A good article to read. by Shahraiz Tabassam
سَلَامٌ قَوْلًا مِّن رَّبٍّ رَّحِيمٍ
“[And] “Peace,” [Salaam] a Word from a Merciful Lord.” (Qur’an 36:58)
All this while, I had been excited about the prospect of an everlasting paradise, companionship that would last forever, and the fulfillment of my every wish. But I had ignored the fact that beyond the ‘material’ rewards Allah (swt) mentioned earlier lies a higher degree of reward for those who seek it. The reward of getting to meet Allah (swt), knowing He was pleased with you.
Imagine Him seeing you and your sight upon the Face of the One who loved you most. Imagine the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, extending His greetings to you and personally congratulating you for your success. (SUBHANALLAH!!! I Want thisssss............ Gambate Ain, gambate!)
In this Dunya, our eman has its highs and its lows but imagine a place where you were closest to Allah (swt), and that never changed.
How could any reward ever come close to this?
Allah (swt), being the Lord, Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, it is His right to be worshipped and it is His right that we, being His servants, strive to please Him in the life that He has ordained for us.
And perhaps, most interestingly,when your purpose becomes to please Allah (swt), when you long for His Love and the meeting with Him, you automatically qualify for all the other rewards. What are the rewards?
هُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُمْ فِي ظِلَالٍ عَلَى الْأَرَائِكِ مُتَّكِئُونَ
“They and their spouses – in shade, reclining on adorned couches.” (Qur’an 36:56)
And I would read, and re-read it to myself thinking what a beautiful reward it is; the eternal bliss of paradise, the company of one’s beloved wife, all without the fear of death, sorrow, detachment, or despair.
That’s something anyone would covet. It was the promise of lasting comfort, tranquility, happiness and love, all expressed beautifully in a single verse. Having known the absence of all these things in this Dunya, what more could one possibly want?
But as I read on, the very next ayah (verse) states:
لَهُمْ فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَلَهُم مَّا يَدَّعُونَ
“For them therein is fruit, and for them is whatever they request [or wish]” (Qur’an 36:57)
Subhan’Allah (Glory be to God). While most of us would be perfectly content with the first reward, it implied that there could still be those who wanted something even more. And to them, Allah (swt) had promised that they would find in Jannah(Heaven) all that they pleased, provided they led righteous lives. Surely there could be no reward greater than this, I thought. There couldn’t possibly be anything more that someone could want, could there?
Good question to ponder :
why you’re doing what you’re doing: Paradise, or pleasing the One who has it all.
Just some food for thought.
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