Promised Land Overflowing with Milk and Honey

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

Allah جلَّ جَلَالَهُ says:

مَّثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ ۖ فِيهَا أَنْهَارٌ مِّن مَّاءٍ غَيْرِ آسِنٍ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّن لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشَّارِبِينَ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ عَسَلٍ مُّصَفًّى ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ كَمَنْ هُوَ خَالِدٌ فِي النَّارِ وَسُقُوا مَاءً حَمِيمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَاءَهُمْ۝

“A parable of the Garden, which is promised to the Righteous, therein are rivers of water unpolluted, rivers of milk, the taste of which doesn’t change, rivers of wine, delicious for the drinkers, and rivers of purified honey. Therein for them is every kind of fruit and forgiveness from their Lord. (Is this) like he who will abide forever in the Fire, and they will be given to drink boiling water so it cuts to pieces their intestines?”

(Surah 47:15)

 

This of course is the parable or example of the Garden (Paradise), Gan Eden or Jannaatu-Adn. As I have explained in previous entries, the Paradise in the world to come shall be located in the Holy Land. This is why the one is considered a مثل (parable or example) of the other. The Torah too repeatedly describes the Promised Land as overflowing with “milk and honey”.

 

It is also suggested that the things mentioned about Paradise in this Ayah are a similitude of what will actually be there, in other words, the rivers of water, milk, wine and honey are a parable of what truly awaits the Righteous. This is what the Quran infers when it is stated:

 

وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍ رِّزْقًا ۙ قَالُوا هَـٰذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا ۖ

“And give glad tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that for them are Gardens beneath which Rivers flow. Everytime they are provided from it of fruit as provision they will say: ‘This is what we were provided with from before’ And they will be given therefrom (things) in resemblance.”

(Surah 2:25)