Page 16 - Paradise: The Believers' Real Home

14 PARADISE

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t tors" (Surat al-Qasas, 5). This might happen in the world, but
it certainly will happen in the afterlife.
Therefore, it would be very wrong for Muslims to find
fault with grand, luxurious, and opulent lives. Muslims must
not shun such people and regard them with disdain, because,
after all, all material things in this life (e.g., fine clothes, deli-
cious food, magnificent homes and works of art) were created
for Muslims, as we read in Surat al-A'raf, 32:
Say: "Who has forbidden the fine clothing that
Allah has produced for His servants and the good
kinds of provision?" Say: "On the Day of Rising,
such things will be exclusively for those who had
faith during their life in the hereafter…"
The Qur'an gives the example of Prophet Sulayman (as),
to whom Allah gave great wealth. In fact, it describes these

possessions, as well as his opulent palace and works of art, in
Surah Saba', 12-13 and Surat an-Naml, 44.
The important thing here is that Sulayman (as) gave
thanks to Allah amid all of these magnificent possessions, for
he knew that they were a mercy from our Lord. By relating his
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words: "Truly do I love the love of good with a view to the
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g glory of my Lord" (Surah Sad, 32), the Qur'an draws our at-
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tention to his deep understanding.
This example shows us that the love of possessions, de-
fined here as "the love of good," is legitimate as long as it is a
means to praise Allah. No doubt, believers who have this kind
of love will not hesitate to use their possessions as Allah di-