pleasures.”^[1]

Who is Intelligent and who is Foolish?

Similarly, the Master of both worlds صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم stated:

اَلْکَیِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَہٗ وَ عَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَ الْعاجز مَنِ اتَّبَعَ نَفْسَہٗ ھَوَاھَا ثم تَمَنَّی عَلَی اللہِ  

"The intelligent and wise person is he who holds his nafs accountable and acts for the life after death. And the helpless [foolish] one is he who follows the desires of his nafs and yet maintains [false] hopes in Allah [to grant him Paradise through His mercy]."^[2]

Dear Islamic brothers! Certainly, Paradise is an exquisitely beautiful place filled with bounties and comforts, but reaching it is not easy; rather, on the path to it lie exceedingly arduous gorges in the form of worship, asceticism and good deeds, which must be crossed. Conversely, Hell is a place of terrors, agonies, and various punishments, yet access to it is very easy because Hell has been veiled with sensual desires. Thus, for the one who spends his life fulfilling the unlawful desires of the nafs, there is a fear that he may be cast into Hell. Therefore, whosoever amongst us desires entry into Paradise and salvation from the punishment of Hell—as every person should—must strive to control their permissible desires alongside the forbidden ones while opposing the nafs, because failing to suppress permissible desires can lead one to fall into the forbidden. Let us listen to another Hadith for the purpose of admonition.

It is narrated by Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ that the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم stated: