Paradise is an ideal world that will come in the hereafter after death, specially prepared by God. God, according to His plan of creation, made a totally perfect and eternal world called paradise in His neighbourhood. A world which is in accordance with the desires of human beings, which is free of all kinds of limitations and disadvantages, including fear and pain. There, man will have every opportunity to live to his full capacity. His being will have its fulfillment. It will be an eternal world, where he shall remain forever young, and old age will not afflict him any longer. He will not fall victim to any decline or decay. Paradise is indeed the most beautiful and perfect place, in the neighourhood of God, where all believers will live eternally.

As a matter of principle, this perfect paradise could not be inhabited by ‘less then perfect’ creatures. So, God created this perfection-seeking creature called man. He, however, did not want to place men in paradise without selecting the perfect from among them. So, God in his infinite wisdom created this limited present world to put man on ‘trial’ so that He may ‘select’ the ones who were perfect to inhabit paradise.

This paradise will be brought into existence in the world after death. The stage before death is one of ‘preparation’ or ‘trial’, and the stage after death is that of ‘reward’ or ‘punishment’, commensurate with this preparation. God has therefore hidden paradise from our eyes due to the exigencies of man’s trial.

This world therefore has all the necessary ingredients for the ‘trial’. It has man as the perfection-seeking creature in a less than perfect world where he has been given complete and full ‘freedom’. Man thus has a ‘choice’ to misuse his freedom by creating havoc, killing people, living a life of leisure, etc or use his freedom wisely by discovering the Unseen God and submitting to Him and qualifying for paradise.

So we can say that the present world is one of toil and struggle, whereas the next world will be one of joy and bliss. The present world is for the selection of those souls who will be fit to inherit life everlasting. The next world will be one of eternal honour and happiness. Such a world can only be inhabited by those who have adopted divine qualities. In fact, God has made the universe a model of His own qualities. It is those who make those qualities their own who will be fit to inhabit God’s ideal world in the hereafter.

We do not have to look far to see what these divine qualities consist of they are fully exemplified in the world around us. It will be those whose hearts and minds are as lofty as the mountains and as deep as the seas who will be fit to enter paradise. Those who do not obstruct others, but pass through their midst like the winds blowing through a forest; who pursue a silent course through life, like stars moving across the sky; who show no prejudice towards others, but shine like the sun on friend and foe alike; who do not thrive on fame and prestige, but blossom selflessly like the flowers; who are benevolent and compassionate towards others, like a rivers which forges a course for itself through the land, benefiting those who live on its banks; who derive spiritual nourishment from the whole world, like trees which are sustained by earth, water, fire and air; who are free of pride and arrogance, casting themselves before the Lord like shadows lying prostrate upon the ground.

Paradise is for those pure souls who in their life before death, came up to the standard of the citizenship of paradise, who will be granted an abode in this perfect world of paradise: a perfect world of eternal comforts and pleasures. Perhaps it is this Divine plan, which has thus been alluded to by Jesus Christ in these words:

“Pray to God in these words: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew: chapter 6)