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𝐁𝐲 M. Abdulsalam (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: The second of a two-part article defining the fundamental differences between Paradise and the life of this world. Part 2: The superiority of its joys and delights in comparison to this life.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫
The Pleasures of this world are transient whilst the joys of the hereafter are lasting and eternal. In this life when a person enjoys something, it is only a short while before they get bored with it and proceed to search for something they feel is better, or they may not feel a need for it altogether. As for the delights of Paradise, a person will never feel bored with anything, but rather, its goodness will increase each time they indulge in it.
Also, the life of this world is very short. Humans only live on this earth for a short while, and very few people reach the age of seventy.
“…𝑺𝒂𝒚: 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 (𝒇𝒂𝒓) 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒅…” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 4:77)
As for Paradise, people will live forever. God says:
“…𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒆…” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 13:35)
“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆 …” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 16:96)
“(𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎): 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 38:54)
𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
The delights of the people of Paradise, such as their clothing, food, drink, jewelry and palaces, will be far superior to their counterparts in this world. There is in fact no room for comparison, as even the smallest space in Paradise is better than this world and all that is in it. The Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏” (𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍-𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒉 3/85, 𝒏𝒐. 5615)
𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
Paradise is free from all the impurities of this world. Eating and drinking in this life results in the need for excretion and its associated unpleasant odors. If a person drinks wine in this world, he loses his mind. Women in this world menstruate and give birth, which are sources of pain and hurt. Paradise is free from all of these discomforts: its people will not urinate, defecate, spit or suffer from catarrh. The wine of Paradise, as described by its Creator, is:
“𝑪𝒓𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍-𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆, 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 (𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒐𝒇), 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 37:46-47)
The water of Paradise does not become brackish, and its milk never changes in flavor:
“…𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆; 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔…” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 47:15)
The women of Paradise are pure and free from menstruation, postnatal bleeding and all the other impurities suffered by women in this world, and all are free from stool and feces. God says:
“…𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔…” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 2:25)
The prophet answered a person when they asked how the people of Paradise will relieve themselves:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏.” (𝒊𝒃𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒏)
What we have mentioned has been a mere comparison in order to understand the nature of Paradise, but as God said, its delights are truly hidden:
“𝑵𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐.” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 32:17)
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈𝐭
The delights of Paradise surpass the imagination and defy description. They are like nothing known to the people of this world; no matter how advanced we may become, what we achieve is as nothing in comparison with the joys of the Hereafter. As is mentioned in several reports, there is nothing like Paradise:
“𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕, 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚-𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔”. (𝑰𝒃𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒉, 𝑰𝒃𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒏)
The Sahabah asked the Prophet about the buildings of Paradise and he replied with a wonderful description:
“𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒌, 𝒑𝒆𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏. 𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆; 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒅𝒆.” (𝑨𝒉𝒎𝒂𝒅, 𝒂𝒕-𝑻𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒉𝒊, 𝒂𝒅-𝑫𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒆)
God says:
“𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 (𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆) 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 (𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏.” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 76:20)
What God has kept hidden from us the delights of Paradise is beyond our ability to comprehend. The Prophet said that God said:
“I have prepared for My slaves what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human heart can imagine.” Recite if you wish:
“𝑵𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐.” (𝑸𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏 32:17)
In another report:
“𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖; 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓.” (𝑺𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒉 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒎)
In other articles, we will attempt to mention some of the specific details of Paradise and the delights therein described to us by God and His last Prophet.