The Hereafter
Resurrection, judgment, paradise, and hell. Asad's distinctive contribution is his consistent allegorical reading, grounded in the Quran's own key-phrase (3:7) about messages 'clear in themselves' and others 'allegorical'. In Appendix I, he argues that eschatological imagery uses 'loan-images' from human experience to convey realities 'beyond the reach of human perception'.
Topics
The Day of Reckoning
235 versesResurrection and judgment — Asad reads the imagery as allegory for spiritual realities beyond human comprehension
Hellfire
208 versesThe consequence of persistent denial — allegorical imagery of spiritual torment, not literal fire
Paradise
36 versesThe abode of the righteous — 'a parable of the paradise promised to the God-conscious' (13:35)
The Barrier Between Worlds
26 versesBarzakh and the grave — the liminal space between death and resurrection