A064
Surah: 029 - Ayah: 064
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29:64
First of all, it should be known that paradise exists in three forms: Physical, spiritual and intellectual. A clear proof of this concept is the human personality which, as the model of creation and the quintessence of existent, is the sum of body, spirit and intellect. The comparison of paradise with the human personality Is necessary, also, because of the fact that, paradise Is created according to the physical, spiritual and intellectual requirements of man and thus it Is living, speaking and knowing in the highest and the truest attributes of body, spirit and Intellect, as God says: "This life of the world is but a pastime and a game. Lo! the abode of Hereafter is true life (hayawan) (and living-haywan), if they but knew" (29:64). Although there is a difference in the meaning of the words, hayawan (life) and haywan (living), but the way the Qur'an is revealed in seven modes (ahruf), according to this principle, hayawan can also be read haywan and this alludes profoundly to the fact that the abode of the Hereafter is living (hayawan) and is in human form. For the way the life of the Hereafter Is given greater preference over the life of this world, and the sagacious way In which the paradise is praised and described in the word "hayawan". shows that the paradise is like a perfect and complete personality.
Salman - the Gate of Paradise
Q. 92. "As-Salmanu babun min abwabi'I-jannah (Salman is a gate from among the gates of paradise)". Please tell us some wisdoms of this blessed Tradition.
A. It should be known that (in the time of Salman), the living paradise of spirituality and luminosity in human attire on earth were Natiq and Asas. This is why the blessed gates of paradise were also in the form of living and speaking persons. One of these blessed gates was in the form of Salman-i Farsi. Otherwise, where are those beauties having the soil of intellect and soul and the elements of knowledge and wisdom, which are evergreen with the flowers and fruits of the delights of the Divine secrets and the fragrances of unity, in the gardens and meadows of this world! But the holy light of Muhammad (s.a.) and Ali (a.s.) in the person of the living and present Imam, is that living garden of paradise which the words fail to duly praise and describe.
Salman-i Farsi was a gate of the living paradise of this holy personality in the sense that, he was a means of the dawat-i haqq (the true mission), a path of light, an example of real love, a treasure of Imam's knowledge, a treasure trove of ma'rifat and a mirror of spirituality.
The Qur'anic verse (29:64) implies that the home of the Hereafter, whether it is in paradise or hell, is living. This implies that some highest hudud in the religion, namely, Universal Intellect, Universal Soul, Natiq and Asas. as each of them has two positions, are the eight paradises. The hudud next to them, hold the position of the gates and the hudud of the third grade are the people who will enter the paradise through these gates. For details, see "Wajh-i Din", Chapter V.
Arwah (Collective soul, Perfect Man)
In verse (29:64), God says: "This life of the world is not more than sport and play and the abode of the real life is the abode of the hereafter, if they but knew." In this verse there is a special word "al-hayawan" which Hakim Pir Nasir-i Khusraw has read in the sense of "living". This means that paradise is in the form of a perfect rational animal, i.e. man, who is the Perfect Man. (See Wajh, p. 41).
Hayawan (Alive, life)
There is a Divine treasure of fundamental wisdoms in verse (29:64), which is: "And verily the abode of the hereafter is certainly alive, if they but knew." For details, see Wajh, p. 41.
According to verse (29:64) of the Qur'an, the home of the hereafter is living, and it is obvious the living are human beings and animals. This shows that the palaces of paradise, which have intellect and soul are the Prophet, the Imam and the true mu’mins, within whom can be seen the above mentioned paradise of spirituality if their batin (inner aspect) is observed in the illumination of divine light. Contrary to this, the narrow houses of hell are animals and also those people who according to the decision of the Qur'anic verse (7:179): “These are as the cattle – nay, but they are worse” have been included among animals.
The same is true of human survival: In the particular case it is mutable and changeable, but universally it is eternal and unchangeable. The changeable survival of man is his transitory physical life (29:64) and the unchangeable survival is the ever-lasting, pure, spiritual life (16:97). If this eternal life of man is compared to wakefulness and the changeable transitory life to dream, there should not be any surprise if the former in contrast to the latter is called the real life and the latter, metaphorical or unreal death.
This verse has been referred 7 times.