Page 17 - Paradise: The Believers' Real Home

Blessing and Dissipation 15

rects. Possessions are a blessing belonging to Allah, and so
those who have them will use them as Allah commands.

But if possessions are not seen as a blessing, dissolution
sets in. The Qur'an gives many examples of how deviators un-
derstand the meaning of riches. One of the clearest examples
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is that of Qarun, a rich man who "gloated" (Surat al-Qasas, 76)

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and said: "I have only been given it because of the knowledge I I
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h have" (Surat al-Qasas, 78). Such a love of possessions cannot
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bring people close to Allah; rather, it diverts them from His
way and alienates them from faith. The Qur'an describes this
type of love as:
[T]ruly man is ungrateful to his Lord, and indeed
he bears witness to that. Truly he is fierce in his
love of wealth. (Surat al-'Adiyat, 6-8)
So, for this reason Muslims must view wealth according to
the Qur'an's criteria and pursue it only to please Allah and
serve Islam. They must desire all of Allah's blessings, because all
blessings of this earthly life have been created for those faithful
and sincere servants who exert every effort to please and
serve Allah. We have to be continually thankful for these bless-
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ings and follow Sulayman's (as) example: "What an excellent t

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s servant! He truly turned to his Lord" (Surah Sad, 30).
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Those who live according to the real spirit of the Qur'an's
moral teachings and adopt the point of view described above
will be deemed "worthy and qualified" to enter Paradise,
which possesses, as one of its most salient characteristics,
eternal splendor and dazzling wealth and beauty. People who