1.
Irish mythology
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The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity. However, much of it was preserved in medieval Irish literature and this literature represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. There are also a number of extant mythological texts that do not fit any of the cycles. Additionally, there are a number of recorded folk tales that, while not strictly mythological. Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material they contain predates their composition, the earliest of the prose can be dated on linguistic grounds to the 8th century, and some of the verse may be as old as the 6th century. The first of these part of the earliest known version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge and is housed in Trinity College. The other three are in the Royal Academy, when using these sources, it is, as always, important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit into the known schema of Greek or Biblical genealogy and it was once unquestioned that medieval Irish literature preserved truly ancient traditions in a form virtually unchanged through centuries of oral tradition back to the ancient Celts of Europe. A consensus has emerged which encourages the critical reading of the material, the Mythological Cycle, comprising stories of the former gods and origins of the Irish, is the least well preserved of the four cycles. The most important sources are the Metrical Dindshenchas or Lore of Places, Other manuscripts preserve such mythological tales as The Dream of Aengus, The Wooing Of Étain and Cath Maige Tuireadh, The Battle of Magh Tuireadh. One of the best known of all Irish stories, Oidheadh Clainne Lir, Lebor Gabála Érenn is a pseudo-history of Ireland, tracing the ancestry of the Irish back to before Noah. They faced opposition from their enemies, the Fomorians, led by Balor of the Evil Eye, Balor was eventually slain by Lug Lámfada at the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. With the arrival of the Gaels, the Tuatha Dé Danann retired underground to become the people of later myth. The Metrical Dindshenchas is the great work of early Ireland. It includes a lot of important information on Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians. It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha Dé Danann were not viewed so much as gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland. Texts such as Lebor Gabála Érenn and Cath Maige Tuireadh present them as kings and heroes of the distant past, however, there is considerable evidence, both in the texts and from the wider Celtic world, that they were once considered deities. Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, a poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends Although enumerates them, he does not worship them
2.
Underworld
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The underworld or netherworld is an otherworld thought to be deep underground or beneath the surface of the world in most religions and mythologies. Typically it is a place where the souls of the departed go, chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. This list includes underworlds in mythology, with links to corresponding articles. This list includes rulers or guardians of the underworld in various mythologies, otherworld World Tree — A tree that connects the heavens, the earth, and the underworld in a number of spiritual belief systems
3.
Elysium
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Elysium or the Elysian Fields is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was reserved for mortals related to the gods, the Elysian Fields were, according to Homer, located on the western edge of the Earth by the stream of Okeanos. In the time of the Greek oral poet Hesiod, Elysium would also be known as the Fortunate Isles or the Isles of the Blessed, located in the ocean at the end of the earth. The Isles of the Blessed would be reduced to an island by the Thebean poet Pindar, describing it as having shady parks, with residents indulging in athletic. The ruler of Elysium varies from author to author, Pindar and Hesiod name Cronus as the ruler, another suggestion is from ελυθ-, ἔρχομαι. The Greek oral poet Hesiod refers to the Isles of the Blessed in his didactic poem Works, pindars Odes describes the reward waiting for those living a righteous life, In Virgils Aeneid, Aeneas, like Heracles and Odysseus before him, travels to the underworld. Virgil describes those who travel to Elysium, and those who will travel to Tartarus. Virgils Elysium knows perpetual spring and shady groves, with its own sun and lit by its own stars, solemque suum, sua sidera norunt. He further intimated that the Greek prophet Orpheus composed his fables about the afterlife when he traveled to Egypt, Elysium as a pagan expression for paradise would eventually pass into usage by early Christian writers. In the Renaissance, the population of the Elysian Fields tended to outshine its formerly dreary pagan reputation. After the Renaissance, an even cheerier Elysium evolved for some poets, sometimes it is imagined as a place where heroes have continued their interests from their lives. Others suppose it is a filled with feasting, sport, song. The poet Heinrich Heine explicitly parodied Schillers sentiment in referring to the Jewish Sabbath food cholent as the daughter of Elysium in his poem Princess Shabbat. Christian and classical attitudes to the afterlife are put in contrast by Christopher Marlowes Doctor Faustus in saying, This word damnation terrifies not me and my ghost be with the old philosophers. When in William Shakespeares Twelfth Night shipwrecked Viola is told This is Illyria, and what should I do in Illyria. My brother he is in Elysium. is her answer, Elysium for her and her first Elizabethan hearers simply means Paradise, in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, Elysium is described as the path for some of the protagonists and antagonists of the series. The mythical island is described in terms a WWII sailor in the South Pacific would liken to the Greek paradise, the term and concept of Elysium has had influence in modern popular culture, reference to Elysium can be found in literature, art, film, and music. New Orleans Elysian Fields also provides the second act setting of Elmer Rices The Adding Machine, in his poem Middlesex, John Betjeman describes how a few hedges Keep alive our lost Elysium – rural Middlesex again
4.
Valhalla
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In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyjas field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir, the Modern English noun Valhalla derives from Old Norse Valhöll, a compound noun composed of two elements, the masculine noun valr the slain and the feminine noun höll hall. Valr has cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old English wæl the slain, slaughter, carnage, Old Saxon wal-dād murder, Old High German battlefield, all of these forms descend from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *walaz. Among related Old Norse concepts, valr also appears as the first element of the nouns valkyrja chooser of the slain, valkyrie and Valfreyja, the second element, höll, is a common Old Norse noun. It is cognate to Modern English hall and has the same meaning, both developed from Proto-Germanic *xallō or *hallō, meaning covered place, hall, itself from the Proto-Indo-European root *kol-. In stanzas 8 to 10 of Grímnismál, the god Odin states that Valhalla is located in the realm of Glaðsheimr, Odin describes Valhalla as shining and golden, and that it rises peacefully when seen from afar. From Valhalla, every day Odin chooses from those who have died in combat. Valhalla has spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, coats of mail are strewn over its benches, a wolf hangs in front of its west doors, and an eagle hovers above it. Within Valhalla exists Thors hall Bilskirnir, and within it exist five hundred and forty rooms, in stanzas 25 through 26, Odin states that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on top of Valhalla and graze on the branches of the tree Læraðr. Heiðrún produces vats of mead that liquor cannot be compared to, in stanza 38 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and goes to Valhalla. Prose follows after this stanza, stating that a burial-mound was made for Helgi, in stanzas 40 to 42, Helgi has returned to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed maid of Sigrún, Helgis valkyrie wife, sees Helgi, the maid asks if she is experiencing a delusion, if Ragnarök has begun, or if Helgi and his men have been allowed to return. In the stanzas that follow, Helgi responds that none of things have occurred. The maid tells Sigrún that the mound has opened up, and that Sigrún should go to Helgi there, as Helgi has asked her to come and tend his wounds. Sigrún goes into the mound, and finds that Helgi is drenched in gore, filled with joy at the reunion, Sigrún kisses him before he can remove his coat of mail, and asks how she can heal him
5.
Fomorians
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The Fomorians are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. They are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings who come from the sea or underground, later, they were portrayed as giants and sea raiders. They are enemies of Irelands first settlers and opponents of the Tuatha Dé Danann, however, their relationship with the Tuath Dé is complex and some of their members intermarry and have children. The Fomorians have thus been likened to the jötnar of Norse mythology, the Fomorians seem to have been gods who represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature, personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight and drought. The Tuath Dé, in contrast, seem to represent the gods of growth and it has also been suggested that the Fomorians derive from an older group of gods who were displaced by a newer group. In Old and Middle Irish, the race is called the Fomoire or Fomoiri. In Middle Irish, they are called the Fomóraiġ and a Fomórach. This is spelt Fomhóraigh and Fomhórach in Modern Irish, in English, they are often called the Fomorians, Fomori or Fomors. The etymology of the name is debated, the first part is now generally agreed to be the Old Irish fo, meaning under, below, lower, beneath, nether, etc. The meaning of the part is unclear. One suggestion is that it comes from the Old Irish mur, and this was the interpretation offered by some medieval Irish writers. Another suggestion is that it comes from mór and means something like the great under ones, the name would thus mean something like under demons or nether demons. Building on this, Marie-Louise Sjoestedt interprets the name as meaning inferior or latent demons, saying the Fomorians are like the powers of chaos, ever latent, donald Schlegel suggested that the Fomorians were Carthaginians who established a trading post on Irelands west coast. He suggests the name Fomoraige comes from the name of the Carthaginian god Pumay combined with the Old Irish suffix -raige, the Genealogies from Rawlinson B502 lists the full genealogy of the Fomorians going right back to the Biblical Noah, who was 10th from Adam and Eve. Rawlinson B502, Section 26, page 330, says, Bres himself carries the epithet the Beautiful. Geoffrey Keating in his History of Ireland appearing in the 1630s claimed that the Fomorians had been a people descended from Noahs other son. Partholon defeated Cíocal in the Battle of Mag Itha, but all his people died of plague. Then came Nemed and his followers, Ireland is said to have been empty for thirty years following the death of Partholons people, but Nemed and his followers encountered the Fomorians when they arrived
6.
Earthly Paradise
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The Garden of Eden or often Paradise is the biblical garden of God, described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel. The garden of God, not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 13, the Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden. Traditionally, the derivation of the name Eden was from the Akkadian edinnu. Eden is now believed to be closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning fruitful. The Hebrew term is translated pleasure in Sarahs secret saying in Genesis 18,12, in the Hebrew Bible, Adam and Eve are depicted as walking around the Garden of Eden naked due to their innocence. Eden and its rivers may signify the real Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon and it may also represent the divine garden on Zion, and the mountain of God, which was also Jerusalem. The imagery of the Garden, with its serpent and cherubs, has compared to the images of the Solomonic Temple with its copper serpent. The second part of the Genesis creation narrative, Genesis, opens with Adonai Elohim creating the first man, the man was free to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Last of all, the God made a woman from a rib of the man to be a companion the man, cherubim were placed east of the garden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep him away from the tree of life. Genesis lists four rivers in association with the garden of Eden, Pishon, Gihon, the Tigris, and it also refers to the land of Cush - translated/interpreted as Ethiopia, but thought by some to equate to Cossaea, a Greek name for the land of the Kassites. These lands lie north of Elam, immediately to the east of ancient Babylon, in Antiquities of the Jews, the first-century Jewish historian Josephus identifies the Pishon as what the Greeks called Ganges and the Geon as the Nile. According to Terje Stordalen, the Eden in Ezekiel appears to be located in Lebanon. According to the Bible, the location of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis, chapter 2, verse 10-14, A river flowed from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams. The first is named the Pishon, and this winds all through the land of Havilah where there is gold, the gold of this country is pure, bdellium and cornelian stone are found there. The second river is named the Gihon, and this winds all through the land of Cush, the third river is named the Tigris, and this flows to the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates, the city of Dilmun in the Sumerian mythological story of Enki and Ninhursag is a paradisaical abode of the immortals, where sickness and death were unknown. In this painting, only the action takes place there identifies the setting as distinct from the Garden of the Hesperides. The Persian term paradise, meaning a garden or hunting-park
7.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
8.
Brendan
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Saint Brendan of Clonfert, also referred to as Brendan moccu Altae, called the Navigator, the Voyager, the Anchorite, or the Bold, is one of the early Irish monastic saints. He is chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the Isle of the Blessed, the Voyage of Saint Brendan could be called an immram. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, Saint Brendans feast day is celebrated on 16 May by the Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox Christians. The first mention of Brendan occurs in Adamnans Vita Sancti Columbae, the first notice of him as a seafarer appears in the ninth century Martyrology of Tallaght. The principal works devoted to the saint and his legend are a Life of Brendan in several Latin and Irish versions and the better known Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot. Unfortunately, the Lives and the Voyage provide little information about his life and travels, they do, however. An additional problem is that the relationship between the Vita and the Navigatio traditions is uncertain. Just when the Vita tradition began is uncertain, the surviving copies date no earlier than the end of the twelfth century, but scholars suggest that a version of the Life was composed before the year 1000. The Navigatio was probably earlier than the Vita, perhaps in the second half of the eighth century. St Aengus the Culdee, in his Litany composed at the close of the eighth century, in 484 AD Brendan was born in Tralee, in County Kerry, in the province of Munster, in the south-west of Ireland. He was born among the Altraige, a tribe originally centred around Tralee Bay, to parents called Finnlug, tradition has it that he was born in the Kilfenora/Fenit area on the North side of the bay. He was baptised at Tubrid, near Ardfert by Saint Erc, for five years he was educated under Saint Ita, the Brigid of Munster. When he was six he was sent to Saint Jarlaths monastery school at Tuam to further his education, Brendan is one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, one of those said to have been tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard. At the age of twenty-six, Brendan was ordained a priest by Saint Erc, afterwards, he founded a number of monasteries. Brendan’s first voyage took him to the Arran Islands, where he founded a monastery and he also visited Hinba, an island off Scotland where he is said to have met Columcille. On the same voyage he traveled to Wales, and finally to Brittany, between the years 512 and 530 Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and, at the foot of Mount Brandon, Shanakeel— Seana Cill, usually translated as the old church. From here he is supposed to have set out on his famous seven-year voyage for Paradise, the old Irish Calendars assigned a special feast for the Egressio familiae S. Brendani. St. Brendan is chiefly renowned for his journey to the Isle of the Blessed as described in the ninth century Voyage of St Brendan the Navigator
9.
Avalon
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Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. Avalon was associated from a date with mystical practices and people such as Morgan le Fay. Geoffrey of Monmouth referred to it in Latin as Insula Avallonis in the Historia, in the later Vita Merlini he called it Insula Pomorum the isle of fruit trees. The name is considered to be of Welsh origin, derived from Old Welsh, Old Cornish, or Old Breton aball or avallen, apple tree. Welsh, Cornish and Breton tradition claimed that Arthur had never really died, the Historia also states that Avalon is where his sword Excalibur was forged. Geoffrey dealt with Avalon in more detail in Vita Merlini, in which he describes for the first time in Arthurian legend the enchantress Morgan le Fay as the chief of nine sisters who live on Avalon. Geoffreys description of the island indicates a sea voyage was needed to get there, of its own accord it produces grain and grapes, and apple trees grow in its woods from the close-clipped grass. The ground of its own accord produces everything instead of merely grass, there nine sisters rule by a pleasing set of laws those who come to them from our country. Hence the mistake of pagans and the poems by worldly poets and they are situated in the Ocean, against the left side of Mauretania, closest to where the sun sets, and they are separated from each other by the intervening sea. In medieval geographies, Isidores Fortunate Islands were identified with the Canaries, around 1190, Avalon became associated with Glastonbury, when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the bones of Arthur and his queen. The works of Gerald of Wales make the first known connection, What is now known as Glastonbury was, in ancient times and it is virtually an island, for it is completely surrounded by marshlands. In Welsh it is called Ynys Afallach, which means the Island of Apples, years ago the district had also been called Ynys Gutrin in Welsh, that is the Island of Glass, and from these words the invading Saxons later coined the place-name Glastingebury. Though no longer an island in the century, the high conical bulk of Glastonbury Tor had been surrounded by marsh before the surrounding fenland in the Somerset Levels was drained. In ancient times, Ponters Ball Dyke would have guarded the entrance to the island. The Romans eventually built another road to the island, Gerald wrote that Glastonburys earliest name in Welsh was Ineswitrin, the Isle of glass, a name noted by earlier historians which suggests that the location was at one point seen as an island. At a depth of 5 m the monks were said to have discovered a massive treetrunk coffin, accounts of the exact inscription vary, with five different versions existing. The earliest is by Gerald in Liber de Principis instructione c,1193, who wrote that he viewed the cross in person and traced the lettering. His transcript reads, Here lies buried the famous King Arthur with Guinevere his second wife in the isle of Avalon, inside the coffin were two bodies, who Giraldus refers to as Arthur and his queen, the bones of the male body were described as being gigantic
10.
Aaru
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For the natural habitat, see Reed bed. For the use of reeds to filter wastewater, see Constructed wetland, for the Tamil film, see Aaru. It has been described as the ka of the Nile Delta and those souls which balance the scales are allowed to start a long and perilous journey to Aaru, where they will exist in pleasure for all eternity. Hearts heavy with evil tip and fall into the jaws of the demon Ammit. After this second death, the soul is doomed to restlessness in Duat, the souls who qualify undergo a long journey and face many perils before reaching Aaru. Once they arrive, they enter through a series of gates, the exact number of gates varies according to sources, some say 15, some 21. They are uniformly described as guarded by evil demons armed with knives, Aaru is also known as the home of Osiris. Aaru usually was placed in the east, where the Sun rises and this ideal hunting and farming ground allowed the souls here to live for eternity. More precisely, Aaru was envisaged as a series of islands, covered in fields of rushes, the part where Osiris later dwelt is sometimes known as the field of offerings, Sekhet Hetepet in Egyptian. Heaven Elysium The Summerland Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis, london, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd. p.37. Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Stymbols, Part 1, Egyptian Field of Reeds and Christian Heaven
11.
Heaven
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According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to earth or incarnate, and earthly beings can ascend to Heaven in the afterlife, or in exceptional cases enter Heaven alive. Some believe in the possibility of a Heaven on Earth in a World to Come, another belief is in an axis mundi or world tree which connects the heavens, the terrestrial world, and the underworld. In Indian religions, Heaven is considered as Svarga loka, and this cycle can be broken after a soul achieves Moksha or Nirvana. Any place of existence, either of humans, souls or deities, the modern English word heaven is derived from the earlier heven, this in turn was developed from the previous Old English form heofon. By about 1000, heofon was being used in reference to the Christianized place where God dwells, all of these have been derived from a reconstructed Proto-Germanic form *Hemina-. In Ancient Egyptian religion, belief in an afterlife is much more stressed than in ancient Judaism, Heaven was a physical place far above the Earth in a dark area of space where there were no stars, basically beyond the Universe. Their heart would finally be weighed with the feather of truth, almost nothing is known of Bronze Age Canaanite views of Heaven, and the archeological findings at Ugarit have not provided information. The 1st century Greek author Philo of Byblos may preserve elements of Iron Age Phoenician religion in his Sanchuniathon, in the Middle Hittite myths, Heaven is the abode of the gods. In the Song of Kumarbi, Alalu was king in Heaven for nine years before giving birth to his son, Anu was himself overthrown by his son, Kumarbi. The Baháí Faith regards the description of Heaven as a specific place as symbolic. The Baháí writings describe Heaven as a condition where closeness to God is defined as Heaven. For Baháís, entry into the life has the potential to bring great joy. Baháulláh likened death to the process of birth and he explains, The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother. Accordingly, Baháís view life as a stage, where one can develop. The key to progress is to follow the path outlined by the current Manifestation of God. Baháulláh wrote, Know thou, of a truth, that if the soul of man hath walked in the ways of God, it will, assuredly return, in Buddhism there are several Heavens, all of which are still part of samsara. Those who accumulate good karma may be reborn in one of them, however, their stay in Heaven is not eternal—eventually they will use up their good karma and will undergo rebirth into another realm, as a human, animal or other being. Because Heaven is temporary and part of samsara, Buddhists focus more on escaping the cycle of rebirth, Nirvana is not a heaven but a mental state
12.
Erecura
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She appears with Dis Pater in a statue found at Oberseebach, Switzerland, and in several magical texts from Austria, once in the company of Cerberus and once probably with Ogmios. A further inscription to her has found near Stuttgart, Germany. Besides her chthonic symbols, she is depicted with such attributes of fertility as the cornucopia. She is depicted in a posture, wearing a full robe and bearing trays or baskets of fruit, in depictions from Cannstatt. Miranda Green calls Aericura a Gaulish Hecuba, while Noémie Beck characterizes her as a land-goddess sharing both underworld and fertility aspects with Dis Pater. Representations of Erecura are most commonly found in the Danubian area of Southern Germany and Slovenia, but they occur in Italy, Great Britain. Her inscriptions are concentrated in Stuttgart and along the Rhine, several monuments in honour of Erecura occur in cemeteries or other funereal contexts. The theonym is of unclear origin and it has been connected with Latin aes, aeris copper, bronze, money, wealth, era mistress and the name of the Greek goddess Hera. A name of the form */aireˈkura/ or */eːreˈkura/ appears to underlie the alternations Aeraecura ~ Aerecura ~ Aericura ~ Eracura ~ Ercura ~ Erecura ~ Heracura ~ Herecura ~ Herequra. Though the goddess herself may be Celtic, it is open to question whether the name is of Celtic origin or even Indo-European. Lendering considers her cult to be of Illyrian origin, spreading from Aquileia and only reaching the Danubian, Beck considers the name to be of Germanic origin. Goddesses in Celtic Religion—Cult and Mythology, A Comparative Study of Ancient Ireland, Britain, université Lumière Lyon 2, University College of Dublin. Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508961-8 Egger, römische Antike und frühes Christentum, Ausgewählte Schriften von Rudolf Egger, Zur Vollendung seines 80. Lebensjahres, ed. Artur Betz and Gotbert Moro, klagenfurt, Verlag des Geschichtsvereines für Kärnten, 1962-63. Wood, Juliette, The Celts, Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers, ISBN 0-00-764059-5 Proto-Celtic — English lexicon Ogmios Ogma and Heracles Livius. org, Herecura
13.
Brasil (mythical island)
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Brasil, also known as Hy-Brasil or several other variants, is a phantom island said to lie in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland. Irish myths described it as cloaked in mist except for one day seven years. The etymology of the names Brasil and Hy-Brasil is unknown, but in Irish tradition it is thought to come from the Irish Uí Breasail, cf. Old Irish, Í, island, bres, beauty, worth, great, mighty. Despite the similarity, the name of the country Brazil has no connection to the mythical islands, the South American country was at first named Ilha de Vera Cruz and later Terra de Santa Cruz by the Portuguese navigators who discovered the land. After some decades, it started to be called Brazil due to the exploitation of native Brazilwood, in Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. Nautical charts identified an island called Bracile west of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean as far back as 1325, later it appeared as Insula de Brasil in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco, attached to one of the larger islands of a group of islands in the Atlantic. This was identified for a time with the island of Terceira in the Azores. A Catalan chart of about 1480 labels two islands Illa de brasil, one to the south west of Ireland and one south of Illa verde or Greenland, on maps the island was shown as being circular, often with a central strait or river running east-west across its diameter. Despite the failure of attempts to find it, this appeared regularly on maps lying south west of Galway Bay until 1865, Hy-Brasil has also been identified with Porcupine Bank, a shoal in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 kilometres west of Ireland and discovered in 1862. As early as 1870 a paper was read to the Geological Society of Ireland suggesting this identification, frederick Delius wrote a song titled I-Brasil, with words attributed to Fiona McLeod, pseudonym of the Celtic revival writer William Sharp. Hy-Brasil was featured in the 1989 British comedy-fantasy film Erik the Viking starring Tim Robbins, peter Bishop mysteriously travels to Hy-Brasil in the Beyond the Fringe comic book, a tie-in for the Fringe television series. Hy-Brasil is featured on signs affixed on the façade of the Embassy of Brazil to Bridgetown, Barbados, something which may reference when Barbados was claimed, a land called Hy Brasil featured in Alan Moores comic Promethea. Margaret Elphinstones 2002 novel has Hy-Brazil as its title and setting, mary Burkes short story Hy-Brasil in The Faber Book of Best New Irish Short Stories, 2004-5. Irish mythology in popular culture Inisheer Tech Duinn a mythological island to the west of Ireland were souls go after death, great Ireland a similarly west-of-Ireland place, Irish myths of which, are believed to have influenced the Vikings. Hy Brasil, the metamorphosis of an island, from cartographic error to Celtic Elysium, preliminary Sketches for the Reappearance of HyBrazil
14.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
15.
Afterlife
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The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics, in metaphysical models, theists generally believe some type of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions, tend to believe in an afterlife, the Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Reincarnation refers to a concept found among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Spiritists. Reincarnation is also a belief described in Kabbalistic Judaism as gilgul neshamot and this succession leads toward an eventual liberation. One consequence of reincarnationist beliefs is that our current lives are both afterlife and a beforelife, according to those beliefs events in our current life are consequences of actions taken in previous lives, or Karma. In most denominations, heaven is a condition of reward for the righteous to go after they die, traditionally defined as eternal union with God. In contrast to heaven, hell is a condition of punishment and torment for the wicked, traditionally defined as eternal separation from God and confinement with other sinful souls and fallen angels. So they are seen as existing in a state of natural. In other Christian denominations it has described as an intermediate place or state of confinement in oblivion. The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the Catholic Church, the tradition of the church, by reference to certain texts of scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire although it is not always called purgatory. Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief, traditional African religions are diverse in their beliefs in an afterlife. For each soul remains distinct and each represents a new soul. In some societies like the Mende, multiple beliefs coexist, the Mende believe that people die twice, once during the process of joining the secret society, and again during biological death after which they become ancestors. However, some Mende also believe that people are created by God they live ten consecutive lives. One cross-cultural theme is that the ancestors are part of the world of the living, interacting with it regularly, the afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. When the body died, parts of its known as ka
16.
Abrahamic religions
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Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the largest Abrahamic religions in terms of numbers of adherents. As of 2005, estimates classified 54% of the population as adherents of an Abrahamic religion, about 32% as adherents of other religions. Christianity claims 33% of the population, Islam has 21%, Judaism has 0. 2%. It has been suggested that the phrase, Abrahamic religion, may mean that all these religions come from one spiritual source. Christians refer to Abraham as a father in faith, there is an Islamic religious term, Millat Ibrahim, indicating that Islam sees itself as having practices tied to the traditions of Abraham. Jewish tradition claims descent from Abraham, and adherents follow his practices and it is the Islamic tradition that Muhammad, as an Arab, is descended from Abrahams son Ishmael. Jewish tradition also equates the descendants of Ishmael, Ishmaelites, with Arabs, as the descendants of Isaac by Jacob, who was also later known as Israel, are the Israelites. The Báb, regarded by Baháís as a predecessor to Baháulláh, was a Sayyid, or a descendant of Muhammad. Tradition also holds that Baháulláh is a descendant of Abraham through his third wife, while there is commonality among the religions, in large measure their shared ancestry is peripheral to their respective foundational beliefs and thus conceals crucial differences. For example, the common Christian beliefs of Incarnation, Trinity, there are key beliefs in both Islam and Judaism that are not shared by most of Christianity, and key beliefs of Islam, Christianity, and the Baháí Faith not shared by Judaism. Judaism regards itself as the religion of the descendants of Jacob and it has a strictly unitary view of God, and the central holy book for almost all branches is the Masoretic Text as elucidated in the Oral Torah. In the 19th century and 20th centuries Judaism developed a number of branches, of which the most significant are Orthodox, Conservative. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in the Mediterranean Basin of the first century CE and evolved into a separate religion—Christianity—with distinctive beliefs, Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, considered by almost all denominations to be God the Son, one person of the Trinity. The Christian biblical canons are usually held to be the ultimate authority, over many centuries, Christianity divided into three main branches, dozens of significant denominations, and hundreds of smaller ones. Islam arose in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE with a unitary view of God. Muslims hold the Quran to be the authority, as revealed and elucidated through the teachings and practices of a central. The Islamic faith consider all prophets and messengers from Adam through the messenger to carry the same Islamic monotheistic principles. Soon after its founding Islam split into two branches, each of which now have a number of denominations
17.
Judaism
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Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic Abrahamic religion, with the Torah as its text, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth-largest religion in the world, Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic, today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditional interpretation of Judaisms requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law, today, these still exist. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, the history of Judaism spans more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title Children of Israel. Judaisms texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are a group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism, the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind. According to the Tanakh, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation, many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God, that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate Gods concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to one another, that is. These commandments are but two of a corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism
18.
Seven Heavens
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Some of these traditions, including Jainism, also have a concept of seven earths or seven underworlds. The idea of seven heavens was originated in ancient Mesopotamia and it was probably a symbolic concept. In Sumerian language, the words for heaven and earth are An, Sumerian incantations of the late second millennium BCE make references to seven heavens and seven earths. One such incantation is, an-imin-bi ki-imin-bi The notion of seven heavens may have derived from the magical properties of the number seven. The number seven appears frequently in Babylonian magical rituals, the seven Jewish and the seven Islamic heavens may have had their origin in Babylonian astronomy. In general, heaven is not a place for humans in Mesopotamian religion, as Gilgamesh says to his friend Enkidu, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Who can go up to heaven, my friend. Only the gods dwell with Shamash forever, along with the idea of seven heavens, the idea of three heavens was also common in ancient Mesopotamia. In 2 Enoch, Enoch travels through the seven heavens and gives geographical and visual documentation of them, describing houses, olive oil and he passes through the Garden of Eden in the Third Heaven on his way to meet the Lord in the 7th Heaven. The Quran frequently mentions the existence of seven samaawat, plural of samaaa, the word is cognate to Hebrew shamayim. Some of the verses in which Quran mentions seven samaawat, are, there are two interpretations of using the number seven. One viewpoint is that the number seven here simply means many and is not to be taken literally, but many other commentators use the number 7 literally. One interpretation of heavens is that all the stars and galaxies are all part of the first heaven, and beyond that six still bigger worlds are there, in other sources, the concept is presented in metaphorical terms. Each of the seven heavens is depicted as being composed of a different material, the first heaven is depicted as being made of silver and is the home of Adam and Eve, as well as the angels of each star. The second heaven is depicted as being made of gold and is the home of John the Baptist, the third heaven is depicted as being made of pearls or other dazzling stones, Joseph and Azrael are resident there. The fourth heaven is depicted as being made of gold, Enoch. The fifth heaven is depicted as being made of silver, Aaron, the sixth heaven is composed of garnets and rubies, Moses can be found here. The seventh heaven, which borrows some concepts from its Jewish counterpart, is depicted as being composed of divine light incomprehensible to the mortal man, abraham is a resident of the seventh heaven. According to some hadiths, the highest level of Jannah is firdaws, and Sidrat al-Muntaha, an epistle of the Apostle Paul, included in the New Testament, contains an explicit reference to the Third Heaven
19.
Throne of God
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The Throne of God is the reigning centre of God in the Abrahamic religions, primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The throne is said by various books to reside beyond the Seventh Heaven and is called Araboth in Judaism. Many in the Christian religion consider the ceremonial chair as symbolic or allegorical, micaiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel all speak of Gods throne, although some philosophers such as Saʿadiah Gaon and Maimonides, interpreted such mention of a throne as allegory. The heavenly throne room or throne room of God is a detailed presentation of the throne. Micaiahs extended prophecy is the first detailed depiction of a throne room in Judaism. Zechariah 3 depicts a vision of the throne room where Satan. Many Christians consider this an event, others such as Goulder view the vision as symbolic of crisis on earth. The concept of a heavenly throne occurs in three Dead Sea Scroll texts, later speculation on the throne of God became a theme of Merkavah mysticism. In the New Testament, the Throne of God is talked about in several forms, including Heaven as the Throne of God, The Throne of David, The Throne of Glory, The Throne of Grace and many more. It is also said that out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings, in Islamic theology, The Throne is the greatest thing ever created by God. Some Muslims believe God created the throne as a sign of his power and not as place of dwelling. The Quran mentions the throne some 25 times, such as in verse 23,116, The Quran depicts the angels as carrying the throne of God and praising his glory, similar to Old Testament images. The Ayat al-Kursi, is a verse from Al-Baqara, the sura of the Quran. It references the Throne, and also Gods greatest name, Al-Hayy Al-Qayyoom, scholars of hadith have stated that the Prophet Muhammad said the reward for reciting this verse after every prayer is Paradise, and that reciting it is a protection from the devil. Prophetic hadith also establish that The Throne is above the roof of Al-Firdaus Al-Ala, the highest level of Paradise where Gods closest and most beloved servants in the hereafter shall dwell
20.
Garden of Eden
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The Garden of Eden or often Paradise is the biblical garden of God, described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel. The garden of God, not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 13, the Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden. Traditionally, the derivation of the name Eden was from the Akkadian edinnu. Eden is now believed to be closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning fruitful. The Hebrew term is translated pleasure in Sarahs secret saying in Genesis 18,12, in the Hebrew Bible, Adam and Eve are depicted as walking around the Garden of Eden naked due to their innocence. Eden and its rivers may signify the real Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon and it may also represent the divine garden on Zion, and the mountain of God, which was also Jerusalem. The imagery of the Garden, with its serpent and cherubs, has compared to the images of the Solomonic Temple with its copper serpent. The second part of the Genesis creation narrative, Genesis, opens with Adonai Elohim creating the first man, the man was free to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Last of all, the God made a woman from a rib of the man to be a companion the man, cherubim were placed east of the garden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep him away from the tree of life. Genesis lists four rivers in association with the garden of Eden, Pishon, Gihon, the Tigris, and it also refers to the land of Cush - translated/interpreted as Ethiopia, but thought by some to equate to Cossaea, a Greek name for the land of the Kassites. These lands lie north of Elam, immediately to the east of ancient Babylon, in Antiquities of the Jews, the first-century Jewish historian Josephus identifies the Pishon as what the Greeks called Ganges and the Geon as the Nile. According to Terje Stordalen, the Eden in Ezekiel appears to be located in Lebanon. According to the Bible, the location of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis, chapter 2, verse 10-14, A river flowed from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams. The first is named the Pishon, and this winds all through the land of Havilah where there is gold, the gold of this country is pure, bdellium and cornelian stone are found there. The second river is named the Gihon, and this winds all through the land of Cush, the third river is named the Tigris, and this flows to the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates, the city of Dilmun in the Sumerian mythological story of Enki and Ninhursag is a paradisaical abode of the immortals, where sickness and death were unknown. In this painting, only the action takes place there identifies the setting as distinct from the Garden of the Hesperides. The Persian term paradise, meaning a garden or hunting-park
21.
Jewish eschatology
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Jewish eschatology is concerned with events that will happen in the end of days, according to the Hebrew Bible and Jewish thought. This includes the ingathering of the diaspora, the coming of a Jewish Messiah, afterlife. Eschatology is the area of theology and philosophy concerned with the events in the history of the world, the ultimate destiny of humanity. In Judaism, end times are called the end of days. The idea of a messianic age has a prominent place in Jewish thought, in Judaism, the main textual source for the belief in the end of days and accompanying events is the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. The books of the Hebrew Prophets elaborated and prophesied about the end of days, in rabbinic literature, the Rabbis elaborated and explained the prophecies that were found in the Hebrew Bible along with the oral law and Rabbinic traditions about its meaning. The main tenets of Jewish eschatology are the following, in no order, elaborated in the Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Hebrew word mashiach refers to the Jewish idea of the messiah, mashiach means anointed, a meaning preserved in the English word derived from it, messiah. The Messiah is to be a leader, physically descended from the Davidic line. While the name of Jewish Messiah is considered to be one of the things that precede creation, he is not considered divine, in biblical times the title mashiach was awarded to someone in a high position of nobility and greatness. For example, Cohen ha-Mašíaḥ means High Priest, in the Talmudic era the title mashiach or מלך המשיח, Méleḫ ha-Mašíaḥ and literally means the anointed King. It is a reference to the Jewish leader and king that will redeem Israel in the end of days and usher in an era of peace. Most textual requirements concerning the Messiah and his reign are in the Book of Isaiah, Johanan said, When you see a generation ever dwindling, hope for him, as it is written, and the afflicted people thou wilt save. R. R. Johanan also said, The son of David will come only in a generation that is altogether righteous or altogether wicked. In a generation that is righteous, — as it is written, Thy people also shall be all righteous. Or altogether wicked, — as it is written, And he saw there was no man. Throughout Jewish history Jews have compared these passages to contemporary events in search of signs of the Messiahs imminent arrival, for example, many Orthodox Jewish leaders have suggested that the devastation among Jews wrought by the Holocaust may represent a sign of hope for the Messiahs present imminent arrival. The Talmud tells many stories about the Messiah, some of which represent famous Talmudic rabbis as receiving personal visitations from Elijah the Prophet, Levi met Elijah standing by the entrance of R. Simeon b
22.
Sheol
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The inhabitants of Sheol are the shades, entities without personality or strength. Under some circumstances they are thought to be able to be contacted by the living, as the Witch of Endor contacts the shade of Samuel for Saul, but such practices are forbidden. While the Old Testament writings appear to describe Sheol as the permanent place of the dead, brichto, writing in Hebrew Union College Annual, the family tomb is the central concept in understanding biblical views of the afterlife. Although not well defined in the Tanakh, Sheol in this view was an underworld where the souls of the dead went after the body died. The Babylonians had a similar underworld called Aralu, and the Greeks had one known as Hades. For biblical references to Sheol see Genesis 42,38, Isaiah 14,11, Psalm 141,7, Daniel 12,2, Proverbs 7,27 and Job 10,21,22, the Hebrew Scriptures themselves have few references to existence after death. The notion of resurrection appears in two late biblical sources, Daniel 12 and Isaiah 25-26, the traditional biblical interpretations explain that Sheol is a grim and desolated land below, occupied by the dead who continue their colorless existence irrespective of their earthly conduct. Contrary to this however, the Hebrew Bible supports the descriptions of Sheol which suggest that it is something more than just a place. In terms of numbers the amount of anthropomorphic descriptions is significant. Sheol is either portrayed by means of human qualities or attributed with the elements of anatomy, womb, hand. Some additional support for this comes from the ancient Near Eastern literary materials. For example, the Akkadian plates mention the name shuwalu or suwala in reference to a deity responsible for ruling the abode of the dead, as such it might have been borrowed by the Hebrews and incorporated into their early belief system. What is more, some argue that Sheol understood anthropomorphically fits the semantic complex of the other ancient Near Eastern death deities such as Nergal, Ereshkigal or Mot. Barzakh Biblical cosmology Christian views on Hades Gehenna Hellenistic Judaism Limbo of the Patriarchs Spirit world Tartarus Aune, Westminster Dictionary of the New Testament and Early Christian Literature. The Formation of Hell, Death and Retribution in the Ancient, hess, Richard S. Israelite Religions, An Archeological and Biblical Survey. Hell with Purgatory and two Limbos, Hell and Its Afterlife, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion, the Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible. In Metzger, Bruce Manning, Coogan, Michael David, the Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues of the Bible
23.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
24.
Heaven in Christianity
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Traditionally, Heaven in Christianity is the location of the throne of God as well as the holy angels, though this is in varying degrees considered metaphorical. In traditional Christianity, it is considered a state or condition of existence of the fulfillment of theosis in the beatific vision of the Godhead. The resurrected Jesus is said to have ascended to heaven where he now sits at the Right Hand of God, various people have been said to have entered heaven while still alive, including Enoch, Elijah and Jesus himself, after his resurrection. According to Roman Catholic teaching, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is said to have been assumed into heaven and is titled the Queen of Heaven. Some specific descriptions of this Kingdom as given in the canon of scripture include—, Seeing God as He is, sharing in his life—1 Jn 3,2,1 Cor 13,12, Jn 17,24 Peaceful Conditions on a New Earth—Is. 2, 2–4,9,7,11, 6–9,27,13,32, 17–18,33, 20–21,60, 17–18,5, 3–5, Rev.21 Eternal Rule by a Messiah–King—Ps. 72, Jer 31, 33–34, Zech 2, 10–11,8,3,14,9, Matt 16,27, Jude 2,34 an heir of David, Is. 9, 6–7,11, 1–5 Bodily perfection—No hunger, thirst, death, or sickness,1,25,4,4,33,24,35, 5–6,49,10,65, 20–24, Jer. 3, 9–19, Matt 13,43 Ruined cities inhabited by people, a fragment from the early 2nd century of one of the lost volumes of Papias, a Christian bishop, expounds that heaven was separated into three distinct layers. He referred to the first as just heaven, the second as paradise, Papias taught that there is this distinction between the habitation of those who produce a hundredfold, and that of those who produce sixty-fold, and that of those who produce thirty-fold. According to some views, some Christians in the 1st century believed that the Kingdom of God was coming to earth within their own lifetimes and they looked forward to a divine future on earth. In the 2nd century AD, Irenaeus wrote that not all who are saved would merit an abode in heaven itself, Eastern Orthodox cosmology perceives heaven as having different levels, the lowest of which is Paradise. At the time of creation, paradise touched the earth at the Garden of Eden, after the Fall of man, paradise was separated from the earth, and mankind forbidden entry, lest he partake of the Tree of Life and live eternally in a state of sinfulness. At his death on the Cross, the Orthodox believe Jesus opened the door to Paradise to mankind again, various saints have had visions of heaven. However, in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox, it is only God who has the final say on who enters heaven, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, heaven is part and parcel of deification, the eternal sharing of the divine qualities through communion with the Triune God. The Catholic Church teaches that heaven is the end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings. It holds that, by his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has opened heaven to us, the life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. Heaven is the community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ
25.
Hell
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Hell, in many mythological, folklore and religious traditions, is a place of torment and punishment in an afterlife. Religions with a divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations while Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations. Typically these traditions locate hell in another dimension or under the Earths surface, other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo. Hell is sometimes portrayed as populated with demons who torment those dwelling there, many are ruled by a death god such as Nergal, Hades, Hel, Enma or Satan. Subsequently, the word was used to transfer a pagan concept to Christian theology, Some have theorized that English word hell is derived from Old Norse hel. However, this is unlikely as hel appears in Old English before the Viking invasions. Furthermore, the word has cognates in all the other Germanic languages and has a Proto-Germanic origin, Hell appears in several mythologies and religions. It is commonly inhabited by demons and the souls of dead people, a fable about hell which recurs in folklore across several cultures is the allegory of the long spoons. Hell is often depicted in art and literature, perhaps most famously in Dantes Divine Comedy, punishment in Hell typically corresponds to sins committed during life. In many religious cultures, including Christianity and Islam, Hell is often depicted as fiery, painful and harsh, despite these common depictions of Hell as a place of fire, some other traditions portray Hell as cold. Buddhist - and particularly Tibetan Buddhist - descriptions of hell feature a number of hot. Among Christian descriptions Dantes Inferno portrays the innermost circle of Hell as a lake of blood. At death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty-two divine judges, if they had led a life in conformance with the precepts of the Goddess Maat, who represented truth and right living, the person was welcomed into the Two Fields. If found guilty the person was thrown to a devourer and would be condemned to the lake of fire, the person taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifying punishment and then annihilated. These depictions of punishment may have influenced medieval perceptions of the inferno in hell via early Christian, purification for those considered justified appears in the descriptions of Flame Island, where humans experience the triumph over evil and rebirth. For the damned complete destruction into a state of non-being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture, the weighing of the heart in Egyptian mythology can lead to annihilation. The Tale of Khaemwese describes the torment of a man, who lacked charity. Divine pardon at judgement always remained a concern for the Ancient Egyptians
26.
Kingship and kingdom of God
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The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of Gods kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, also, a Kingdom of the Gods is common in paganism such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology or the phrase King of the Gods. The Kingdom of God and its equivalent form Kingdom of Heaven in the Gospel of Matthew is one of the key elements of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Drawing on Old Testament teachings, the Christian characterization of the relationship between God and humanity inherently involves the notion of the Kingship of God, the Quran does not include the term kingdom of God, but refers to Abraham seeing the Kingdom of the heavens. However, Baháí writings do use the kingdom of God. The term kingdom of God does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, although his kingdom, yours is the kingdom, O Lord is used in 1 Chronicles 29, 10-12 and His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom in Daniel 3,33, for example. The Hebrew word malkuth refers first to a reign, dominion, or rule, when malkuth is used of God, it almost always refers to his authority or to his rule as the heavenly King. The enthronement psalms provide a background for this view with the exclamation The Lord is King. 1 Kings 22,19, Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 7,9 all speak of the Throne of God, although some such as Saadia Gaon. The phrase the Kingdom of God isnt common in intertestamental literature, the term does occasionally, however, denote an eschatological event, such as in the Assumption of Moses and the Sibylline Oracles. In these cases, Gods Kingdom is not the new age, along these lines was the more national view in which the awaited messiah was seen as a liberator and the founder of a new state of Israel. The Gospel of Luke records Jesus description of the Kingdom of God, for indeed, the kingdom of God is within you. The Apostle Paul defined the Kingdom of God in his letter to the church in Rome, For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, in the Gospels, especially the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus speaks frequently of Gods kingdom. However, Jesus never defines the concept and he assumed this was a concept so familiar that it did not require definition. The Kingdom of God is one of the key elements of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, drawing on Old Testament teachings, the Christian characterization of the relationship between God and humanity inherently involves the notion of the Kingship of God. Most of the uses of the Greek word basileia in the New Testament involve Kingdom of God, Matthew is likely to have instead used the term heaven because the background of his Jewish audience imposed restrictions on the frequent use of the name of God. However, Dr. Chuck Missler asserts that Matthew intentionally differentiated between the kingdoms of God and Heaven, Most commentators presume that these terms are synonymous. However, Matthew uses Kingdom of Heaven 33 times, but also uses Kingdom of God five times, even in adjacent verses, Kingdom of God is translated to Latin as Regnum Dei and Kingdom of Heaven as Regnum caelorum
27.
Paradise
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Paradise is the term for a place of timeless harmony. Paradise is a place of contentment, a land of luxury, Paradise is often described as a higher place, the holiest place, in contrast to this world, or underworlds such as Hell. In eschatological contexts, paradise is imagined as an abode of the virtuous dead, in Christian and Islamic understanding, Heaven is a paradisaical relief. In old Egyptian beliefs, the otherworld is Aaru, the reed-fields of ideal hunting and fishing grounds where the dead lived after judgment, for the Celts, it was the Fortunate Isle of Mag Mell. For the classical Greeks, the Elysian fields was a land of plenty where the heroic. The Vedic Indians held that the body was destroyed by fire. In the Zoroastrian Avesta, the Best Existence and the House of Song are places of the righteous dead, on the other hand, in cosmological contexts paradise describes the world before it was tainted by evil. The concept is a theme in art and literature, particularly of the pre-Enlightenment era, the word paradise entered English from the French paradis, inherited from the Latin paradisus, from Greek parádeisos, from an Old Iranian *paridayda- walled enclosure. By the 6th/5th century BCE, the Old Iranian word had been adopted as Assyrian pardesu domain and it subsequently came to indicate the expansive walled gardens of the First Persian Empire. The term eventually appeared in Greek as parádeisos park for animals in the Anabasis of the early 4th century BCE Athenian Xenophon, aramaic pardaysa similarly reflects royal park. Hebrew פרדס appears thrice in the Tanakh, in the Song of Solomon 4,13, Ecclesiastes 2,5, in those contexts it could be interpreted as an orchard or a fruit garden. In the Septuagint, Greek παράδεισος parádeisos was used to translate both Hebrew pardes and Hebrew gan, garden, it is from this usage that the use of paradise to refer to the Garden of Eden derives. The same usage appears in Arabic and in the Quran as firdaws فردوس. The words etymology is derived from a PIE root *dheigʷ to stick. It is reflected in Avestan as pairi-daêza-, the literal meaning of this Eastern Old Iranian language word is walled, from pairi- around and -diz to make, form, build. The word is not attested in other Old Iranian languages, the idea of a walled enclosure was not preserved in most Iranian usage, and generally came to refer to a plantation or other cultivated area, not necessarily walled. For example, the Old Iranian word survives as Pardis in New Persian as well as its derivative pālīz, later in Second Temple era Judaism paradise came to be associated with the Garden of Eden and prophesies of restoration of Eden, and transferred to heaven. The Septuagint uses the word around 30 times, both of Eden, and of Eden restored, in the Apocalypse of Moses, Adam and Eve are expelled from paradise after having been tricked by the serpent
28.
Purgatory
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The notion of Purgatory is associated particularly with the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief. Judaism also believes in the possibility of purification and may even use the word purgatory to present its understanding of the meaning of Gehenna. However, the concept of soul purification may be denied in these other faith traditions. The same practice appears in traditions, such as the medieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead. Roman Catholics consider the teaching on Purgatory, but not the imaginative accretions, of the early Church Fathers, Origen says that He who comes to be saved, comes to be saved through fire that burns away sins and worldliness like lead, leaving behind only pure gold. St. Ambrose of Milan speaks of a kind of baptism of fire which is located at the entrance to Heaven, and through which all must pass, at the end of the world. By this he meant that attachments to sin, habits of sin, and even venial sins could be removed in Purgatory, but not mortal sin, which, according to Catholic doctrine, causes eternal damnation. The Catholic Church gives the name Purgatory to the purification of all who die in Gods grace and friendship. Though Purgatory is often pictured as a rather than a process of purification. According to Catholic belief, immediately after death, a person undergoes judgment in which the eternal destiny is specified. Some are eternally united with God in Heaven, envisioned as a paradise of eternal joy, conversely, others reach a state called Hell, that is eternal separation from God often envisioned as an abode of never ending, fiery torment, a fire sometimes considered to be metaphorical. In addition to accepting the states of heaven and hell, Catholicism envisages a third state before being admitted to heaven, such souls, ultimately destined to be united with God in heaven, must first be cleansed through purgatory – a state of purification. Through purgatory, souls achieve the necessary to enter the joy of heaven. Mortal sin incurs both temporal punishment and eternal punishment, venial sin incurs only temporal punishment, the Catholic Church makes a distinction between these two types of sin. According to Catholicism, purification from our sinful tendencies can occur during life, the situation has been compared to that of someone who needs to be cleansed of any addiction. As from any addiction, rehabilitation from the disordered affection for created goods will be a gradual and it can be advanced during life by voluntary self-mortification and penance and by deeds of generosity that show love of God rather than of creatures. After death, a process can be recognized as a still necessary preparation for entering the divine presence. The writings of Saint Catherine of Genoa explain, As for paradise, whoever wishes to enter, does so
29.
Limbo
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Medieval theologians of western Europe described the underworld as divided into four distinct parts, Hell of the Damned, Purgatory, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants. However, Limbo of the Infants is not a doctrine of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Christs descent into hell as meaning primarily that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the preaching to Christs descent into hell. It adds, But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the imprisoned there. It does not use the word Limbo and this concept of Limbo affirms that admittance to Heaven is possible only through the intervention of Jesus Christ, but does not portray Moses, etc. as being punished eternally in Hell. The term Limbo does not appear in the Bible, the concept of Limbo of the Patriarchs is not spelled out in Scripture, but is seen by some as implicit in various references. Jesus told the Good Thief that the two of them would be together this day in Paradise, but between on the Sunday of his resurrection he said that he had not yet ascended to the Father. Some say that the descent of Jesus to the abode of the dead, his presence among them, turned it into a paradise. Others understand the text to mean not I say to you, This day you will be me in paradise. Timothy Radcliffe explained the today as a reference to the Today of eternity, Jesus is also described as preaching to the spirits in prison. Medieval drama sometimes portrayed Christ leading a dramatic assault—The Harrowing of Hell—during the three days between the Crucifixion and the resurrection, in this assault, Jesus freed the souls of the just and escorted them triumphantly into heaven. This imagery is used in the Eastern Orthodox Churchs Holy Saturday liturgy. The Limbo of Infants is a hypothesis about the permanent status of the unbaptized who die in infancy, too young to have committed personal sins, but not having been freed from original sin. Recent Catholic theological speculation tends to stress the hope, though not the certainty, so great was Augustines influence in the West, however, that the Latin Fathers of the 5th and 6th centuries did adopt his position. In the later period, some theologians continued to hold Augustines view. In the 12th century, Peter Abelard said that these infants suffered no material torment or positive punishment, others held that unbaptized infants suffered no pain at all, unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, not supernatural happiness. This theory was associated with but independent of the term Limbo of Infants, hence they will nowise grieve for being deprived of the divine vision, nay, rather will they rejoice for that they will have a large share of Gods goodness and their own natural perfections
30.
New Jerusalem
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The prophecy is recorded by Ezekiel as having been received on Yom Kippur of the year 3372 of the Hebrew calendar. It will be inhabited by people to live eternally in spirit form, not everyone will reside in New Jerusalem, as most will possibly stay on Earth. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, the city is called the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Babylonian threat to the Kingdom of Judah began as the Babylonian Empire conquered Assyria, Jerusalem surrendered without major bloodshed to Babylon in 597. An Israelite uprising brought the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar’s army upon Jerusalem in 586 BCE, the entire city, including the First Temple, was burned. Israelite aristocrats were taken captive to Babylon, the Book of Ezekiel contains the first record of the New Jerusalem. Within Ezekiel 40-48, there is an extended and detailed description of the measurements of the Temple, its chambers, porticos, Ezekiel 48, 30-35 contains a list of twelve Temple gates named for Israel’s tribes. The Book of Zechariah expands upon Ezekiel’s New Jerusalem, after the Second Temple was built after the exile, Jerusalem’s population was only a few hundred. There were no city walls until 445 BCE. In the passage, the author writes about a city wall of fire to protect the enormous population and this text demonstrates the beginning of a progression of New Jerusalem thought. In Ezekiel, the focus is primarily on the act of Temple construction. In Zechariah, the focus shifts to God’s intercession in the founding of New Jerusalem, New Jerusalem is further extrapolated in Isaiah, where New Jerusalem is adorned with precious sapphires, jewels, and rubies. The city is described as a free from terror and full of righteousness. Here, Isaiah provides an example of Jewish apocalypticism, where a hope for a perfected Jerusalem, as the original New Jerusalem composition, Ezekiel functioned as a source for later works such as 4 Ezra,2 Baruch, Qumran documents, and the Book of Revelation. These texts used similar measurement language and expanded on the limited eschatological perspective in Ezekiel, Judaism sees the Messiah as a human male descendant of King David who will be anointed as the king of Israel and sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. He will gather in the lost tribes of Israel, clarify unresolved issues of halakha, Zechariah prophesied that any family among the nations who does not appear in the Temple in Jerusalem for the festival of Sukkoth will have no rain that year. Isaiah prophesied that the rebuilt Temple will be a house of prayer for all nations, the city of YHWH Shamma, the new Jerusalem, will be the gathering point of the worlds nations, and will serve as the capital of the renewed Kingdom of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied that this city will have 12 gates, one gate for each of the tribes of Israel
31.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
32.
Barzakh
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Barzakh is an Arabic word meaning obstacle, hindrance, separation, or barrier. Despite the gain of recognizance, it cannot utilize action, the other two occurrences refer to Barzakh as an impassable barrier between fresh and salt water. While fresh and salt water may intermingle, an ocean remains distinct from a river, in Hadith, Ibn al-Qayyim cites that, albeit not mentioned in the Quran, souls in Al-Barzakh would be grouped with others matching in purity or impurity. In Islam, the soul and the body are dependent upon each other and this is significant in Barzakh, because only a persons soul goes to Barzakh and not their physical bodies. Since ones soul is divorced from their body in Barzakh, the belief is no progress or improvements to ones past life can be made. If a person experienced a life of sin and worldly pleasures, whatever one does in his or her lifetime is final and cannot be changed or altered in Barzakh. The idea of purgatory is that it is a place people go after death that holds punishment. People who are in place do not have enough sins to warrant their entrance into Hell. This is a place, similar to barzakh. Because they have this in common, some believe that they are the same idea or concept, Barzakh is actually closer to the idea of limbo, a place that is between life and the true afterlife. In this place, people await their final judgment, much like in barzakh, the Quranic idea of aʿrāf or “heights” is closer to that of Christian purgatory. Aʿrāf is also thought of as a place where souls go whose good, some Muslim scholars stress the importance of Barzakh, while others simply look past its existence. Modern Muslim thinkers de-emphasize Barzakh, and focus instead on an individual life. In this view, the state of Barzakh is simply looked past, Muslim scholars who do believe in Barzakh still have varying interpretations of this intermediate state based on different traditions. Some traditions suggest that a persons deeds in their life will affect their experience in Barzakh, in these traditions, there are two states of Barzakh. In the state known as Azhlaabul-Qabr, a person will be punished for his or her deeds in their past life. In the other known as Taneemu Ahlit-Taaah Fil Qabr, a person will receive the blessings and bounties of Allah because of his or her faith. Other traditions suggest that people in Barzakh are given temporary bodies, in this view, a person is either given a bright body or a dark body
33.
Jahannam
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The duration of a residence in hell differs in Islam. According to some Sunni oppinions, the punishment of hell just ends for Muslims, a Hadith relates that a person who committed suicide will be punished over and over on the Day of Judgment and later in Jahannam by the very means he/she used to end his/her life. At least two verses in the Quran emphasise that consignment to hell is horrible and eternal, with the caveat except as God wills it, otherwise the part except as God wills it is considered as a possible end of the eternity of hell. Some Hadith point the release of all the inhabitants of Hell, Muhammad is quoted as saying Allah will bring out people from the Fire and admit them into Paradise. Also he is quoted as saying Surely a time will come over hell when its gates shall be blown by wind, there shall be none in it, and this shall be after they have remained therein for many years. In another Hadith, it is related that on or after Judgement Day Muhammad and these include any who sincerely professed the Shahada, and then anyone with even an atom’s measure of goodness in his or her heart. Exempt from intercession will be anyone who participated in shirk, according to some islamic philosophers, like Al Kindi, and views from Sufism, hell itself will cease to exist. When God may uncreate, the inhabits of hell, who will not be saved or the whole creation, with the end of hell, the whole creation goes back to oneness and even the devil, will return to Gods grace. Author Phil Parshall quotes other Hadith telling similar stories of sinning believers being taken out of hell and allowed into heaven, the remaining inhabitants of Hell will stay there eternally. The Quran describes Jahannam as having nineteen angels, the keeper named Maalik explains to hells inhabitants who appeal to him to be let out that they must remain in Hell because they abhorred the truth when the truth was brought to them. Hell is perceived to be so deep that if a stone were thrown into it, it would fall for 70 years before reaching the bottom. (According to one calculation this would make it over 190,000,000 km deep, the breadth of each of Hells walls is equivalent to a distance covered by a walking journey of 40 years. Malik in Hadith quotes Mohammed as saying that the fire of Jahannam was seventy times greater than fire on earth and he also described that fire as blacker than tar. I saw therein many people hanging upside down with iron chains, the Quran gives several names for hell, Jaheem, Hatamah, Haawiyah, Ladthaa, Sa’eer, Saqar. In an eschatological manual by Qadi Ayyad, these are names for the different gates of hell, the period of time between a persons death and the Day of Judgement, is known in Islam as barzakh. Although not yet in hell, it is believed that the sinners and unbelievers destined for it will suffer during this time. By the time corpse handlers are ready to wash the body, but then, before earth is piled upon the freshly dug grave, an unusual reunion takes place, The spirit returns to dwell within the body. These angels carry out a trial to probe the soundness of a Muslims faith, according to theologian Al-Ghazali, Afterlife will start with the Day of the Arising and a trumpet blast which will wake the dead from their graves
34.
Jannah
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Jannah is the Islamic concept of paradise. This interpretation gave rise to one of the names of Allah — The Most Merciful. According to Islamic eschatology, after death, ones soul will reside in the grave until the resurrection on Yawm al-Qiyāmah or Judgment Day. Muslims believe that the treatment of the individual in the life of the grave will be according to his or her deeds in the worldly life, Jannah is often compared to Christian concepts of Heaven. According to Muslim belief, everything one longs for in this world will be there in Paradise, the highest level of Paradise is Firdaws, which is where the prophets, the martyrs, and the most truthful and pious people will dwell. In contrast to Jannah, the words Jahannam, Dozukh, there are many words in the Arabic language for both Heaven and Hell and those words also appear in the Quran and Hadith. Most of them have become part of the Islamic traditions, the descriptions of paradise are mentioned in significant detail in the Quran, Hadiths and traditional tafsīr. Besides the material notion of the paradise, those descriptions are also interpreted as allegories, the Persian theologian Al-Ghazali said, This life belongs to the world of earth and the world of visibility, the hereafter belongs to the world of transcendental and the world of beings. By this life I understand your state before death, by hereafter I understand your state after death, however, it is impossible to explain the world of beings in this life by any other means than allegories. The true beauty of paradise is also understood as the joy of beholding God, the Paradise is described as surrounded by eight principal gates, each level generally being divided into a hundred degrees. The highest level is known as firdaws and it will be entered first by Muhammad, then those who lived in poverty, and then the most pious. Entrants will be greeted by angels with salutations of peace or As-Salamu Alaykum, now how excellent is the final home. The Islamic texts describes life for its inhabitants as, one that is happy—without hurt, sorrow. Traditions relate that inhabitants will be of the age. In them are women limiting glances, untouched before them by man or jinni - So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny, - They will eat delicious food and drink, and every bowl will have a new taste. They will take eructation which will digest the food and there will be perfumed sweating for the digestion of water, inhabitants will rejoice in the company of their parents, spouses, and children —conversing and recalling the past. Those on the Right, what people they are, palaces are made from bricks of gold, silver, pearls, among other things. Traditions also note the presence of horses and camels of dazzling whiteness, large trees are described, mountains made of musk, between which rivers flow in valleys of pearl and ruby
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Sidrat al-Muntaha
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Sidrat al-Muntahā is a Lote tree that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary where no creation can pass, according to Islamic beliefs. It is a member of the Botanical family Rhamnaceae, the lote tree is mentioned in the Quran chapter 53, An-Najm, verses 10-18, The Lote Tree is also referred to in Sura 34, verse 16 and Sura 56, verse 28. It is named the Sidrat al-Muntahā because there terminates at it whatever ascends from the earth and whatever descends including what comes down from God, including waḥy and other things besides. Alternatively, it is the Uttermost Extremity or the end of something for the knowledge of the creatures approaching it, relative, that is, to its Existent Being above the heavens. So it is al-Muntahā with respect to modes of knowledge or other things besides, thus Muhammad saw Gabriel in that location which is the domain of the pure and beautiful, elevated Souls. George Sale, the 18th century English scholar, has beyond which Angels themselves must not pass, or, as some rather imagine, beyond which no creatures knowledge can extend. Sale also notes that one states that line 16 refers to the host of angels worshipping around the tree. The nineteenth century English explorer, Richard Burton reported seeing an ancient Sidr tree in the containing the Prophet Muhammads tomb in Medina. It was in a dedicated to the Prophets daughter, Fatimah. The fruit from the tree was being sold to pilgrims and its leaves used for washing dead bodies, the Sidrat al-Muntahā is a metaphor for the Manifestation of God. The Sidrat al-Muntaha is sometimes named in the form as sidra tree. What is the significance of this glorious tree, the evergreen tree Ziziphus spina-christi represents this symbol in natural form. Tree of life Tree of life Ziziphus Jujube Ziziphus lotus Ziziphus spina-christi Ayoub, the Quran and Its Interpreters, The House of Imran. ISBN 0-7914-0993-7 Glossary of Islamic terms Sidrat al-Muntaha Miracle of Isra and Miraj
