The influence of Arab culture on the depictions of paradise in the Qur'an

The Qur'an promises believers Paradise, the eternal abode of happiness in the hereafter. In order to prepare believers for the hereafter, Almighty Allah has described the attractive aspect of Paradise with the things they know and their worldly habits. While doing this, he frequently uses the examples in the culture of the Arabs, who were the first addressees of the Qur'an. However, due to the fact that the Qur'an contains local cultural elements, it is seen that some streams of thought limit the Qur'an to a certain date and region. In this study, we will discuss the cultural aspects that affect the Qur'an's description of paradise. Together with its cultural background, we will evaluate the blessings of heaven in the center of the verses. We will try to look at the Qur'an with a holistic approach while examining the paradise described by the Qur'an, the enjoyments of the Arabs in their cultural life and why these local examples are used. In the verses of the Qur'an about the description of paradise, the method of depiction is clearly used. Thanks to this method, the message to be conveyed is described by making use of the senses. The method of depiction is also used to explain the unseen subjects to the addressee. Because in order to encourage an unknown realm, it is necessary to explain it based on its counterparts in the known realm. In our study, the verses of paradise in the Qur'an were examined, the effects of local elements on the verses were discussed in detail taking into consideration of that period, and the purpose of using local examples was tried to be explained. In this study, firstly, information about the subject, importance and sources of the research was given. Then, the concept of heaven, the names of heaven, the blessings in heaven were examined in the context of the Qur'an verses and the perception of heaven in other religions was discussed with reference to the holy books. Afterwards, the concept of depiction was explained, then the effect of Arab culture was examined discussing the effect of local culture on the depiction of paradise, which is the main goal of our study, with its structural features and in the context of the description of blessings. Keywords: Quran, Paradise, description, Arab culture, locality.