We believe that no one goes forth from this world...

We believe that no one goes forth from this world, until he sees his own place, either in Heaven or in Hell.[^13] And verily no true believer ( mu'min ) goes forth from this world without being shown the best place that he has seen in this world, and he sees also his place in the next world. Then he is asked to choose between the two, and he chooses the next world (al-akhira as dis. from ad-dunya), and at this moment he dies.

In common parlance (when someone dies) people say: So and so has made a gift of his spirit. Now no one gives away anything, save by his own free will, unless he is compelled or constrained.[^14] As regards the Garden (janna) of Adam, it was one of the gardens of this world, in which the sun rose and set; it was by no means the Garden of Eternity (jannatu'l-khuld).

If it were the Eternal Paradise he would never have gone forth from it.[^15] We believe that the people of Paradise reside therein eternally as a reward (for their good actions); and the inhabitants of Hell remain there forever as a punishment (for their sins).[^16] Not a single person enters Paradise except that he is shown his place in Hell and told: This was your place. Had you disobeyed Allah, you would surely have been in it.

And no one enters Hell-fire, but is previously shown his place in Paradise and told: This was your place, if only you had obeyed Allah, you would surely have been in it. And these (the righteous ones) inherit (the houses in Paradise) in the place of those (i.e. the unrighteous ones and the unbelievers). And this is in accordance with the saying of Allah: “These are the heirs who will inherit Paradise. There they will abide (Qur'an 23:10-11) .

And the least of believers in point of rank in Paradise shall have ten times of what he had in this world. [^1]: For the word janna, see Jeffery, 103. Paradise, according to Was. Abi Hanifa, art. 20 (MC, 129), is a reality; it is created and everlasting; its inhabitants will not vanish (art. 27). See also MC,166. Orthodox Muslim theology knows only of a heavenly Paradise, while some like the Hishimites, Dirirites, Jahmites and a section of Qadarites believed in a worldly Paradise, ibid., 166.

Some persons will enter Paradise even without interrogation, ibid., 177. The delights of Paradise are graphically described in the Qur'an as well as in the creeds; for example, the black-eyed ones (hur), free from impurity, untouched by man or jinn, etc., ibid., 234. Later creeds like Fiqh Akbar II, art.