Could it be possible? Most people long for it – those who are in a good marriage often times are saddened
when they think of Jesus’ words as recorded in Matthew 22:23-32 (also Mark 12:18-27 and Luke 20:27-38). Even many of those who have suffered through the torments of a bad marriage or who have never married still long for the ideal of true marriage love. According to the Bible and Quran, this is nature of human beings.

Most Protestant commentators since the Reformation have not been comfortable with the idea of marriage. However there is an earlier strand of interpretation, from the first centuries of the church, that is more appealing and logical. It would suggest that there is a special meaning to the marriage bond that continues in heaven, and is coherent with the teaching of Islam and the rest of the bible itself.

A question was posed to Jesus by a group of religious leaders called the Sadducees. The Sadducees were a group of 1st century Jewish aristocracy who did not believe in the Resurrection.

The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first dies after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third even to the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”

Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. (Matthew 22:23-33. See also Mark 12:18-27, Luke 20:27-40)

[Here we should backtrack for and note that for centuries before the New Testament era, the common belief among faithful Jews was that at the end of history, God would raise everyone from the dead and judge between the wicked and the righteous. Passages in the Hebrew Bible like Daniel 12 and Ezekiel 37 were seen as providing the basic Biblical foundation of this event. In fact, the belief in this future final bodily Resurrection of the dead was what fueled the Maccabean martyrs in their resistance against their Greek oppressors...and it was also fueling anti-Roman zealotry during the time of Jesus (peace be upon him)! This is why the Sadducees rejected such a belief. For them, the status quo under Roman rule was a pretty good deal. They had no desire to embrace such a dangerous notion as Resurrection!

So, looking to challenge this upstart teacher from Galilee, and hopefully put Him in His place before He brought more trouble on Jerusalem from Rome, they posed this question to Him:

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"

Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven."
(Mark 12:18-24)

Now at this point a couple of things are helpful to know. 1) Jesus was being asked this question in a common rabbinic way meant to bring out the absurdity of the position of one's opponent. 2) The question is referring to the practice in the Ancient Near East known as "levirate marriage", and discussed in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. Levirate marriage was the practice whereby if a man died without having produced a family heir, his brother was expected to try to impregnate his widow in order to provide her with an heir and continue the family line and inheritance. 3) The question is not about life immediately after death. Rather, it is about life after the Resurrection.

So before forming a detailed theology of the afterlife from this passage, as many have tried to do, it is crucial that we realize that that was not the purpose of the question or of the answer Jesus gave. When studying the Bible, often it is just as important to recognize what the text does not say. Some have taken Jesus words to mean that when people die they become angels (this is behind the pop notion of people "getting their wings", having halos, etc.). But Jesus doesn't say that at all. What He says is with respect to "marrying" and "being given in marriage", people will be LIKE the angels. But what does this mean? New Testament scholar Ben Witherington puts it this way:

The case put forward by the Sadducees is particularly extreme. Not only had six brothers attempted and failed to impregnate the woman in question, but she had also outlived them all and was single when she died. It is perhaps this last fact which prompts the question: Whose spouse will she be in the resurrection? ..Jesus stresses that in the age to come people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say there will be no marriage in the age to come. The use of the terms "γαμουσιν" (gamousin) and "γαμιζονται" (gamizontai) is important, for these terms refer to the gender-specific roles played in early Jewish society by the man and the woman in the process of getting married. For a closer look the word gamousin and gamizontai with tense used....

Matthew 22:30 ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἰσιν.
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven.
Verb: Third Person Present Active Indicative Plural
Mark 12:25 ὅταν γὰρ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῶσιν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται, ἀλλ' εἰσὶν ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Verb: Third Person Present Active Indicative Plural

Luke 20:34 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου γαμοῦσιν καὶ γαμίσκονται,
Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry, and are given in marriage.
Verb: Third Person Present Active Indicative Plural

Luke 20:35 οἱ δὲ καταξιωθέντες τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται·
But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage.
Verb: Third Person Present Active Indicative Plural

Matthew 22:30 ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἰσιν.
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven.
Verb: Third Person Present Passive Indicative Plural
Mark 12:25 ὅταν γὰρ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῶσιν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται, ἀλλ' εἰσὶν ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Verb: Third Person Present Passive Indicative Plural

Luke 20:35 οἱ δὲ καταξιωθέντες τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται·
But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage.
Verb: Third Person Present Passive Indicative Plural

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

(Please note that the word is in third person, present, passive and plural; therefore is not reffering a future new thing, rather is it a present tradition being hinted to)

The men, being the initiators of the process in such a strongly patriarchal culture, “marry,” while the women are “given in marriage” by their father or another older family member. Thus Mark has Jesus saying that no new marriages will be initiated in the eschatological [resurrection] state. This is surely not the same as claiming that all existing marriages will disappear in the eschatological state. Jesus, then, would seem to be arguing against a specific view held by the Sadducees about the continuity between this life and the life to come, a view involving the ongoing practice of levirate marriage. In the eschatological state we have resurrected beings who are no longer able to die. Levirate marriage existed precisely because of the reality of death. When death ceases to happen, the rationale for levirate marriage falls to the ground as well. When Jesus says…that people will be like the angels in heaven in the life to come, he does not mean they will live a sexless identity (early Jews did not think angels were sexless in any case; cf. Gen. 6:1–4!), but rather that they will be like angels in that they are unable to die. Thus the question of the Sadducees is inappropriate to the conditions of the eschatological state…In Mark 10 Jesus grounded normal marriage in the creation order, not in the order of the fall, which is the case with levirate marriage (instituted because of death and childlessness and the need to preserve the family name and line). Thus Jesus is intending to deny about the eschatological state “that there will be any natural relation out of which the difficulty of the Sadducees could arise.”

Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2001), 328.

So rather than saying that all marriages will be done away with, or that people will be sexless androgynous beings, Jesus is more likely saying that the question of levirate marriage, with its notions of family provision and the treatement of widows will no longer be an issue. The question of what exactly the relationship will be among spouses in the Resurrection remains largely unanswered by Jesus.

So, in conclusion,

Now let us consider what this passage actually means. Note that marrying and being given in marriage do not refer to the married state, but only to the wedding itself. The question focused on a woman who had married seven times for apparently worldly reasons, with no evidence of having formed a spiritual bond with any of her husbands. The Sadducees were not talking about a true marriage, but merely about a legal ritual–an outward coupling without the inner meaning.

Jesus (peace be upon him) answered their question in terms of their own idea of marriage, which was quite different than ours is today. In those days, the marriage contract was generally made between the husband and the father of the bride. The bride was seldom given any say in the matter. Women were treated almost like property. To be “given” in marriage meant they could be given by parents to an unknown man (Genesis 24, 21:21), or given as a reward. (Judges 1:12, 1 Sam 17:25) They could be bought and sold, (Genesis. 29:20, Ruth 4:10, Hosea 3:2, 12:12) or even kidnapped. (Judges 21:21-23) This is kind of worldly coupling the Lord was referring to when He said, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage.” (Luke 20:34) Perhaps we should take the saying “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,” to mean, “In heaven there is no buying and selling of women and legal contracting such as you are used to.”

So far we have spoken of only one passage. However, there are many passages which might give us an indication of whether marriage continues after death, even if it is not in so many words. When God first created people, He made them male and female. (Genesis 1:27) He saw that what He had done was very good. (Genesis 1:31) If it is very good, why should it not continue after death? Jesus said, “They are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore, God has joined together, let no one put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9) God Himself said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) “The Lord, the God of Israel, says that He hates putting away.” (Malachi 2:16) If He hates putting away, why would He put away every wife and husband from each other by death?

Description of Paradise in the Qur’an:

Janna (Paradise, Heaven) is called by eight names in the Qur’an: Jannatu al-Khuld, Darul as-Salam, Darul al-Qarar, Jannatu al-`Adn, Jannatu al-Ma`wa, Jannatu an-Na`im, `Illiyin, and Jannatu al-Firdaus. Janna is the Arabic word for “garden.” 1 They have been translated into English as: paradise, a garden on high, a home that will last, garden of eternity, garden of everlasting bliss, gardens of delight, home of peace, home of the righteous, etc. 2

The Prophet Muhammad is quoted as saying that everyone will see God on the Day of Resurrection, as easily as one can see the sun when there are no clouds. 3

There will be no sickness, pain, sadness or death there. The Prophet Muhammad said that there are things in Paradise “which no eye has seen no ear has heard and no human mind has thought of.” 4

Descriptions of Paradise in the Qur’an:

Sura (chapter) 2:82: “But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden: Therein shall they abide (For ever).”

3:133: “Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous.”

3:185: “Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life): For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception.”

18:107: “As to those who believe and work righteous deeds, they have, for their entertainment, the Gardens of Paradise.”

39:73: “And those who feared their Lord will be led to the Garden in crowds: until behold, they arrive there; its gates will be opened; and its keepers will say: ‘Peace be upon you! well have ye done! enter ye here, to dwell therein’.”
39:74: “They will say: ‘Praise be to God, Who has truly fulfilled His Promise to us, and has given us (this) land in heritage: We can dwell in the Garden as we will: how excellent a reward for those who work (righteousness)!’ ”

47:15: “(Here is) a Parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised: in it are rivers of water incorruptible; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink; and rivers of honey pure and clear. In it there are for them all kinds of fruits; and Grace from their Lord….”
Sura 56:1-40 of the Qur’an deals in depth with the Day of Judgment and the rewards that await persons who have led a good life.

56:15-21: “[They will sit] on gold-encrusted thrones of happiness, reclining upon them, facing one another in [love]. Immortal youths will wait upon them with goblets, and ewers, and cups filled with water from unsullied springs by which their minds will not be clouded and which will not make them drunk; and with fruit of any kind that they choose, and with flesh of any fowl that they may desire.”

56:22-26: “And [accompanying them will be their] companions pure, most beautiful of eye, like unto pearls hidden in their shells. [This will be] a reward for what they did [during life]. No empty talk will they hear there, nor any call to sin, but only the tiding of inner soundness and peace.”

56:27-33: “Now as for those who have attained to righteousness- what of those who have attained to righteousness? [They too will find themselves] admist fruit-laden lote-trees, and acacias flower-clad, and shade extended, and waters gushing, and fruit abounding, never-failing and never out of reach.”

56:34-37: “And [with them will be their] spouses, raised high; for behold, We shall have brought them into being in a life renewed, having resurrected them as virgins, full of love, well matched to those who have attained to righteousness”

55:70: “In them will be fair [Maidens], good, beautiful.”
55:72: “Maidens restrained [as to their glances], in [goodly] pavilions.”
55:74: “Whom no man or Jinn before them has touched.”

Surah 44:51-55 and 52:17-20 state that the men in Paradise will enter marriage with their wives.
Jinns are living entities that God created from “a smokeless flame of fire.” 5 They are invisible to the human eye but marry, produce children, eat, drink, and die like all other creatures in the universe.” 7,8

Who is eligible for entry into Paradise:

Surah 2:25: “And give good news [O Muhammad] to those who believe and do good deeds, that they will have gardens [Paradise] in which rivers flow….”
Surah 4:57: “But those who believe and do good deeds, We will admit them to gardens (Paradise) in which rivers flow, lasting in them forever….”
Surah 57:21: “Race one with another for forgiveness from your Lord and for Paradise, whose width is as the width of the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared for those who believe in God and His messengers….”

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