Most High, they were correct in this. But they erred by placing this outside Paradise, thereby failing to accord the name Paradise its due reverence; and objectionable consequences followed from this.

This resembles what is related about al-Shiblī, may Allah have mercy on him: he heard someone reciting:

“Among you are those who desire this world, and among you are those who desire the Hereafter.”

He cried out, “Where is the one who desires Allah?” His desire for Allah is praiseworthy, but he was mistaken in supposing that those who desired the Hereafter did not desire Allah. This verse concerns the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who were with him at Uhud, and they are the best of creation. If they did not desire Allah, would those beneath them, such as al-Shiblī and others like him, desire Allah?

Something similar is an incident I know involving one of the shaykhs, who once asked about the words of Allah Most High:

“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, killing and being killed.”

He said, “If lives and wealth are the price of Paradise, then by what is the vision of Allah attained?” Someone gave him an answer of the same kind as his question. What must be understood is that all the bliss Allah has prepared for His allies—looking upon Him and everything else—is within Paradise, just as everything with which He has threatened His enemies is within the Fire.

Allah Most High has said:

“No soul knows what joy is kept hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do.”

And in an authentic hadith, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, relates:

“Allah says: ‘I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever conceived; rather, he has what I have disclosed to them.’”

Once it is understood that