Paradise - Special Ramadan Programs

  Erdem Ertüzün: Good day to our viewers. We are together again on another one of our iftar shows. We will be talking about paradise today. My guest tonight is my dear friend Mehmet Yıldırım. Welcome Mehmet.

Mehmet Yıldırım: - I’m glad to be here. Thank you very much. You are also welcome.

Erdem Ertüzün: - Thank you

Erdem Ertüzün: God gives us very detailed information about Paradise in the Qur’an. We have recently talked about the life on this world, death, day of judgment and how we will be accounting for our deeds. Indeed after the accounting of our deeds Muslims will be conveyed to Paradise which God tells in the Qur’an as the actual abode and in which they will stay endlessly. They are taken into paradise. Those who are unbelievers have not used the time of the life on this earth for thinking about God, for remembering and praising Him, for worshipping Him and they are then taken into hell to live a life till eternity. Both paradise and hell have an unending life. People are taken to hell to live forever.

Erdem Ertüzün:  Let us make this clear first. A person who enters paradise is peaceful and joyful. Since he is saved, that is very important. A person who is taken into paradise knows for sure that God is content with him. So he is content with himself. He is aware that he is saved, that he has attained the real salvation. God tells us in the Quran, I seek refugee in God from the accursed satan,

‘Every self will taste death. You will be paid your wages in full on the Day of Rising. Anyone who is distanced from the Fire and admitted to the Garden has triumphed. The life of the dunya is just the enjoyment of delusion.’ Qur’an, 3/185

See, God reveals that Muslims are taken away from the fire and taken into paradise.

Erdem Ertüzün: We want the summer to come, and the weather to warm up, but then the heat comes along with the summer and there is this overwhelming heat. We can not find the ideal living in this life on earth, it is impossible. Because God creates this world with all the bad stuff, the weaknesses so that we long for paradise more. We are either sweating, or feeling cold, either hungry or feeling bothered because of overeating. Our stomach aches. The life on this earth is always like that. But we also have many blessings on this earth. Because God says that He will give the believers a good life. Believers will remember the blessings on this life when they go to paradise in the hereafter. God says in Surah al-Baqara verse no.25, ‘When they [the Muslims in paradise] are given fruit there as provision, they will say, ‘This is what we were given before.’ But they were only given a simulation of it.’ This is one of the wisdoms of the blessings we have here in this world. When believers go to paradise, he is used to that blessing, but of course here in this world that blessing is created with its defects. Yet in paradise that blessing comes to him as a pure blessing, free of any impotence.

Erdem Ertüzün: -Like I have previously said, there are many shortcomings and deficiencies in this world. But we may not be able to realize this fact since we may be looking at it with familiarity. For instance, sleeping and getting tired. A person needs to sleep everyday, he becomes tired, he can last only for 24 hours or so, he becomes weak. Or if he does not eat, he becomes weak. We consider this an ordinary fact, but when we see that this will not be existing in paradise, we will realize that it is a great blessing. We will understand its value, since we will be comparing it with this world. If there were no comparison with this world, if there were no deficiencies in this world, we would not have grasped this fact. But God creates these weaknesses for a special reason and they become important blessings for us to understand. The life on this earth is very short compared to the eternal life, short is not the word for it, it is as if it is nothing. That is why we will realize the blessings in the eternal life by comparing them with this life. It will become instrumental for us to remember God more and to praise Him more. 

Mehmet Yıldırım: -God tells us many details about the places where past communities lived. For instance in Surah al-Tawba verse 72 God tells, ‘God has promised the men and women of the believers Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever,..’ For instance, rivers. We see a river in this life and we feel very relieved and fresh. But it is only water. One of the beauties of Istanbul is that it is surrounded with water. Many people prefer to live in Istanbul just because there is sea around it. God gives us a special kind of happiness, freshness with water. We feel relieved. Since we know that it exists in paradise. Our longing for paradise gives us that feeling. Since we have it in our nature, God creates such a beauty. God tells in the rest of the verse as follows: ‘.. and fine dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. And God’s good pleasure is even greater. That is the great victory.’ It is actually the pleasure of God that is even greater. That is the real victory and salvation.

Erdem Ertüzün: -All the blessings in paradise is what we humans are longing for. God tells us in Surat al-Waqi’a verse 15 and 16, ‘On sumptuous woven couches, reclining on them face to face.’ Couches are really comfortable and are made for people’s resting. But people do not need to rest in paradise, but their nature longs for it. When they sit and rest back –again they have no need to rest back, there is no tiredness- but when they rest back they remember the life on this earth and get pleasure from it. God has created us in this manner, that is why we learn from the Qur’an that people in paradise converse on beautiful couches.

Mehmet Yıldırım: -The most important of all is God’s being content from us. Let me read some verses regarding this. I seek refugee in God from the accursed satan, verse 119 of Surat al-Maida says, ‘God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is the Great Victory.’ See, there is again victory. God repeats this many times. Because it is very important. The only salvation and success, says God.

Erdem Ertüzün: -I have a request from our viewers. Let them think about the verse that we have been reading here. The verses tells us a system of morality, morality of the Quran that a Muslim should have. If all the people on earth have such morality not even one of billionth of the problems would persist. Not one drop of blood would be shed. No one can be cross with another. No one would be offended with another. Bloodshedding would stop. All the negative stuff between people would disappear.

Mehmet Yıldırım: -I seek refugee in God from the accursed satan, Surat az-Zukhruf verse 69 reads as follows, ‘As for those who believe in Our Signs..’ and another verse reads, Those who say, ‘Our Lord is God,’ and then go straight..’ That is to say, believers do not deviate from the right path, they don’t weaken, they pray to God for strength. They pray to Him humbly and secretly, they beg Him. Since they know that everything is under His control and that He creates them all. That is why they demand everything from God and always prays to Him for worldwide influence. And God creates what they want in consequence of their prayers.

Erdem Ertüzün: - Thank you my brother. May God bless you.

Mehmet Yıldırım: -May God bless you too insha’Allah.