Entry into Paradise

What practices should we adopt to merit Paradise? During the life of the Prophet (sws) people would ask him such questions seeking guidance. What would be the few prominent things that we can pick from all the Aḥadīth that we have with us today and all the teachings of the Qur’ān that have reached us to practice in our life and hope to merit entry into Paradise?

The first is faith. What we have to believe in is known and recognized by everyone. In this world we believe firmly that we are servants of God. We have to present ourselves before Him one day. We will be held accountable. Thus we should believe in the necessary articles of faith.

The second is to do good deeds. This does not require guidance from a prophet. The few matters that may be ambiguous have been adequately explained by all prophets. Otherwise human insight shows the difference between good and evil. God has implanted this knowledge in man before sending him in this world. Thus the required knowledge that is needed for this world already exists in human nature. The Qur’ān has referred to this fact in the verse:

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا  قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا  وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا (٩١: ٧-١٠)

And the soul bears witness and the perfection given to it, then [God] inspired it with its evil and its good that he succeeded who purified it and he failed who corrupted it. (91:7-10)

The third factor is that when we come to know of a good thing we should welcome it as a blessing of God. Thus what we have learnt we need to present it politely also to the people around us. We should use the abilities God has given to us, the powers He has endowed us with, the time we have been granted to pass His message. We need to communicate the knowledge we possess to others. We must realize that the learning we have developed is not material wealth which we are supposed to guard. It is something to be distributed freely. Whatever good that we know of should be given to others, whether it is small or great. One may find many occasions in one’s surroundings to propagate it. It does not require leaving what one is doing. We are not required to go through strenuous rituals. We can do it while doing our routine business, trading, dealing in a market, working in other professions, wherever and whenever we find an opportunity and meet people.

The fourth factor is that we should look around us and get involved in any good work, any worthy act to which we can devote our time, money, personal effort. If there are such activities, we should think about them, ponder over them and decide on our involvement in the light of our knowledge and reason. We should go ahead and provide support and help.

These are the four main things that could assist us in gaining entry to Paradise. This summarizes the entire message of the Qur’ān.