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Since pleasure is sought for its own sake, it is blameworthy only when it is followed by greater pain or prevents a better pleasure. It is praiseworthy when it helps one attain lasting pleasure: the bliss of the Hereafter, which is everlasting and immense. As Allah Most High says:

“Thus We established Joseph in the land, to settle wherever he wished. We bestow Our mercy upon whom We will, and We do not let the reward of those who do good go to waste. And the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believe and are mindful of Allah.” (Surah Yūsuf 56–57)

Allah Most High also says:

“But you prefer the life of this world, while the Hereafter is better and more lasting.” (Surah al-A‘lā 16–17)

And Allah Most High relates the words of the sorcerers who believed:

“So decree whatever you will decree. You can only decree concerning this worldly life,”

through to their words:

“And Allah is better and more lasting.” (Surah Tā Hā 72–73)

Allah, glorified be He, created His creatures only for the abode of permanence: Paradise and Hell. As for the abode of this world, it will come to an end, and its pleasures are neither unalloyed nor everlasting. The Hereafter is different: its pleasures and bliss are free from distress, enduring and uninterrupted. There is no sorrow, toil, or weariness there. The people of Paradise neither urinate nor defecate, neither spit nor blow their noses. Rather, it contains whatever souls desire and eyes delight in