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{{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth. }}The gates of the heavens are mentioned elsewhere such as below, saying even if God opened a gate so the disbelievers could climb up it, they would still not believe. | {{Quote|{{Quran|54|11}}|So We opened the gates of heaven, with water pouring forth. }}The gates of the heavens are mentioned elsewhere such as below, saying even if God opened a gate so the disbelievers could climb up it, they would still not believe. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|15|14-15}}|And if We open for them a gate in the heavens, to ascend it through the day – Even then they would say, “Our sights have been hypnotised – in fact, a magic spell has been cast upon us.”}}God is also described as having the keys to these: | {{Quote|{{Quran|15|14-15}}|And if We open for them a gate in the heavens, to ascend it through the day – Even then they would say, “Our sights have been hypnotised – in fact, a magic spell has been cast upon us.”}} | ||
God is also described as having the keys to these: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|42|12}}|To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth: He expands the provision for whomever He wishes, and tightens it [for whomever He wishes]. Indeed He has knowledge of all things.’}}{{Quote|{{Quran|39|63}}|To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, and those who disbelieve in the signs of Allah—it is they who are the losers.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|42|12}}|To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth: He expands the provision for whomever He wishes, and tightens it [for whomever He wishes]. Indeed He has knowledge of all things.’}}{{Quote|{{Quran|39|63}}|To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth, and those who disbelieve in the signs of Allah—it is they who are the losers.}} | ||
It seems that once resurrected, it appears that righteous Muslims will ascend the cosmos to the upper heavens, which are on top of/above each other (Quran 67:3, Quran 71:15) on judgement day, for whom God will open the gates of the skies (so that they can pass the firmament - gates would not be needed if they were simply layers rather than solid objects): | It seems that once resurrected, it appears that righteous Muslims will ascend the cosmos to the upper heavens, which are on top of/above each other (Quran 67:3, Quran 71:15) on judgement day, for whom God will open the gates of the skies (so that they can pass the firmament - gates would not be needed if they were simply layers rather than solid objects): | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|78|19}}|And the heavens will be opened and become gates}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|78|19}}|And the heavens will be opened and become gates}} | ||
And similarly in Q7:40. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|7|40}}|Indeed, those who deny Our signs and are disdainful of them—the gates of the heaven will not be opened for them, nor shall they enter paradise until the camel passes through the needle’s eye, and thus do We requite the guilty.}} | |||
Which likely then connect to actual paradise (jannah) as they leave the cosmos via ascension (as mentioned above in Q15:14), as paradise (jannah) is also separately described as having its own gates (e.g. {{Quran|38|50}}, {{Quran|39|73}}), a common motif in antiquity as Dr Sean W Anthony explains: | Which likely then connect to actual paradise (jannah) as they leave the cosmos via ascension (as mentioned above in Q15:14), as paradise (jannah) is also separately described as having its own gates (e.g. {{Quran|38|50}}, {{Quran|39|73}}), a common motif in antiquity as Dr Sean W Anthony explains: | ||
{{Quote|Anthony, Sean W., Dr.. Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam. University of California Press. Kindle Edition. Location 1134 - 1145.|The cosmological notion of humankind being blocked from accessing Paradise by gates and, thus, the existence of a heavenly gatekeeper is quite an ancient one and by no means exclusive to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim sacred cosmology. Indeed, where “the keys to heaven” as opposed to “the keys of Paradise” motif appears first in the Islamic tradition is in the Qurʾan itself. According the Qurʾan, however, it is God alone who possesses “the keys to the Heavens and Earth [maqālīd al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ]” (Q. Zumar 39:63, Shūrā 42:12). In the Qurʾān, the keys to the Heavens and Earth are cosmological and do not assume an explicitly eschatological function—rather the emphasis falls on God’s unrivaled sovereignty over the cosmos as its sole Creator. Yet the Qurʾan does speak of the doors of heaven in a strikingly eschatological vein. Most illustrative of this is the sole verse in which both Paradise (al-jannah) and heaven (al-samāʾ; lit., “the sky”) are mentioned together: “Truly, as for those who disbelieve and spurn our signs, the doors of heaven will not be opened for them nor will they enter Paradise until the camel passes through the eye of a needle” (Q, Aʿrāf 7:40). If a distinction is to be drawn between heaven (al-samāʾ) and Paradise (al-jannah) in qurʾānic cosmology, Paradise appears to be the felicitous abode that lies beyond the sky canopy of the heavens above the Earth.}} | {{Quote|Anthony, Sean W., Dr.. Muhammad and the Empires of Faith: The Making of the Prophet of Islam. University of California Press. Kindle Edition. Location 1134 - 1145.|The cosmological notion of humankind being blocked from accessing Paradise by gates and, thus, the existence of a heavenly gatekeeper is quite an ancient one and by no means exclusive to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim sacred cosmology. Indeed, where “the keys to heaven” as opposed to “the keys of Paradise” motif appears first in the Islamic tradition is in the Qurʾan itself. According the Qurʾan, however, it is God alone who possesses “the keys to the Heavens and Earth [maqālīd al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ]” (Q. Zumar 39:63, Shūrā 42:12). In the Qurʾān, the keys to the Heavens and Earth are cosmological and do not assume an explicitly eschatological function—rather the emphasis falls on God’s unrivaled sovereignty over the cosmos as its sole Creator. Yet the Qurʾan does speak of the doors of heaven in a strikingly eschatological vein. Most illustrative of this is the sole verse in which both Paradise (al-jannah) and heaven (al-samāʾ; lit., “the sky”) are mentioned together: “Truly, as for those who disbelieve and spurn our signs, the doors of heaven will not be opened for them nor will they enter Paradise until the camel passes through the eye of a needle” (Q, Aʿrāf 7:40). If a distinction is to be drawn between heaven (al-samāʾ) and Paradise (al-jannah) in qurʾānic cosmology, Paradise appears to be the felicitous abode that lies beyond the sky canopy of the heavens above the Earth.}} |
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