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→Similarities - but not exact parralels
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{{Quote|Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (p. 254). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|10. This argument in the Qurʾan, that the resurrection of the dead is like the effect of rain on dry earth, might be related to a Jewish tradition that God will resurrect the dead with dew. For example, see b. Shabbat 88b.}} | {{Quote|Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (p. 254). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|10. This argument in the Qurʾan, that the resurrection of the dead is like the effect of rain on dry earth, might be related to a Jewish tradition that God will resurrect the dead with dew. For example, see b. Shabbat 88b.}} | ||
== Expansions on the afterlife == | |||
The vividness of the qur’anic hell is not shared with the New Testament, in which Jesus refers only in allusive ways to the punishment of the afterlife. The closest the Gospels get to descriptions of the punishment of hell are those passages that speak of “fire,” “wailing,” and “gnashing” of teeth. In the explanation of the Parable of the Weeds (or “Tares”) told in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains the following: 40Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. (Matt 13:40–42) | |||
Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (pp. 81-82). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition. | |||
{{Quote|Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (pp. 82-83). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.|The way that the Qur’an describes hell in particularly vivid, gruesome terms brings us back to something we mentioned in Chapter 1, namely, that the Qur’an in many ways is a “homiletic” work, a work written like a homily or sermon. The Qur’an’s intention is not simply to declare that those who disobey God will be punished, but to describe that punishment in a way which brings the awfulness of hell to life. Similarly, homilists in the early centuries of Christianity expanded dramatically on the New Testament allusions to hell. In a sermon attributed to John Chrysostom (d. 407) we read a description of hell with the sort of detail that we find in the Qur’an: It is a sea of fire—not a sea of the kind or dimensions we know here, but much larger and fiercer, with waves made of fire, fire of a strange and fearsome kind. There is a great abyss there, in fact, of terrible flames, and one can see fire rushing about on all sides like some wild animal…. There will be no one who can resist, no one who can escape: Christ’s gentle, peaceful face will be nowhere to be seen.<sup>15</sup>}} | |||
We might note how all of these traditions are meant to make humans yearn for paradise and fear hell. The Qur’an, from this regard, is a profoundly psychological work. Like a Christian preacher, like John Chrysostom or Saint Ephrem, the author of the Qur’an speaks of heaven and hell to persuade his audience to repent and believe. He does so in a way, however, that is distinct—emphasizing physical pain and physical pleasure in order, apparently, to make a greater impression on his audience. He puts a terrible tree into hell and young women in paradise. | |||
Reynolds, Gabriel Said. Allah: God in the Qur'an (p. 88). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition. | |||
==Parallels in the hadith== | ==Parallels in the hadith== | ||