Islaam for a Buddhist

Mr Varshaken, I shall try to answer your question on hell & heaven, but before I do so I will need to give some introduction on why I believe in heaven & hell.

Recently, the world has experienced how hundreds and thousands of lives were wiped away in no time by the Tsunami. The devastating effect was so great that it swept through countries so far apart such as the distance between Indonesia and the Maldives for example. And it was over so soon and bodies were strewn like moths and the land became unrecognisable. This was a spectacle that the entire world watched in horror and to forget this event we would be doing it at our own peril, in my opinion. This event clearly demonstrated that God can accomplish whatever He chooses and He only needs to say �BE� and it is. No matter what explanation the scientists give to this phenomenon, they cannot prevent it. It is not for me to make a judgement about this event. All that I am trying to say is that it reinforces by a real life example that God can accomplish whatever He wishes and it is for us to fear Him and seek His forgiveness.

A number of these kind of events have been shown as examples to us in the Qur�an where entire nations were wiped out by God�s wrath, and for those of us who have read the Qur�an and witnessed the terrible Tsunami it should strengthen our belief in God and whatever has been said in the Qur�an is entirely true.

Allah has said in the Qur�an that we are going to be raised up on the day of Judgement and we will receive our reward for whatever good or bad we have done. That terrible day has been described quite vividly in the Qur�an. Many sceptics argue how can we be raised up when we are dust and bone, especially so when bodies are cremated they become ash. Living in an era when the scientists are able to clone a living being from a somatic cell, I wonder if the sceptics can still continue to argue if God can raise us up when we are dust and bone. When man created from a despicable fluid is able to create one like himself, what cannot God do?

I will again quote some verses of the Qur�an for the description of Judgement day, heaven and hell. Now please keep in mind one thing, that our comprehension of the unseen is only limited to our experiences on this earth and to our ability to think. I have read elsewhere that we cannot even imagine Heaven, because it is far beyond our comprehension. God knows best. So the description in the Qur�an is limited to whatever we have seen or experienced or able to think/comprehend in this life. Here are only a few verses, there is a lot more in the Qur'an with even more description. :

Day of Judgement:

036.049: They will not (have to) wait for aught but a single Blast: it will seize them while they are yet disputing among themselves!

036.050: No (chance) will they then have, by will, to dispose (of their affairs), nor to return to their own people!

036.051: And the trumpet shall be blown, when lo ! from their graves they shall hasten on to their Lord.

036.052: They will say: "Ah! Woe unto us! Who hath raised us up from our beds of repose?"... (A voice will say:) "This is what (Allah) Most Gracious had promised. And true was the word of the messengers!"

036.053: It will be no more than a single Blast, when lo! they will all be brought up before Us!

036.054: Then, on that Day, not a soul will be wronged in the least, and ye shall but be repaid the meeds of your past Deeds.

Heaven:

036.055: Verily the Companions of the Garden shall that Day have joy in all that they do;

036.056: They and their associates will be in groves of (cool) shade, reclining on Thrones (of dignity);

036.057: (Every) fruit (enjoyment) will be there for them; they shall have whatever they call for;

036.058: "Peace!" - a word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!

Hell:

036.059. "And O ye in sin! Get ye apart this Day! 036.060. "Did I not enjoin on you, O ye Children of Adam, that ye should not worship Satan; for that he was to you an enemy avowed?-

036.061. "And that ye should worship Me, (for that) this was the Straight Way?

036.062. "But he did lead astray a great multitude of you. Did ye not, then, understand?

036.063. "This is the Hell of which ye were (repeatedly) warned!

036.064. "Embrace ye the (fire) this Day, for that ye (persistently) rejected (Truth)."

036.065. That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did.

Surah 88. The Overwhelming, The Pall

1. Has the story reached thee of the overwhelming (Event)?

2. Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated,

3. Labouring (hard), weary,-

4. The while they enter the Blazing Fire,-

5. The while they are given, to drink, of a boiling hot spring,

6. No food will there be for them but a bitter Dhari' (thorns)

7. Which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger.

8. (Other) faces that Day will be joyful,

9. Pleased with their striving,-

10. In a Garden on high,

11. Where they shall hear no (word) of vanity:

12. Therein will be a bubbling spring:

13. Therein will be Thrones (of dignity), raised on high,

14. Goblets placed (ready),

15. And cushions set in rows,

16. And rich carpets (all) spread out.

17. Do they not look at the Camels, how they are made?-

18. And at the Sky, how it is raised high?-

19. And at the Mountains, how they are fixed firm?-

20. And at the Earth, how it is spread out?

21. Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one to admonish.

22. Thou art not one to manage (men's) affairs.

23. But if any turn away and reject Allah,-

24. Allah will punish him with a mighty Punishment,

25. For to Us will be their return;

26. Then it will be for Us to call them to account.

Mr Varshaken, I am not a scholar and my knowledge is limited to whatever is plain in the Qur'an and easy to follow. Also we have been advised:

003.007: He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.

1. "And does death means sleep, I mean we will be sleeping in our grave until Allaah raises us?"

I will leave this question open for anyone with knowledge to answer. I do not wish to speculate on an issue of which my knowledge is scant.

2. "And if anyone goes to hell, then does he stay there forever?"

011.107: They will dwell therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord willeth: for thy Lord is the (sure) accomplisher of what He planneth.

If you need further explanation of the above verse again I will leave this for those with knowledge to answer.

3. but I need the meaning of the versus:

"036.065. That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did.

Again if anyone with knowledge can help here. I have merely copied below the commentary from Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation:

"The ungodly will now be dumbfounded. They will be unable to speak or offer any defence." "But their silence will not matter. Their own hands and feet will speak against them. "Hands and feet" in this connection are symbolical of all the instruments for action which they were given in this life, including their faculties and opportunities. The same extended meaning is to be understood for "eyes" in the following verse. Cf.also xli. 20-21, where eyes, ears, and skins are all mentioned as bearing witness against such as misused them.

041.019 On the Day that the enemies of Allah will be gathered together to the Fire, they will be marched in ranks. 
041.020: At length, when they reach the (Fire), their hearing, their sight, and their skins will bear witness against them, as to (all) their deeds.

041.021: They will say to their skins: "Why bear ye witness against us?" They will say: "Allah hath given us speech,- (He) Who giveth speech to everything: He created you for the first time, and unto Him were ye to return.

041.022: Ye did not seek to hide yourselves, lest your hearing, your sight, and your skins should bear witness against you! But ye did think that Allah knew not many of the things that ye used to do! 

Explanations of every verse may not be available but some scholars have done a tremendous job of translating and providing commentary of certain verses. May God bless them for the wonderful work that they have done. Many of us Muslims don't understand Arabic the language in which the Qur'an was revealed. Without the hard work of these scholars we would have been very ignorant. However, we have to remember that these scholars who have helped us understand the Qur'an are also human beings and everyone may not agree with everything they have said. So if I recommend to you certain scholars whose works I find appealing, you may also come across people who would not approve of their works. So if you have a thirst for knowledge on Islam I would suggest that you try and read from the commentaries of also a couple of other noted scholars.

I have found the works of Abdullah Yusuf Ali very useful, though in some instances I may differ. Other translators and commentators widely used are Maulana Maududi and Pickthall. Again not everyone finds agreement with them. It is very hard to find the commentaries on the web. You may need to either visit an Islamic bookshop or if you know some good Muslims in Sri Lanka, please ask for their help in getting an English translation of the Holy Qur'an with commentary by a well recognised and accepted scholar.

Here is a website that is said to contain the commentary by Yusuf Ali which may help you. I have only done a very brief survey of this website and I request other readers of this post to alert if this website is unsafe in any form along with reasons.

http://www.shaplus.com/free-quran-software/quran-multiple-tr anslation-software/QuranTrans/qurantrans-features.htm

Happy reading! May Allah guide you to the Right Path!

you want to read the translation of the quran or download one. try www.divineislam.com download the quran, with recitations and stories of the prophet by imam ibn kathir (very famous). all the prophets that are mentioned in the quran and some from the bible.