and respect and it has been among the major goals that people strive
for throughout their lives. One of the reasons for this is that people
without faith believe that they will only be truly happy if they are
wealthy. They think that they can only secure their possessions and
achieve comfort, ease and the beautiful things they like in this way.
For this reason, they spend their whole lives amassing property and
possessions, saving money and making the right investments. They worry
that their possessions will be used up and so they do not make use of
them, they avoid spending money at all costs and do everything they
can to preserve their wealth.
But in the life of this world, a person's wealthwill not bring him the
pleasure he expects no matter how hard he works for it. It may give
him comfort in some ways, but in this flawed and imperfect world
wealth is also flawed and imperfect. The Arabic word dunya (world) is
derived from the word dani which means "low, inferior, simple,
worthless."
A reason why Allah created the world flawed, and as a transitory place
is to allow people to appreciate better the good things of the Garden.
For example, if aperson who has lived in poverty since childhood is
invited to a home withmagnificent furniture and priceless works of
art, decorated with precious stones, and is offered rare foods to eat,
he would be struck by the beauty of the place. Doubtless, this
person's delight would be much greater than that of someone who has
lived in such an environment since childhood. Our position in this
world is similar tothat of a person broughtup in poverty and want. But
even the world's wealthiest person is poor in comparison to the riches
of the Garden.And, in this world, a person can never attain this true
wealth. Even the richest person in the world will finally be wrapped
in a few metres of cloth or put into a coffin and buried in the
ground, leaving all his wealth behind. Allah tells us in the Qur'an
that the blessingsof the world are transitory:
"They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They
will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold..." (Surat
al-Kahf: 31)
The metaphor of the life of the world is that of water which We send
down from the sky, and which then mingles withthe plants of the earth
toprovide food for both people and animals. Then, when the earth is at
its loveliest and takes on its fairest guise and its people think they
have it under their control, Our command comes upon it by night or day
and We reduce it to dried-out stubble, as though it had not been
flourishing just the day before! In this way We make Our Signs clear
for people who reflect. (Surah Yunus: 24)
The wealth of the Garden, unlike the wealth of this world, is an
everlasting wealth that people will experience in their hearts and
with their bodies and senses, without worrying that it will ever come
to an end. This verse in the Qur'an tells us about the beautiful
wealth of the Garden: "Seeing them, you see delight and a great
kingdom." (Surat al-Insan: 20)
The wealth of the Garden is a harmony containing the artistry
ofAllah's endless bounty and dazzling splendour. All of this beauty is
presented in such a way as to fulfil the believers' passions and
desires, because it is only when wealth is turned into beauty in this
way that itcan give meaning to the human spirit.
In the following pages several hadith are included illustrating how
beautiful it is to dwell in the Garden and we will describe its wealth
at the same time.The beauty of these places, apart from their
aesthetic qualities, comes from the value of the materials used to
decorate them. In a hadith, our Prophet replied to someone who asked
about what materials the Garden is built from:
One brick of gold andone brick of silver, its mortar is of strongly
scented musk, its stones are pearls and emeralds,and its soil is of
saffron… (Narrated by Abu Hurayra, at-Tirmidhi)
The wealth promised to the people of the Gardenis limitless; it is in
abundance, and there is no worry that it will everbe used up.
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