Visualization of Quranic Imagery

INTRODUCTION Quranic images of Heaven and Hell are appropriate vehicles for teaching imagery because these images are presented vividly in the Quran. The translators of the English language translations of the meaning of the Quran strive to produce as close an approximation of the Quran as possible.

Muhammad Asad explains how Quranic images of Heaven and Hell reach the minds of the readers. Asad writes in Appendix I entitled "Symbolism and Allegory in the Quran":

Imagine the most joyous sensations, bodily as well as emotional, accessible to man : indescribable beauty, love physical and spiritual, consciousness of fulfillment, perfect peace and harmony; Sphygmomanometer battery and imagine these sensations intensified beyond anything imaginable in this world and at the same time entirely different from anything imaginable : and you have an inkling, however, vague, of what is meant by "paradise" and on the other hand : "Imagine the greatest suffering, bodily as well as spiritual, which man may experience : burning by fire, utter loneliness and bitter desolation, the torment of neither living nor dying; and imagine this pain, this darkness and this despair intensified beyond anything imaginable in this world and at the same time entirely different from anything imaginable: and you will know, however vaguely, what is meant by "hell" (Asad, 1980:991).

A judgement sample of verses was taken from a few different surah. Two index categorization books were used for this selection: Tafsil Ayat AlQuran AlHakim by Jol Labom (Labom,1963) and AlMustadrak by Edward Montet (Montet,1963). Heaven, Hell, Justice, etc.). Under Heaven, there are altogether 258 verses mentioned in 58 surah (chapters of the Quran). Under Hell, there are altogether 144 verses mentioned in 35 surah. The verses to be dealt with in this paper are:

XV Surah Al Hijr, verses 43 44, 45 46 from Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English language translation of the meaning of the Quran. Sphygmomanometer battery This paper first provides a brief explanation and discussion of each verse to familiarize the reader with the basic meaning of the verse. The technique and the exemplary Quranic images (text) will then be presented in this paper:Source: Images and Options in the Language Classroom by Earl W. Stevick (Stevick,1986)

Text: Verses 43 44, 45 46 of Surah Al Hijr

Source: The Holy Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Abdullah, 1983)

THE DISCUSSION OF SELECTED QURANIC IMAGES

The first verse to be discussed is Verse 43 of Surah Al Hijr which mentions that Hell is the penalty for wrongdoers:

43. And verily, Hell

Is the promised abode

For them all!

The next verse tells the readers what awaits wrongdoers in Hell:

44. To it are seven Gates

For each of those Gates

Is a (special) class

(Of sinners) assigned.

We are told that Hell has seven gates. Sphygmomanometer battery The several gates point out that there are numerous ways for human beings to sin and as Allah is All Just and All Knowing, He punishes according to the level, intensity and weight of each sin.

In his footnotes, Abdullah Yusuf Ali enlightens his readers about the number 7 which he says is a mystical number. He goes on to say that this section of the surah is full mystical meaning and it is difficult to expound upon it adequately (645). However, it is not necessary for teachers and students to probe more deeply into these verses; what is plainly stated is sufficient for their purposes.

This verse about Hell affects the visual sense since it can provoke a vivid picture of the entrance to Hell in one's mind. One is left to imagine what lurks behind those gates.

In comparison, in Verses 45 48 of Surah Al Hijr, we are told that for our righteous deeds, rest assured, we will be rewarded: