Surah Al-Isra (The Night Journey ) 17 : 18

Overview (Verses 18 - 19)

Choices and Rewards
 
Someone who wishes to lead a life based solely on this world, looking up to nothing beyond this earth and its pleasures, will have whatever God has assigned to him of these. In the life to come, hell will be waiting for him because he will have deserved it. This is because those who do not aspire to anything beyond this world are keen to immerse themselves in its carnal pleasures. This however inevitably leads them to hell: “As for those who care only for [the pleasures of] this fleeting life, We readily grant of it whatever We may please to whomever We will. In the end We consign any such person to hell, where he will burn disgraced and rejected.” (Verse 18) He is disgraced by his actions, rejected, suffering severe punishment.
 
On the other side is a totally different picture: “But those who care only for the life to come, strive fir it as it should be striven for, and are true believers, are indeed the ones who will have their endeavours well rewarded.” (Verse 19) Someone who desires the rich reward of the life to come must pursue his goal diligently. He should fulfil the duties God requires of him. Moreover, he must have faith which serves as the basis of his pursuit for the life to come. Faith is not a matter that people attain through idle wishes, but it is rather an idea that is firmly held as a belief, and clearly endorsed by action. Pursuit of the hereafter does not deprive anyone of the wholesome pleasures of this life. It simply opens up wider horizons before us. Thus, enjoyment and pleasure are not the driving goal. There is no harm in seeking pleasure, provided however that one is not captivated or enslaved by it.
 
A life that seeks nothing more than the pleasures of this world is fitting only for worms, reptiles, insects, cattle and wild beasts. It is only the life that pursues the rewards of the hereafter that is fitting for man who has been the recipient of honour bestowed on him by God. It is God who has created man and fashioned him, planting in his soul a secret that motivates him to look up to higher horizons even when his feet are solidly planted on earth.