68ثُمَّ إِنَّ مَرجِعَهُم لَإِلَى الجَحيمِAli UnalAnd afterwards, they are bound to return to the Blazing Flame again.1After eating, one needs water. The people of Hell will eat of the fruit of the tree of Zaqqūm and come out of the Blazing Flame into another area of Hell to drink. But their drink will be boiling water that will be mixed with the fruits of Zaqqūm, and it will cut up their bowels (47: 15). Then, they will have to return to the Flame as their dwelling, and their punishment will go on in this strain. The Qur’ānic descriptions concerning Paradise and Hell cannot be taken as being purely metaphors. Paradise, with all its blessings, and Hell with all its elements of punishment, will be the outcome of people’s beliefs and deeds in the world. So people will live in them with both their spirit, their carnal souls, and bodies;the carnal souls of the people of Paradise will be perfectly purified – resembling those of the worldly life, but in a way that is particular to the other world. Said Nursi provides useful instruction on this point: It may be asked: What do the human carnal soul or selfhood, and the defective, changing, unstable, and pain-stricken body, have to do with eternity and Paradise? The spirit’s elevated pleasures must surely be enough. Why should a bodily resurrection take place for bodily pleasures? The answer is: Soil, despite its darkness and density when compared to water, air, and light, is the means and source of all works of Divine art. Therefore, it is somehow superior in meaning over other elements. Human selfhood or the carnal soul, despite its density, is comprehensive, and provided it is purified, it is able to gain some kind of superiority over the other senses and faculties. Likewise, the body is a most comprehensive and diverse mirror for the manifestations of the Divine Names, and has been equipped with instruments to weigh and measure the contents of all Divine treasures. For example, if the tongue’s sense of taste were not the origin of all the varieties of food and drink, we could not experience, recognize, or measure them. Furthermore, the body also contains the instruments needed to experience and recognize most of the manifestations of the Divine Names, as well as the faculties for experiencing the most diverse and infinitely varied pleasures. The Maker of the universe wants to make known all the treasures of His Mercy and all the manifestations of His Names, as well as enabling us to experience all His bounties. Given this, as the world of eternal happiness is a mighty pool into which the flood of this life flows, as it is a vast exhibition of what the loom of the universe produces, and as it is the everlasting store of the crops produced in the field of this (material) world, then it will resemble this world and life to some degree. The All-Wise Maker, the All-Compassionate Just One will give pleasures particular to each bodily organ as wages for their duty, service, and worship. To think otherwise would be contrary to His Wisdom, Justice, and Compassion. (The Words, “The 28th Word,” 515–516)