Matthew 19:24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than a
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
Mark 10:25 It
is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Luke 18:25
Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through an
eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَاسْتَكْبَرُوا عَنْهَا
لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ الْجَمَلُ فِي سَمِّ الْخِيَاطِ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُجْرِمِينَ
Indeed, those who denied Our Verses and (were) arrogant
towards them, (will) not be opened for them (the) doors (of) the heaven, and
not they will enter Paradise until passes the camel
through (the) eye (of) the needle. And thus We recompense the
criminals.
A few ayaat
later, the men on heights are mentioned, who would be hopeful of ascending into
the Gardens of Heaven, while also looking at the people in the Fire of Hell,
praying that they be spared of that dreadful fate. Eventually, they will be
granted entry into the Gardens of Eternity through the Mercy of Allah ﷻ (Q7:49).
[Al-Quran 7:46-56] And between them (will
be) a partition, and on the heights
(will be) men recognizing all by their marks. And they will call out (to
the) companions (of) Paradise that "Peace (be) upon you." Not they have entered it but they hope.
And when are turned their eyes towards (the) companions (of) the Fire, they
(will) say, "Our Lord! (Do) not place us with the people - the
wrongdoers." And (will) call out (the) companions (of) the heights (to)
men whom they recognize by their marks saying, "Not (has) availed [to] you
your gathering and what you were arrogant (about)." Are these the ones whom you had sworn that Allah (will) not grant them
Mercy? "Enter Paradise. (There will be) no fear upon you and not you will
grieve." And (will) call out (the) companions (of) the Fire (to the)
companions (of) Paradise [that], "Pour upon us [of] (some) water or of
what Allah has provided you." They (will) say, "Indeed, Allah has
forbidden both to the disbelievers, Those who took their religion (as) an
amusement and play and deluded them the life (of) the world." So today We
forget them as they forgot (the) meeting (of) this Day of theirs, and [what]
(as) they used to reject Our Verses. And certainly We had brought (to) them a
Book which We have explained with knowledge - a guidance and mercy for a people
who believe. Do they wait except (for) its fulfillment (The) Day (will) come
its fulfillment, will say those who had forgotten it before, "Verily had
come (the) Messengers (of) our Lord with the truth, so are (there) for us any
intercessors so (that) they intercede for us or we are sent back so (that) we
do (deeds) other than that which we used to do." Verily, they lost
themselves, and strayed from them what they used to invent. Indeed, your Lord
(is) Allah the One Who created the heavens and the earth in six epochs, then He
ascended on the Throne. He covers the night (with) the day seeking it rapidly
and the sun and the moon and the stars - subjected by His command.
Unquestionably for Him (is) the creation and the command, blessed (is) Allah,
Lord (of) the worlds. Call upon your Lord humbly and privately. Indeed, He
(does) not love the transgressors. And (do) not cause corruption in the earth
after its reformation. And call Him (in) fear and hope. Indeed, (the) Mercy of
Allah (is) near for the good-doers.
Interpretation
A future event, generally understood by
translators as an impossibility, something that will never happen, is the
mention of the camel passing through the eye of the needle. Why would an
impossible event be mentioned in The Quran, when it could simply have been
stated that it will never happen? Perhaps, in some very distant future, the
camel may reduce in size and become tiny enough to pass through the eye of the
needle!
Evolution and Devolution
Similar to the Big Bang and Big Crunch
theory in Cosmology, biologists study the theories of Evolution and Devolution.
Big Bang tries to theorize the beginning of the Universe, and Evolution
theorizes about the beginning of living things. Similarly, Big Crunch is a
theory about how the expansion of the Universe will halt, and then contraction
will begin, leading to a return to the singularity from which the Big Bang
started. Similarly, Devolution is about species reverting to their earlier
forms.
Considering the reversibility of the
Arrow of Time according to the fundamental Laws of Physics, it is postulated
that[1] ‘if
someone knew the paths of all the particles in the universe and flipped them
around, energy would accumulate rather than disperse: Tepid coffee would
spontaneously heat up, buildings would rise from their rubble and sunlight
would slink back into the sun.’
According to Wikipedia[2], the earliest known camel was about the
size of a rabbit. Over time, it has evolved in height. Non-conclusive evidence
for devolution has been observed in Seattle fish and reported in National
Geographic[3].
Reversibility of creation, both living
and non-living is not an impossibility rather plausible. In Quran(36:68), we
read that: And he to whom We grant long life We reverse in creation; so will
they not understand?[4]
Time-Bound?
Perhaps the Hereafter is also not
eternal, and will eventually come to an end or change. An interesting point to
note is that the word ‘khaliduna’, generally translated as eternal or forever,
has been used for the length of time that humans will abide in the Garden or
the Fire. The same word has not been used anywhere in relation to God, who we
believe is eternal, i.e. without beginning and without end. For God, the only
word implying eternal that has been used is ‘as-Samad’ which has been used only
once and exclusively for God in the Qur’an 112:2
And Allah ﷻ knows best!
Related Posts:
[1] Time’s
Arrow Traced to Quantum Source By : Natalie Wolchover April 1 6, 2014, Quanta
Magazine, Simonsfoundation.org
[4] Translation by Sahih International
Last updated on November 20, 2022
