with no guidance, and destines him for Hell? Why should
one submit to a god who acts, in the words of the Koran, as
‘‘the best of plotters’’ (Sura 8:30)?
The God worshiped by Christians, however, never
leads people to sin; His grace always impels us towards
virtue and holiness. And, should we be tempted by the
world, the flesh, or the Devil, God offers us sufficient grace
to avoid sin (1 Cor 10:13).
- What is the Islamic teaching on Paradise
(Heaven)?
The Muslim concept of the afterlife in Paradise differs
dramatically from the Christian view of Heaven as a blissful
union with God Himself, a veritable partaking of the divine
nature (see 2 Pt 1:4). In Islam, Allah remains unknowable
even in Paradise. Humans will never be able to approach
Him, know Him, or see Him.
For the ‘‘singleminded slaves of Allah’’ there is ‘‘a
known provision, fruits. And they will be honored in the
Gardens of delight, on couches facing one another; a cup
from a gushing spring is brought round for them, white,
delicious to the drinkers, wherein there is no headache nor
are they made mad [i.e., drunk] thereby. And with them are
those of modest gaze, with lovely eyes, (pure) as they were
hidden eggs (of the ostrich)’’ (Sura 37:40–49).
This vision is a repeated preoccupation of the Koran.
Those who have won Allah’s favor ‘‘shall recline on
jeweled couches face to face, and there shall wait on them