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The Quran clearly tells us that we will be resurrected and that we will eat and drink in Paradise..jpg)
The Quran clearly tells us that we will be resurrected and that we will eat and drink in Paradise. So it cannot be only spiritual pleasure with God, though that will be a major element of the pleasure.
But we must keep in mind that the nature of our bodies in Paradise will be different than they are now. Hadiths (traditions of the Prophet) tell us that there will be no pain, excrement, or dirt. Our sweat will smell of musk (a big improvement over this world!). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us, “Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said: I have prepared for My pious servants bounties which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived, about which Allah has informed you in the Quran” (Muslim). This hadith is an explanation of the Quranic verse that means:
{No person knows that is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do} (As-Sajdah 32:17)
There are also some Muslims who incorrectly believe that Paradise is merely spiritual pleasure. This misconception is, unfortunately, seen in some of the footnotes and commentary of highly respected references as Yusuf Ali’s translation of the Quran.
The misconception, as far as Muslims are concerned, might stem from an unbalanced over-emphasis on Sufism. Or possibly it stems from some Christian influence, which traditionally saw sex, even within marriage, as a “necessary evil” in order to have children. (As a child in Catholic school I was taught that a life of chastity as a nun or a priest was the best, the highest.)
Once again, Islam balances man’s spiritual and physical needs. Islam teaches that the fulfillment of carnal needs is not sinful, as long as it is done within marriage.
You don’t seem to be asking about Paradise for men only, as opposed to women. While the Quran does seem to emphasize the pleasures of Paradise from a man’s perspective, there are hadiths that indicate that women will also have pleasure there. Once the Prophet was asked about women who have more than one husband in this life—remarriage after divorce or widowhood being common—whom would she be with in Paradise? His answer was that the wife would be with the husband who had treated her best in this life.
I find a lot of people ask about women’s reward in Paradise. It seems to me that they are trying to know more of the Unseen than has been revealed to us. We must remember that not only our bodies but our psychologies will be different in the Hereafter. There will be no jealousy in Paradise, no evil talk.
So we should not focus on the details of life in Paradise or say “that’s not fair!” if men and women are treated differently. Muslims believe that God is All-Just, and none of us will be short-changed in Paradise.
Instead we should focus our attention on how to get to Paradise. It won’t do us any good to fret here about what rewards lie ahead if we don’t do what is needed to get those rewards!
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