of theirs as if they were hidden pearls” (52:24); “And round about them shall go youths (wildān) never altering in age” (56:17; 76:19). In the first case, there is a double indication showing that these boys, called the ghilmān, are the offspring of the faithful; they are called ghilmān-un la-ḥum or their boys, and it is clearly stated that God will “unite with them (i.e., the righteous) their offspring” (52:21). To the same effect, it is elsewhere said that the “offspring” of the faithful will be made to enter Paradise with them (40:8). Hence the ghilmān and the wildān are the young children who have died in childhood. There is, however, a possibility that these boys are only a blessing of Paradise, as boyhood is, like womanhood, an emblem of purity and beauty.

Abode of peace

No reader of the Holy Qur’ān can fail to see that the real picture of Paradise, therein portrayed, has no implication whatsoever, of any sensual pleasure. Some of the verses which reveal the true nature of Paradise may be quoted: “Allāh has promised to the believing men and women gardens in which rivers flow, to abide in them, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode; and greatest of all is Allāh’s goodly pleasure, that is the grand achievement” (9:72). “Those who believe and do good, their Lord guides them by their faith; rivers will flow beneath them in Gardens of bliss. Their cry therein will be: Glory to Thee, O Allāh! and their greeting, Peace! And the last of their cry will be: Praise be to Allāh, the Lord of the worlds” (10:9, 10). “Their greeting therein is, Peace!” (14:23). “Surely those who keep their duty are in Gardens and fountains: Enter them in peace, secure. And We shall root out whatever of rancour is in their breasts — as brethren, on raised couches, face to face. Toil afflicts them not in it, nor will they be ejected therefrom” (15:45-48). “And they say: Praise be to Allāh, Who has removed grief from us! Surely our Lord is Forgiving, Multiplier of rewards, Who out of His grace has made us alight in a house abiding forever; therein toil touches us not nor does fatigue afflict us therein” (35:34-35). “They have fruits therein, and they have whatever they desire. Peace! A word from the Merciful Lord” (36:57-58). “Enter it in peace. That is the day of abiding. For them therein is all they wish, and with Us is yet more” (50:34-35).