The worldly boring Paradise of Quran

[InvestigateTruth]

If one assumes, that the literal understanding of the verses that describes the Paradise as the after life, to be true, wouldn't it be a worldly and boring paradise?

What Average Muslims and even others such as Atheists understand about Paradise descriptions of the Quran, is quite a worldly place, only located somehwere else.
Consider, the virgin girls, the palaces, the gardens, trees, the servants, the rivers of wine or honey. Aren't these worldly things, only located somewhere else?

How does that make sense to you that, on one hand the Quran teaches that, being worldy is a negative thing. You shouldn't be after worldly things such as wealth and lust, but the reward of the afterlife, would be just the same things that it wants you not to go after?
How boring will it be, to have such a life in paradise, the same thing over and over again forever, being in palace, gardens, beside the rivers, drink wine, and eat fruits from trees?
Do you see the big big contradiction?

 

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Unless you survey Muslims, I don't think you can know what majority believe about these descriptions.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Unless you survey Muslims, I don't think you can know what majority believe about these descriptions.

I lived in Iran among Muslims. I went to schools, and had to take Religion Courses in school. Their understanding was completely literal.
But feel free to explain your understanding.

 

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I lived in Iran among Muslims. I went to schools, and had to take Religion Courses in school. Their understanding was completely literal.
But feel free to explain your understanding.

The understanding to me comes from the concept of Wahdatal Wujood. Everything in this world is a manifestation of God. Everything is created in reality from him and manifests him to some degree.

I believe paradise will get augmented over time, but it's a place of returning to God. I believe things there are closer to God.

As for the women in paradise, they been emphasized to be pure as much as they been emphasized to be beautiful. They are also emphasized to be bright/luminous.

It maybe that intimacy gets augmented to include a spiritual element with fusion as means to return to God. That is the man collects fusions from them and they collect those fusions from him.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

I believe paradise will get augmented over time, but it's a place of returning to God. I believe things there are closer to God.

What do you mean by "returning to God" and "things there are closer to God"?

Do you mean, God is located there, and therefore, there is a short distance to where God is?

 

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What do you mean by "returning to God" and "things there are closer to God"?

Do you mean, God is located there, and therefore, there is a short distance to where God is?

I mean God is the Highest reality. If he can create us as his equals, he would've, but the impossibility because of his absolute existence which by definition cannot be repeated, he creates things in time and limited in nature.

Things will be closer to God's reality, fruit will be different for example, each will manifest God's beauty and glory in a way we have not experienced in this world.

However, the things will not stay stagnant, they will change. They will get augmented over time.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

I mean God is the Highest reality. If he can create us as his equals, he would've, but the impossibility because of his absolute existence which by definition cannot be repeated, he creates things in time and limited in nature.

Ok

Things will be closer to God's reality,

what do you mean by "things"? Do you mean things that are physical and have form? For example, a chair is a thing. A stone, is a thing. A tree, is a thing.
are you saying in Heaven, there are other physical things, that are not on earth, but the are closer to God's reality?

fruit will be different for example, each will manifest God's beauty and glory in a way we have not experienced in this world.

you mean, in the Garden of Paradise, there are trees. Those trees have fruits The fruits manifest God's beauti and glory?

However, the things will not stay stagnant, they will change. They will get augmented over time.

Ok

 

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Are you sure you lived in Iran and haven't came across the concept of Wahdatal Wujood? From that perspective you would easily understand.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

Are you sure you lived in Iran and haven't came across the concept of Wahdatal Wujood? From that perspective you would easily understand.

Ya, all things manifest God. But then, how would a physical Heaven or Paradise would be anymore closer to God than here? How would a fruit in paradise manifest light of God, unless those fruits, the river of honey or wine, those virgins are not literal or physical beings, but have a different symbolic meaning.

 

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Everything you see has descended from a higher reality and manifest a higher reality. In Mirjaaj, Mohammad (s) saw 40 hues of light, and it's said in the hadith that redness in this world get's it's redness from that redness. Of course, the spiritual red is higher and something else, then physical.

The way I understanding, is these things will compliment each other. So woman of paradise, pure souls they are, and bright, emphasis maybe an allusion that intimacy has more then just physical component, but that some sort of fusion will happen. If a man fuses back his original wife, it maybe that the man didn't get the better thing in this regard, because the best thing about heaven is tasting God and praising and loving God.

Rivers will be ways to experience God.

We will change over time, and things will get augmented. However, there will be a physical existence or else we would not be able to interact with the Prophets (a) for example who are much higher then us spiritually.

 

[Trailblazer]

How boring will it be, to have such a life in paradise, the same thing over and over again forever, being in palace, gardens, beside the rivers, drink wine, and eat fruits from trees?

Yes indeed, it would be boring if that is all there was. I love nature and scenery and animals, but what reason do we have to think those will not exist in the spiritual world?

“The spiritual world is like unto the phenomenal world. They are the exact counterpart of each other. Whatever objects appear in this world of existence are the outer pictures of the world of heaven.” The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 10

As for sex and other physical pleasures I could not care less about them being in the afterlife since I don't even care about them now!
The only thing I will really miss about the spiritual world is if there are no animals, especially no cats. That would really be difficult.

Do you see the big big contradiction?

Yes, I see a HUGE contradiction.

 

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There's also the perspective that paradise would not be meaningful if not a reward. So this world serves as a way to make it a reward. And the restraints in this world make sense since resources here are limited and justice should take priority.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Consider, the virgin girls, the palaces, the gardens, trees, the servants, the rivers of wine or honey. Aren't these worldly things, only located somewhere else?

Um, if you lived in a harsh desert environment, that would likely be your idea of paradise, too!

Honestly, the afterlife sounds rather boring in most religions if you take it literally.

 

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Um, if you lived in a harsh desert environment, that would likely be your idea of paradise, too!

Honestly, the afterlife sounds rather boring in most religions if you take it literally.

If paradise stays stagnant, it would be too boring over time. But it's a place of return to God and everything helps manifest God there and make him more known. And the tastes and everything there gets augmented.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

If paradise stays stagnant, it would be too boring over time. But it's a place of return to God and everything helps manifest God there and make him more known. And the tastes and everything there gets augmented.

I tend to view such doctrines as metaphors for mystical realities that can't be fully expressed in language. Interpreting it literally misses the point.

 

[InvestigateTruth]

If paradise stays stagnant, it would be too boring over time. But it's a place of return to God and everything helps manifest God there and make him more known. And the tastes and everything there gets augmented.

When Quran talks about an afterlife for the whole humanity, it is not talking about physical death. It is predicting, a time, when Spiritual Death of humanity comes. At that time God, blows a new Spiritual life to the lifeless body of humanity. Meaning a new guidance from God (earth shines with light of God). Consequently, the Heaven, and Hell, after the Spiritual Death of mankind, are also, Spiritual. Hell, is the state of those who do not follow the new guidance, and Heaven, is the state of those who enter the new Faith. It is in the Faith, that things are closer to God!
As regards to Life after physical life, that spiritual life starts for each person, the moment they take the last breath.

 

[Trailblazer]

Honestly, the afterlife sounds rather boring in most religions if you take it literally.

Well, most religions don't specify what the afterlife will be like, so there is nothing to take literally.
It is only the Qur'an that has some literal stuff like virgin girls, lol.

 

[Trailblazer]

There's also the perspective that paradise would not be meaningful if not a reward.

I agree, but what is the reward? What would be rewarding to some people would not necessarily be rewarding to other people.

So this world serves as a way to make it a reward.

How do you think that this world serves as a way to make it a reward?

And the restraints in this world make sense since resources here are limited and justice should take priority.

What restraints? What resources?