Surah As-Sajdah, Verse 17
- the Great Rewards That Await the Believers
Have we ever wondered what Jannah (Paradise) is like?
Maybe try to picture it in your imagination - stretch your imagination to the furthest limits, and envision the most the greatest pleasure your mind can possibly conceive. Go ahead and be a child again.
Done? Ok.
Fact: Jannah is better. WAY better.
The fact that you CAN imagine it, means it's not good enough to be categorized as a “reward” in Paradise.
In a Hadith qudsi, the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said,
Allah said: "I have prepared for my Righteous slaves, that which the eye has never seen,
The ear has never heard,
And the heart has never imagined"
The Prophet continued and said, "if you wish, you can recite -
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
"No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do" (as-Sajdah 32:17)
(Hadith narrated @ Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book #54, Hadith #467)
Have we ever wondered what Jannah (Paradise) is like?
Maybe try to picture it in your imagination - stretch your imagination to the furthest limits, and envision the most the greatest pleasure your mind can possibly conceive. Go ahead and be a child again.
Done? Ok.
Fact: Jannah is better. WAY better.
The fact that you CAN imagine it, means it's not good enough to be categorized as a “reward” in Paradise.
In a Hadith qudsi, the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said,
Allah said: "I have prepared for my Righteous slaves, that which the eye has never seen,
The ear has never heard,
And the heart has never imagined"
The Prophet continued and said, "if you wish, you can recite -
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
"No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do" (as-Sajdah 32:17)
(Hadith narrated @ Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book #54, Hadith #467)
No matter how much we fantasize Paradise it will never be as good as what Allah prepared for us. Allah has only revealed a tiny fraction of pleasures in this dunya; our senses have never experienced anything close to what's in store for the righteous slaves of Allah.
Of course if you still wanted those stuff you can imagine, you can STILL have it:
وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ
"Therein you shall have (all) that your inner-selves desire, and therein you shall have (all) for which you ask for." (Fussilat 41:31)
Such a great reward! Allahu akbar! Do we actually think it's FREE?
How much effort do we put to get a JOB (which we sometimes don't even like)? How much effort do we put to get straight A's in exams? How much effort do we put into our hobbies?
So why is it, when it comes to the eternal, never ending pleasures of Jannah, the true success of our existence, we procrastinate, make excuses, we’re complacent with minimum effort, "not ready", "too difficult", "too tired", find loopholes to bypass obligations, and so on..?
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا مِنكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّابِرِينَ
"Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allah tests those of you who strove hard (in His cause) and (also) tests those who are As-Sabirin (the patient & steadfast)?" (3:142)
Let's set our eyes on the prize and put in the sincere effort towards it - you only have one shot to get this reward. If you miss Paradise, there's only one alternative.
And we don't wanna go there.
May Allah make us amongst those who steadfastly put in the effort to earn His Pleasure and His Mercy, in optimistic hopes of entering Jannah. Ameen!
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