beverages etc. for everyone. The residents of Jannat would sit on couches, facing each other, with pillows covered with exquisite material. All these bounties would be the result of their actions which created beauty and balance.
In Matthew 13:24 Jesus narrates a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.” In other words, he is saying that everyone has to work to enter into the kingdom of heaven, as a farmer works hard to get a good crop. If a farmer does not work hard and pays no attention to his crop he cannot have a good yield; he may also waste his seed instead of having a bumper crop. In another parable in the same chapter, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” The same metaphor of field and farmer is repeated in this analogy; the farmer has to focus on his crop and work hard for the good results. The person desirous for the kingdom of heaven must change his/her behavior because the fundamental feeling for the kingdom of God is love for humanity and human dignity. The famous saying of Christ “Love thy neighbor” is a clear manifestation of this feeling.
In the Quran the same sentiment is described in Surah Al-Imran in verse 103 where God points out His favor to the Muslims. Before Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) Arabs were always fighting among themselves like enemies; after the revelation, they were like a cloud that merges into another and becomes one because their hearts were woven together and they had become brothers. The obvious reason for it was that values were changed. Righteousness, and not money and power, was the criterion for greatness in this new society.
The mentality of those who will enter the kingdom of God is described elaborately both in the Bible and the Quran. Jesus in Matthew 19:21-24 said to a young man who had been obeying the commandments and wanted to be his follower, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. Jesus said unto his disciples, “Verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
In the Quran the same attitude is described in Surah Al-Taubah: “They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah (for the betterment of humanity), unto them give the tiding of a painful doom. On the day when their gold and silver will be heated in the fire of hell, their foreheads, flanks, and backs will be branded therewith and it will be said unto them: here is that which ye hoarded for yourselves. Now taste what you have hoarded.”
The truth about an individual human life is that it is very short; to spend all this limited period in collecting money at the cost of human suffering is not wise. No one can use or take that money with himself after death. What the Quran and the Bible are advocating is the truth that since no one can use the hoarded money after death, the best thing is to share it with others. In order to live happily with others, one cannot be completely indifferent to the needs and sufferings of fellow human beings. A capitalistic society is based on the good of a few, but the kingdom of God and Jannat is formed for the good of all individuals.
Those people who lust for money and power only cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven—only those who believe in a creator, who has given the free gift of life to all human beings and has scattered the provisions for the maintenance of life. He has given us the chance to improve our abilities to be good human beings and act harmoniously with his law. These individuals can build the kingdom of God. The people with this mindset will be able to form a kingdom of God or Jannat. These individuals are convinced that every human action, big or small, has its consequences which will return back to the doer in the shape of punishment or pleasure in this and the coming life. So they work hard to establish a society where values and not money bring respect and honor.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
The Quran and the Bible both are emphasizing the truth that money cannot be a guarantee for future better life. The Quran talks in surah 104:2-7 about the person who amasses enormous wealth and counts it. The wealthy man thinks that his wealth will render him immortality. It will not happen. He will be thrown into the fire with flames that surround the heart.
In the past, the kingdom of heaven or Jannat, the ideal society without exploitation and suffering, was formed by Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). We have no record of that society. Although Christ and John the Baptist talked a lot about the kingdom of heaven, they were not able to form a society. John the Baptist was assassinated and Christ had to migrate. In future, this society will be formed with the help of forces of nature guided by values given by revelation.
