Page 124 - The Truth of the Life of This World

rest on these thrones set in lines and enjoy an abundance of luscious fruits
and various kinds of drinks. The design and decoration of the mansions
are of the best quality of textiles and materials. Comfortable couches lined
with silk brocade and thrones are specially emphasised in many verses:

They will be on thrones encrusted with gold and precious stones, reclining
on them, facing each other. (Surat al-Waqi'ah: 15-16)
They will recline with ease on thrones of dignity arranged in ranks... (Surat
at-Tur: 20)
As the verses also suggest, thrones are the symbols of dignity, splen-
dour and wealth. Allah wants His servants to reside in such glorious places
in paradise. In such magnificent surroundings, believers constantly keep
remembering Allah and repeat His word:

They will enter Gardens of Eden where they will be adorned with gold
bracelets and pearls, and where their clothing will be of silk. They will say,
‘Praise be to Allah, Who has removed from us (all) sorrow: for our Lord is
indeed Oft-Forgiving, Ready to appreciate (service), Who has, out of His
bounty, settled us in a Home that will last: no toil nor sense of weariness shall
touch us therein.’ (Surat al-Fatir: 33-35)

The basic material of paradise is "works of great delicacy" and "remark-
able beauties". These are all the reflections of the ultimate intelligence and
art of Allah. For instance, thrones are encrusted with gold and precious
stones. The thrones are not ordinary but exalted ones. Clothes are of silk and
precious textile. Moreover, the silver and golden jewellery will be comple-
mentary to these precious garments. In the Qur'an, Allah gives many details
of paradise, yet from those expressions it is clear that every believer will
enjoy a Garden designed according to his own imagination. No doubt, Allah
will bestow many other astonishing gifts on His beloved servants.

A Garden Beyond Imagination
To them will be passed round, dishes and goblets of gold: there will be there
all that the souls could desire, all that their eyes could delight in: and you
shall abide therein timelessly, for ever. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 71)
From the descriptions and illustrations existing in the Qur'an, we can
get a general understanding of what paradise is like. In the verse

122 Man's True Abode: Hereafter