Page 14 - Those Who Exhaust All Their Pleasures In This Life

12 THOSE WHO EXHAUST ALL THEIR PLEASURES IN THIS LIFE

or “I don’t feel like doing anything.” If you tried to help
them out of their deep-seated world-weariness and dis-
content, you would most likely fail.
Even if you took them to the most beautiful place in the
world, spread the most wonderful blessings before them,
and provided them with every luxury their hearts could
desire, you could not get them to enjoy these things or to
have these blessings exert a lasting influence upon their
spirits. In other words, you could never make them really
happy.
However, every place, from the high heavens to the
deep seas is filled with countless wonders: beautiful living
creatures (e.g., birds, rabbits, squirrels, lions, zebras, pan-
thers, tigers, cats, dogs, and fish), thousands of varieties of
fruit (e.g., strawberries, oranges, melons, plums, and
peaches), plants that cheer the spirit (e.g., roses, orchids,
daisies, violets, hyacinths, and carnations) and many other
beautiful things that delight the human spirit. A beautiful
view, a pleasant human face, or a fine meal give great
pleasure to the human spirit: In the Qur’an, Allah enumer-
ates for us the many beautiful things He has offered us in
this life, and He reminds us that these blessings are too
numerous and varied for us to even count them:
Allah created the heavens and Earth and sends down
water from the sky, and by it brings forth fruits as pro-
vision for you. He has made the ships subservient to
you to run upon the sea by His command, and has
made the rivers subservient to you. He has made the
Sun and Moon subservient to you, holding steady to