Paradise Gardens–Their Islamic and Indic versions are still thriving on earth

Salma Ahmed Farooqui I start with two points. First, it is generally believed that knowledge of Indian gardens and garden landscapes is based upon Timurid and Mughal per se Persian practises of garden culture. This was because gardens in those times especially evolved as social spaces that were designed, used, enjoyed, and appreciated. It is the garden culture rather than merely the gardens as physical sites which needs to be understood.
Second, it is also believed that the concept of the Islamic garden developed by the Muslim sultans finds its source in the term jannat ul firdaus used in the Holy Quran. If we further probe these most believed theories, we realize that the concept of an Islamic garden finds credence both in the Indic and Islamic texts of the Indian sub-continent, although it was differently represented.
Hypothetically speaking , jannat ul firdaus , the fundamental Islamic conception of paradise as a garden, is the original classic on which the model of the earthly gardens was based. The profound sacred symbolism of the jannat ul firdaus  comes from the Sura xviii. 107, which reads, “ Those who believe and do the things that are right, they shall have the Gardens of Paradise for their abode .” In this regard, the Mughals and the sultans of the Deccan were perfect examples of making their palaces, mosques and tombs into ‘paradises’ on earth.
The imagery of an Islamic garden’s archetype had distinct constituent elements of a variety of flowers and fruits like roses, jasmines, tulips, daffodils, lilies, medicinal plants, singing birds, pavilions, water bodies, rivers and many such ideas that signified eternal life. This was a conventional image of paradise which became an earthly representation of a paradise garden which was in line with the cultural essence of Islam. Even though the Quran does not describe the layout of a garden, the four rivers of water, wine, milk and honey equated with the Saihan (Syr Darya), Jaihan (Amu Darya), Furat (Euphrates) and Nil (Nile) are construed to be a depiction of a compartmentalized garden on earth—the chahar bagh , a quadrilateral layout with four smaller gardens divided by walkways or flowing water, a typical Persian tradition.
The following miniature painting is a beautiful representation of a chahar bagh model called the Bagh-i-Wafa constructed by Babur in 1508-09 which finds reference in his memoirs, the Babur Nama . He says, “ It overlooks the river, which flows between the fortress and the garden. It yields many oranges, citroens and pomegranates. I had plantains planted there. The year before I had sugarcane planted there. The garden lies high, has running water close at hand, and a mild winter climate.
In the middle of it, a one-mill stream flows constantly past the little hill on which are the four garden plots. In the southwest part of it there is a reservoir ten by ten, around which are orange-trees and a few pomegranates, the whole encircled by a trefoil meadow. This is the best part of the garden, a most beautiful sight when the oranges take color .”