Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide the heavens and the earth, prepared for the people who have taqwa. (Surah Al'Imran: 133)

Allah has created each person with a spirit that takes pleasure in and
yearns for the best and finest things in life, because those beautiful
things reflect the wonders of the Garden in the Unseen. From the first
moment that someone has begun to understand the meaningof life, a
person feels a constant desire to attain perfection. He is always in
search of the blessingsthat this life has to offer.But no matter how
strong his desire and no matter how hard he works to attain these good
things, he will never find the perfection he is looking for in the
world. This is because Allah has created the life of this world
imperfect and unfulfilling.
There are many reasons why Allah has created the world in this way. As
Allah tells us in the Qur'an, His creation is flawless. "He is Allah –
the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To Him belong the Most
Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies Him.
He is the Almighty, the All- Wise." (Surat al-Hashr: 24)Our Lord's
power is infinite and He can create what He wants. Therefore, there is
a purpose in the defects of the world: Allah wants people to know that
the Garden exists and to work towards it with eagerness and sincerity.

Jannah: The Garden from the Qur'an and Hadith -

Introduction
-

In the life of this world, human beings are responsible for overcoming
the impulses and appetites of their nafs (selves) andliving their
lives to please Allah. To do this we have been given a very short
lifespan of sixty or seventy years on average. After the life of this
world is over, Allah has created an endless and perfect life for His
slaves who have won Hisfavour. In comparison tothat timeless
existence, life in this world lasts only as long as the blink of an
eye. The faithful slaves are those who have shown steadfastness and
determination in living according to the genuine knowledge of the
unity of Allah without association of partners to Him and in obedience
to Allah and His Messenger. They will obtain a great reward inthe
world to come: the eternal life of the Garden. Doubtless the favour,
mercy and love of our Lord for His slaves are a great joy for them.

The way to escape selfishness and egotism is through the moral values of Islam

·What damage does selfishness and egotism do to society?
· How can selfish and egotistical societies escape this spiritual sickness?
Omniscient Allah has created the human soul with a predisposition to
selfishness as a test. Unless he lives by the moral values of the
Qur'an and tames his earthly desires, this feeling will come to
dominate his whole moral framework. Such a person generally thinks
of himself alone, rather than everyone else. He always wants the
best, finest and most perfect of everything for himself. He wants to
have possessions and children and for his own family merely to be
comfortable. Whenever he encounters any difficulties he will expect
the people around him to undergo all kinds of risks and troubles for
him and to support him, even at the cost of their own interests. He
seeks to protect his own whims and interests and to ensure his own
ease and comfort. When the situation is different he can forgo many
things he values, for the sake of protecting his own interests and
preventing any harm coming to him. Allah has revealed this passionate
selfish feeling in human earthly desires as follows in the Qur'an:
" Truly man was created headstrong –
desperate when bad things happen,
begrudging when good things come –."(Surat al-Ma'arij, 19–21)
Selfishness and Egotism Are a Major Threat to Modern Societies
The materialist, Darwinist thinking that is widespread in modern
societies that do not live by religious moral values reinforces the
selfish and egotistical spirit in human nature and disseminates a
"me-first" philosophy. Indeed, the idea of " So long as I'm all
right, who cares what happens to anyone else?" or "Looking out for
number one" generally dominates such societies. But selfishness and
egotism are a major threat to society because ideas like truth,
justice and law vanish in such a society . Feelings such as beauty,
love, affection, compassion and respect become regarded as
unnecessary. Thus, people who are oppressed and slaughtered,
innocent babies, people who lack the money for proper hospital
treatment, or who have to wait for hours or even days in hospital
queues, despite being old or weak, people who are forced out of
their homes or lands because of their faiths and tiny, defenseless
children thrown out onto the streets to survive as best they can
are of no interest to such people. This structure generally leads
to a troubled and unhappy air in society.
This structure among people and societies who are selfish, loveless,
aggressive, who protect their own interests and violate everyone
else's, who wear a harsh mask and who have no love or fear of Allah,
can only be eliminated through people living by the moral values of
the Qur'an, as Islam and cultivating love of Allah is the only way
to acquire such instances of good conscience as compassion and
helpfulness, features at the root of Qur'anic moral values, and to
escape selfishness and egotism. Our Lord reveals how the Qur'an
leads people from the darkness to the light as follows:
"… A Light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book.
By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of
Peace. He will bring them from the darkness to the light by His
permission, and guide them to a straight path." (Surat al-Ma'ida,
15-16)
People Can Only Protect and Watch over One Another with Love and Fear of Allah
Fear and love of Allah enables people to submit themselves to Him,
to see the best in everything and to have compassion. In the verses
Allah reveals how the only interest of concern to believers is His
approval:
" They fulfill their vows and fear a Day whose evil will spread far and wide.
They give food, despite their love for it,to the poor and orphans
and captives:
'We feed you only out of desire for the Face of Allah. We do not
want any repayment from you or any thanks.
Truly We fear from our Lord a glowering, calamitous Day.'
So Allah has safeguarded them from the evil of that Day and has made
them meet with radiance and pure joy."(Surat al-Insan, 7-11)
Our Prophet's (saas) words that " He who goes to bed full when his
neighbor is hungry is not one of us" is an important warning that
believers desire to earn Allah's approval. Therefore, anyone aiming
to earn Allah's approval will not just settle for a solution to his
own problems; he will also assume responsibility for resolving the
problems of others around him in need. This may of course require
people to give up things they love or to sacrifice their own
comfort. The way that Muslims look to protect and watch over the
poor by giving alms, help people in need by canceling their debts
and spend their possessions on Allah's path, rather than
accumulating and hoarding them, are moral virtues bestowed by the
ethical values of the Qur'an.
Responding to people's needs and treating them kindly are forms of
behavior that prevent atrophocation of the conscience. Empathizing
with others, treating the needy with affection and showing respect
and love make it possible to eliminate cruelty and selfishness.
Verses reveal that the reward for good behavior comes in the
Presence of Allah:
" Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him. Be good to
your parents and relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to
neighbors who are related to you and neighbors who are not related
to you, and to companions and travelers and your slaves. Allah does
not love anyone vain or boastful." (Surat an-Nisa', 36)
In modern, Darwinist societies one frequently encounters people who
look gloomy, keep their eyes fixed on the ground, walking around
never greeting or speaking to anyone. But because of the climate of
peace and security that Islam provides in those model societies in
which Islamic moral values prevail, everyone will trust and love
everyone else, greet people, and be their friends.
Faith perfects people's behavior, as it does so many other traits. A
believer who constantly heeds his conscience as required by
religious moral values will always behave in the best, most
considerate, trust- inspiring and tolerant manner. Someone possessed
of these moral attributes has earned merit for his own life in the
hereafter. At the same time, he is instrumental in freeing the
world from its self-interested and selfish nature, and making it a
place of the delights of Islam.
The Moral Values of the Qur'an Bestow Altruism, Love and Kindness on People
Someone aware that his purpose in this world is to earn the
approval, mercy and ultimately the paradise of Allah can never
remain unmoved by and insensitive to what goes on around him. He
knows that everything is an opportunity to gain the approval of
Allah and always acts out of that awareness. The flaws or
oppression he sees around him will trouble his conscience. For
example, he will feel himself responsible for a child with no
family forced to live out on the streets. As Allah reveals in the
verses,"So as for orphans, do not oppress them, and as for beggars, do
not berate them." (Surat ad-Duha, 9-10), andhe will treat them well.
He will strive to help them out of their predicament. However, he
knows that the child in question cannot be saved solely through him
and those around him behaving well. He will therefore strive to
ensure that everyone lives by the moral values of the Qur'an. This
is a major responsibility incumbent on all Muslims. Allah promises
a fine outcome for those who assume a great and honorable
responsibility:
"Allah has promised those of you who have faith and do right actions
that He will makethem successors in the land as He made those before
them successors, and will firmly establish for them their religion
with which He is pleasedand give them, in place of their fear,
security. 'They worship Me, not associating anything with Me.' Any who
are unbeliever after that, such people are deviators."(Surat an-Nur,
55)
"[There are men who are] not distracted by trade or commerce from
the remembrance of Allah and the establishment of prayer and the
payment of alms ; fearing a day when all hearts and eyes will be in
turmoil –" (Surat an-Nur, 37)

A Muslim is Passionately Devoted, Not to Possessions and Wealth, But to Allah

Why is the devotion to wealth and property of people who do not live
by the moral values of the Qur'an in fact great heedlessness that
believers scrupulously avoid?
How do believers use their wealth and possessions on Allah's path?
What secret does our Lord reveal in the Qur'an for believers who
spend all their wealth and assets on Allah's path?
People who do not live by the moral values of the Qur'an suffer
various pains; these people even make the desire to "possess wealth
and property" their greatest aim in life. Allah describes such
people as "trying to outdo one another in wealth" in the Qur'an
(Surat al-Hadid, 20). But this desire is literally a delusion
because it is Allah Who owns everything in the world. People
deceive themselves when they imagine they "own possessions." They
did not personally create the things they imagine they possess, and
they have no power whatsoever to maintain them. Neither can they
prevent them ceasing to exist. Moreover, there is no question of
them "owning" anything; because they themselves are under the
control of Allah, "the king of Mankind" (Surat an-Nas, 2). In the
Qur'an it is revealed that all objects and entities belong to
Allah, our Creator:
"Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth and
everything in between them and everything under the ground belongs
to Him." (Surah Ta Ha, 6)
Believers, who have faith in Allah and attach no undue importance to
the transitory baubles of this world, who know that all things come
from Allah alone and who therefore spend what they have on His path,
may hope for Almighty Allah's mercy and paradise. Since they
prefer the life of the hereafter, which Allah says will last for all
eternity, over the life of this world, it is actually they who are
the wealthy ones.
Believers Fervently Spend Their Assets on Allah's Path
As revealed in the verse "[There are men who are] not distracted by
trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah and the
establishment of prayer and the payment of alms; fearing a day when
all hearts and eyes will be in turmoil –" (Surat an-Nur, 37) , one
of the things that people today most give themselves over to is
making money and possessing goods and property. Yet in that verse,
Allah reveals that believers must be filled with passion for Him
alone, and that their hearts can only be contented by repeating His
name, and that they fear losing His approval by behaving in any
other way. Believers have a strong desire to give their possessions
to others in need, for the purpose of gaining the approval of
Allah, to whom they are so passionately devoted. Another verse
reveals how all wealth belongs to Allah alone:
"Spend in the Way of Allah. Do not cast yourselves into
destruction. And do good: Allah loves good-doers." (Surat
al-Baqara, 195)
Someone who thinks by the light of his own criteria thinks that he
will become wealthier by not sharing his possessions with anyone and
hiding and hoarding them, and that this is the only way he can
guarantee his own future. He believes that anything he gives away –
even if he has no need of it – will make him poorer, and that
anything he loses now will endanger his future comfort. But things
are not at all as he imagines. Allah reveals in the Qur'an, as a
miracle, that a person who spends on His path and who gives alms
will acquire greater possessions and abundance.
But someone who analyzes events only by external criteria may
easily be deceived by this deception of satan's. For example, he may
be about to give his shirt to someone in need when satan whispers
that if he does so, he will have to go without it, that he may need
it one day, and that it would be better to hold onto it. And
indeed, it would appear on the surface that he would be deprived of
a shirt, but if he forgets that Allah bestows many times over on
whom He wishes, on who has much purity, then he has fallen into
heedlessness. Indeed, Allah tells us in one verse that:
"The metaphor of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah is
that of a grain which produces seven ears; in every ear there are a
hundred grains." (Surat al-Baqara, 261)
The example in the verse is a secret revealed by Almighty Allah to
believers in the Qur'an. For that reason, believers spend solely in
order to win Allah's good pleasure, mercy, paradise and abundance.
So long as they expend their goods and possessions on Allah's path
and are careful about what is lawful and unlawful, Almighty Allah
will increase their wealth, smooth their way and create many more
opportunities for them to spend on His path. Every believer
experiences this secret in his own life, by having no fears for the
future, fearing Allah and keeping to His bounds. In this way, he
receives the reward for spending on Allah's path, and also further
abundance.
Therefore, someone who turns a deaf ear to the deceptions of satan's
and gives to those in need is actually behaving in the best way for
himself. He receives the reward for spending on Allah's path, and
also further abundance.
On the other hand, the believer's aim in giving is not to obtain
more for himself, because what counts is the pure intention behind
that giving. Therefore, it is the fact that this obligation is
performed with a love of Allah, with sincerity , expecting no reward
and with pure intentions that validates it in the Sight of Allah.
Another example Allah gives in the Qur'an on this subject is:
" The metaphor of those who spend their wealth, desiring the
pleasure of Allah and firmness for themselves, is that of a garden
on a hillside. When heavy rain falls on it, it doubles its produce;
and if heavy rain does not fall, there is dew. Allah sees what you
do. (Surat al-Baqara, 265)
Believers Regard Assets As a Means by Which to Give Thanks and Draw
Closer to Allah
A believer's interest in having possessions stems from his regarding
this blessing as an instrument for giving thanks to and drawing
closer to Allah. This is a natural state of mind stemming from a
passionate love of Allah and is acquired through fervent faith,
reason, depth, altruism and lofty moral virtues. The Qur'an cites
this example of this superior morality possessed by believers:
"We gave David Solomon. What an excellent servant! He truly turned
to his Lord.
When swift horses, champing at the bit, were displayed before him
in the afternoon,
he said, 'I have put the love of good things above the remembrance
of my Lord until the sun disappeared behind its veil.
Return them to me!' And he set about slashing through their shanks
and necks." (Surah Sad, 30-33)
As can be seen from these verses, it is love of Allah and the
intention of remembering Him that lie at the root of believers'
love of possessions. As in the example of the Prophet Solomon
(pbuh), only believers who love Allah with a passion can understand
the deep joy that His servants who regard possessions as simply a
means of giving thanks to Allah for His blessings, experience from
fulfilling this obligation.
Why Does Accumulating Possessions Benefit One Nothing?
As manifested in the name, Ganiy, Almighty Allah is He Who needs
nothing. It is therefore a grave error to be parsimonious and
accumulate possessions out of a fear of the future inspired by
satan. As is said in the verse "Every self will taste death…" (Surat
al'Ankabut, 57) Allah says, everyone must one day die and be unable
to take anything with them, not even their own bodies. It is
therefore of no use to accumulate and hoard possessions in order to
satisfy earthly greed. On the Day of Reckoning, everyone will have
to give account alone, in the Sight of Allah. Everyone will be
asked about his faith, and wealth and possessions in this world
will be of no use to him at all. This fact is revealed as follows
in another verse from the Qur'an:
"As for those who do not believe, their wealth and children will not
help them against Allah in any way. They are the Companions of the
Fire, remaining in it timelessly, for ever." (Surah Al-'Imran, 116)