Regarding the pleasures of Jannah

Some people feel awkward regarding the descriptions of Jannah in the Quran and all of its pleasures of eating, drinking and companionship; and of course criticism and mockery of such concepts is the hallmark of vocal Islamophobes and ex-Muslims (murtads).

As is typical, there is really nothing to be embarrassed about.As is typical, there is really nothing to be embarrassed about.

1. Firstly, yes of course all such descriptions are intended to be an incentive, but the real point of Jannah isn’t those incidental pleasures. It is the pleasure of Allah, and seeing Him and hearing His speech. Ibn al-Qayyim writes that many people mistakenly think Jannah is only about eating, drinking and the sensual pleasures, and they forget that the real sweetness of Jannah is the eternal happiness of our Lord with the inhabitants of Jannah. He writes “There is not even the slightest of comparison between the pleasures of eating, drinking and companionship, with the pleasure of being in Allah’s company, and seeing Him, and hearing Him, as Allah Himself says, ‘And the Pleasure of Allah is the greatest’ [Tawbah; 72]. These incidental bodily pleasure are indeed an incentive, but the purpose of Heaven is not the pleasure of the body, but the pleasure of the soul.
2. Secondly – and this needs to be said – after all the crude remarks and sarcastic jabs by those holier-than-thou critics, all one needs to do is to examine what they themselves do for entertainment and pleasure. One would assume that if they are indeed such critics of bodily pleasure, they would be embodiments of asceticism and monasticism. Yet, this is far from reality – the least that we can say is that those who control their desires and stay within the ḥalāl are promised much reward in the Hereafter, whereas those who mock the Hereafter appear to attempt to get their share (and quota!) in this world, by any means necessary.

One cannot change one’s basic biological instincts, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, and there is no need to be ashamed of, or mock, the fact that satisfying our senses is indeed something that brings pleasure to us and is a powerful incentive, in this world and the next. The beauty of our faith is that it allows those senses to be satisfied in pure manners on this earth, and promises us if restrict ourselves with the pure that we shall be rewarded by their eternal satisfaction in the next – but the ultimate reward is Divine, and infinitely more powerful than those. Food for thought (pun intended).
——Dr. Yasir Qadhi