Al Fazl, 24 August 1922
17 July 1922
[…] Reality of Heaven and Hell
A friend asked Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II[ra], “Is the reality of Hell, Heaven and hurs [women of Paradise] the same as is generally understood or is it different?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“As far as the names are concerned, they are correct, but their reality is different, as the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said about the things of paradise that no eye has ever seen them, no ear has ever heard about them and its absolute reality can never be perceived by the mind and heart of any human being.
“It is said that a child asked his father about the definition of a king. The father simply said that a king is one whose orders can never be refused. Coincidentally, the father had a fragile nature and the mother was very strict. As soon as the child heard that definition of the king from his father, he immediately said: ‘So father! Then it means that my mother is the king. As the father could not fully describe the king before the child because he could not understand the deep complexities, he simply said whatever could be comprehended by the child but the child’s mind instead of perceiving the reality moved towards his mother’s kingship. In the same way, these words [i.e. hell, heaven, hur, etc.] are correct, but the people due to their lack of knowledge perceived that the fruits, houses, etc., [of Paradise], will be like those of this world.
“In fact, to understand the things of the next world, a much higher level of senses than the existing senses is needed. Otherwise, the present senses are like explaining the problems of philosophy to a buffalo or asking the buffalo about the taste of grapes. For a buffalo, grapes are its fodder. Another example is that of parents who say to encourage a child to study that if he studies, he will get laddus [Indian sweets]. However, when a child completes his education, if a plate of laddus is placed in front of him and he is told that this is the reward for his studies, he will certainly laugh because what he acquired through education is more valuable and superior in degree than those laddus.
“This does not mean that the things we will get [in the next world] will merely be an illusion of the mind, no, but there will be actual rewards. However, their reality will be different from what comes to our minds in this world. In fact, there will be more advanced things and rewards [in the next world], though we get similar things. We come to know from the Holy Quran that the true reward we will actually be blessed with is Liqa’ Allah [the communion with Allah].”
17 July 1922
“هو” Meaning of
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said]:
“The commentators [of the Holy Quran] have interpreted the word ‘هو’ as ‘the fact is this’. This is a very fine interpretation. These meanings draw a very wonderful picture. [Owing to this interpretation], it seems that there is a gathering in which people of every religion and nationality are present. [In this gathering], the Zoroastrians say that there are two gods, one is Ahura Mazda and the other is Ahriman. The Jews say that God is only one, but he has given his powers to some humans and so they also have divine powers. The Christians say there are three Gods, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The Hindus say that everything is God. All these people [of different religions] are presenting their own claims [in the gathering], but then God Almighty says to the Holy Prophetsa:
قُلْ
‘You should also speak.’ The Holy Prophetsa says, ‘What should I say?’ Allah the Almighty tells the Holy Prophetsa to say, ‘Whatever you [Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, Hindus, etc.] present is unreasonable. The fact is that God is One.”
“It is a very delightful statement. [God Almighty] rejected all the claims with just one word [‘هو’]. It was as if there was a debate going on with all those religions and the arguments were being presented, and finally, the decision was mentioned in the Holy Quran that the fact is that God is One, and everything else you say is unreasonable.”
Divine pearls of the Holy Quran
[Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said]:
“There are so many pearls of wisdom and insights in every single word of the Holy Quran that while studying it, I feel the same like the famous villager who [was awestruck] when he went to a crystal palace. I experience such delight that I cannot even explain it. This is the reason why when I started writing points in August for the notes and the dars [of the Holy Quran], so much time was spent that thus far, I have only been able to write the points of two and a half parts of the Holy Quran. From each verse of the Holy Quran, my heart yearns to get knowledge of every single aspect. Consequently, a lot of time is spent in this way.”
By way of illustration, explaining the greatness and excellence of the subjects of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“God Almighty said:
يَمۡحَقُ اللّٰهُ الرِّبٰوا وَيُرۡبِي الصَّدَقٰتِ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ اَثِيۡمٍ
[‘Allah will abolish interest and will cause charity to increase. And Allah loves not anyone who is a confirmed disbeliever and an arch sinner.’ (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.277)]
“This style of elucidation is exceptional. God says that We will abolish riba [interest] and increase charity. That is, interest, which is something that apparently increases, will be wiped out, and charity, in which it is considered that the wealth is being decreased, will be increased. It is as if an object present on the top of a mountain is picked up and thrown on the ground, and the other object lying on the ground is picked up and placed on the top of the mountain. Indeed, it is an excellent style.”
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 24 August 1922 issue of Al Fazl)