Page 48 - Those Who Exhaust All Their Pleasures In This Life

46 THOSE WHO EXHAUST ALL THEIR PLEASURES IN THIS LIFE

O self at rest and at peace, return to your Lord, well-
pleasing and well-pleased. Enter among My servants.
Enter My Garden. (Surat al-Fajr: 27-30)

They cannot take pleasure in natural beauty

The unbelievers’ materialistic way of thinking renders
them incapable of sensing the beauty of nature. They look
at almost everything around them in terms of how it can
benefit them and how they can make more of this life. This
searching for gain is so much a part of their character that
they think that something nice has meaning only if it brings
them adulation and respect. This limited vision prevents
them from noticing all of the natural beauty bedecking
every part of creation, and so their appreciation of it is only
superficial.
But Allah has endowed the whole world with splendid
natural beauty to please the human spirit and so that we
can think about Him, see His great power, believe in Him,
and thank Him. No matter where we live, all of us have
some connection with much of this beauty. The rain,
waves beating on the shore, a sunset, or the sight of a
budding flower all give deep satisfaction to the human
spirit. All parts of creation leave an impression on people
and bring them blessings. Looking through the eyes of
belief, believers know that Allah has created all of these
beautiful things for them. And so they notice them down to
their finest details and derive a deep enjoyment from them.
Those who view the world with heedless eyes see it
through a veil of heedlessness. For this reason, the major-