Christians say number of gardens in Paradise is 'contradictory'

26-10-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

Aslamualakum "How many gardens are there in paradise? ONE [as stated in 39:73, 41:30, 57:21, 79:41] or MANY [18:31, 22:23, 35:33, 78:32]?" This is a question posed by Chrisitans to muslims, i have seen two answers, but i like your answers. Please can you answer it. The other asnwers are here http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/the_number_of_gardens_in_paradise__by_ansar_al__adl http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/my_03.htm

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The Quran was revealed in the language of the Arabs, so the Quran is understood on this basis. If someone is ignorant of the language, he is ignorant of the meanings. There is no contradiction between the use of the singular form “Jannah” (Garden) in some verses of the Quran and the use of the plural form “Jannaat” (Gardens) in other verses. The Arabic noun “Jannah” is a generic noun that refers to all that Paradise contains of gardens, houses and palaces. The word is used in the plural form in many verses because there are many gardens and they are of two main categories. Abu Moosa Al-Ash‘ari reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Two gardens of gold, their vessels, jewelry and all their contents are of gold; and two gardens of silver, their vessels and jewelry are of silver.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] This is a sub-categorization of the gardens in Paradise in a specific regard.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 47690.

Names are also assigned to Paradise to indicate certain meanings. It is known as Dar Al-Khuld, Jannat Al-Ma’wa (the Garden of Refuge), Jannaat ‘Adn (the Garden of Eden), Daar As-Salaam, and by other names, each denoting a specific meaning. For instance, “Daar Al-Khuld,” means “Abode of Eternity” because the dwellers of Paradise abide in it for eternity. It is also known as “Daar As-Salaam,” meaning “Abode of Peace” because it is the place whose inhabitants are safe from every evil and harm; and so on.

Ibn Al-Qayyim mentioned the meanings of those different names of Paradise in his famous poem An-Nooniyyah. He also mentioned them in his book Haadi Al-Arwaah ila Bilaad Al-Afraah.

The Quran is free of any contradiction, unlike the previous divine scriptures like the Torah and the Gospel. The Quran has been preserved by Allaah against distortion and alteration. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Then do they not reflect upon the Quran? If it had been from [any] other than Allaah, they would have found within it much contradiction.} [Quran 4:82]

We would like to draw the attention of that Christian and others to the myths and contradictions in the present-day Christianity; please refer to Fataawa 10326 and 90449. We would also like to encourage this Christian person to consider embracing Islam, the true religion of Allaah with which He abrogated all the previous divine messages. Please refer to Fataawa 81979 ,86091 and  88906 about the proof that Islam is the true religion of Allaah.

Allaah Knows best.