Bahá'ís understand heaven and hell as spiritual states of closeness to, or distance from, God, rather than physical places. These states can be experienced during earthly life and after death, as the immortal soul continues its spiritual journey.
In Bahá'í teaching, human beings have an immortal soul and the capacity to develop divine attributes, such as love, justice and compassion. Heaven, also described as paradise, means spiritual fulfilment through harmony with God's will. Hell means spiritual deprivation through selfishness, wrongdoing and separation from God.
| Concept | Bahá'í understanding | Connection to life |
|---|---|---|
| Heaven or paradise | A state of spiritual nearness to God and harmony with God's will | Developing virtues and following divine guidance cultivate this nearness. |
| Hell | A state of spiritual remoteness from God and deprivation of spiritual fulfilment | Selfishness and harmful actions obstruct spiritual development. |
The common misconception is that Bahá'ís envisage heaven as a physical destination and hell as a place of literal fire. Bahá'í interpretations understand such descriptions symbolically, expressing spiritual realities through language people can recognize.
This understanding connects directly to Bahá'u'lláh, whom Bahá'ís recognize as a Manifestation of God, a revealer of divine guidance. Bahá'ís believe that successive Manifestations, including Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, guide humanity's spiritual development. Following Bahá'u'lláh's teachings therefore involves prayer, moral conduct and service to humanity, linking belief about the soul to everyday behaviour.
After death, Bahá'ís believe the soul continues to progress towards God. Spiritual distance should therefore not be presented as an irreversible sentence of physical torment. Although individual explanations may differ, this teaching does not depend on a denominational division.
For IB World Religions SL, this belongs to Part 1 and the fundamental question, Where are we going? In a Paper 1 Explain response, connect the spiritual meaning of heaven and hell to the extract, then show how virtues and service express that belief.