But those who fear their Lord will have Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever: hospitality from Allah. What is with Allah is better for those who are truly good. (Surah Al 'Imran: 198)
What is the Garden promised to the righteous [who fear Allah] like? It has rivers flowing under it and its foodstuffs and cool shade never fail. That is the final fate of the righteous [who fear Allah]. But the final fate of the disbelievers is the Fire. (Surat ar-Ra'd: 35)
 Believers who fear an encounter with the infinite punishment of Hell, and who are mindful of not rebelling against Allah, will gain the reward of those who fear and act cautiously as Allah has promised, and they will be sent to enter their eternal home:
And those who feared their Lord will be driven to the Garden in companies and when they arrive there, finding its gates open, its custodians will say to them, "Peace be upon you! You have done well so enter it timelessly, for ever." They will say, "Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of this land, letting us settle in the Garden wherever we want. How excellent is the wage of those who work!" (Surat az-Zumar: 73-74)
For the true believers who enter the Garden, the most joyful surprise and the greatest source of happiness and excitement above all else, will be a verbal salutation from Allah:
"Peace!" A word from a Merciful Lord. (Surah Ya Sin: 58)
Allah will address the true believers in the Garden as follows:
My devotees, you will feel no fear today; you will know no sorrow. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 68)
 Allah, Who created mankind, is more aware than we are of what we would enjoy most as a reward for having believed in Him, and these very things are what will await the believers in the Garden. Hence, the immense blessings of the Garden and the wonders it contains lie far beyond the scope of human imagination. Infinite blessings will be offered to believers the likes of which no eyes have ever seen and no ear has ever heard; for the rest of eternity everything they encounter will meet with their every desire:
… They will have whatever they wish for with their Lord. That is the great favor. (Surat ash-Shura: 22)
The Qur'an describes every aspect of everlasting life for the believers in the Garden, such as their places of residence, their clothing, their spouses, the beauty of the surroundings, the foodstuffs and various other delights that await them.
 In one Qur'anic verse the eternal lives led by those who fear Allah and the terrifying end to be faced by those who do not fear Allah are compared:
An image of the Garden which is promised to the righteous [who fear Allah]: in it there are rivers of water which will never spoil and rivers of milk whose taste will never change and rivers of wine, delightful to all who drink it, and rivers of honey of undiluted purity; in it they will have fruit of every kind and forgiveness from their Lord. Is that like those who will be in the Fire timelessly, for ever, with boiling water to drink which lacerates their bowels? (Surah Muhammad: 15)
There is no doubt that someone who is conscious and aware needs only to reflect on the scenario for a moment in order for both hope in and fear of Allah to intensify.
Sep 04, 2009
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