Malakut of A River in Paradise
The Quran, in Verse 15 of Surah Muhammad refers to four rivers in paradise:
“The example of the Paradise which the cautious have been promised in it, there are rivers of unstaling water, and rivers of milk that never change in flavor, and rivers of wine, delectable to the drinkers, and rivers of pure, filtered honey.”
The first one is a river of pure and unstaling water. What is the truth of water? The Quran says about al-Maa (water): “We made every living thing of water.” (Verse 30 of Surah Al-Anbiya)
So the life of every living thing is dependent on water and if there is no water, there will be no life. Therefore, there is a truth behind the word al-Maa on which all lives depend.
As pointed out earlier, mankind’s true life is crated after accepting the Prophet’s (PBUH) call. Without receiving the guidance and teachings of the prophets, one’s life would not go beyond that of animals: “We have destined many men and jinn for hell. They have hearts but do not understand, eyes but do not see. They have ears but do not hear. They are worse than lost cattle. These are the heedless ones.” (Verse 179 of Surah Al-Aaraf)
The Quran says in Verse 16 of Surah Al-Jinn: “Had they (jinn and mankind) remained steadfast in their religion (Islam), We would certainly have given them abundant water to drink.”
Obviously, here water refers to the truth of faith in God and Marifat (knowledge of spiritual truth). The use of the word water here signifies that the teachings of divine messengers and men and God are like a spring of life.
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The rivers flowing in paradise are actually the Malakut of knowledge and Marfiat that gives life to believers’ heart.
In this world, believers receive spiritual life by acknowledging the oneness God and through the teachings of prophets and men of God. As a matter of fact, the true life of human society is cultivated by the teachings of the prophets and men of God, as the Quran says: “Say: ‘What do you think. If your water should sink into the earth in the morning, who then would bring you running water?’” (Verse 30 of Surah Al-Mulk)
