Epigraph:

And those who believe and whose children follow them in faith — with them shall We join their children. And We will not diminish anything from the reward of their works. Every man stands pledged for what he has earned. (Al Quran 52:21)

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

Allah is the Master of the Day of Judgment, my role is only to give you as much optimism and hope as I can reasonably offer: We are all living in the Womb of God-the-Mother, 13.8 billion Years Pregnancy.  

Would heaven and hell be some form of virtual or some other reality?  The details escape the limits of human imagination and cognition.  The holy Quran has given us some metaphors to imagine, but, it also clearly states: “No soul knows what joy is kept hidden in store for them as a reward for what they have done.” (Al Quran 32:17)

Nevertheless, the holy Quran promises that those given the reward of paradise will have their desires fulfilled: 

As for those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and then remain steadfast, the angels descend on them, saying: ‘Fear ye not, nor grieve; and rejoice in the Garden that you were promised. We are your friends in this life and in the Hereafter. Therein you will have all that your souls will desire, and therein you will have all that you will ask for — an entertainment from the Most Forgiving, the Merciful.’ (Al Quran 41:30-32)

The verse quoted as epigraph, suggests that one of the desires of the inhabitants of paradise, will be to celebrate with their offspring. The following verses include the ancestors in the reward as well, but obviously only those who are deserving on their own:

And those who persevere in seeking the favor of their Lord, and observe Prayer, and spend out of that with which We have provided them, secretly and openly, and repel evil with good. It is these who shall have the best reward of the final Abode — Gardens of Eternity. They shall enter them and also those who are righteous from among their fathers, and their wives and their children. And angels shall enter unto them from every gate, saying: ‘Peace be unto you, because you were steadfast; behold how excellent is the reward of the final Abode!’ (Al Quran 13:22-24)

This promise is confirmed by what Allah says elsewhere:

On that Day, friends will become each other’s enemies. Not so the righteous– ‘My servants, there is no fear for you today, nor shall you grieve’––those who believed in Our revelations and devoted themselves to Us. ‘Enter Paradise, you and your spouses: you will be filled with joy.’ Dishes and goblets of gold will be passed around them with all that their souls desire and their eyes delight in. ‘There you will remain: this is the Garden you are given as your own, because of what you used to do, and there is abundant fruit in it for you to eat.’ (Al Quran 43:67-73)

And finally, the Muslims are taught a very special prayer of the Prophet Abraham for their offspring and their forefathers so their desire to be united with them in Afterlife becomes true by the righteous actions of the generations:

Praise be to God, who has granted me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age: my Lord hears all requests! Lord, grant that I and my offspring may keep up the prayer. Our Lord, accept my request. Our Lord, forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day of Reckoning.’ (Al Quran 14:39-41)