Overcoming Hardships Reflections

This Life: A Prison or Paradise?

I was at the airport. Standing in the security line, I awaited my ritual interrogation. But as I stood there, I looked over at a little girl with her mother. The girl was crying. She was clearly sick. The mother reached into a bag to give the girl some medicine. I was struck by how miserable the little girl looked and suddenly I saw something. I felt as though I was looking at someone who was trapped. This innocent, pure soul was imprisoned by a worldly body that had to get sick, feel pain, and suffer.

And then I was reminded of the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “This world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever” (Sahih Muslim). And for the first time, I understood it very differently than I had before. I think many people misinterpret this hadith to mean that the disbelievers get to enjoy themselves in this life, while the believers have to be restricted in this life by haram (prohibited) and halal (permitted), and have to wait until the next life to enjoy themselves. Or perhaps, some think it means that this life is miserable for the believer, while it is bliss for the disbeliever.

But, I don’t think that’s it at all.

And suddenly I saw the reality of this hadith in the little girl. I saw what looked like a soul imprisoned because it belongs to another world—a better world, where it doesn’t have to get sick.

But what happens when it’s the opposite? What happens when the soul already thinks it’s in paradise? Would that soul ever want to be somewhere else? Somewhere better? No. It is exactly where it wants to be. To that soul, there is no ‘better’. When you’re in a paradise, you can’t imagine being anywhere greater. You yearn for nothing else. Nothing more. You are satisfied, content with where you are. That is the condition of the disbeliever. Allah says:

10:7

“Indeed, those who do not expect the meeting with Us and are satisfied with the life of this world and feel secure therein and those who are heedless of Our signs.” (Qur’an, 10:7)

For the disbelieving soul, this inevitably painful, disappointing and temporary world IS their paradise. It’s all they know. Imagine if a world where you have to fall, bleed and eventually die was the only paradise you knew. Imagine the agony of that.

The one who does not believe that there is any place better—who believes that this world is the best it can get—will become very impatient when this life isn’t perfect. They are quickly angered and quickly devastated because this life was supposed to be a paradise. They don’t realize there is something greater. And so this is all they want. This is all they strive for. Every effort, every ability, every opportunity, every gift endowed to them by their creator, is employed for the sake of seeking this life—of which nothing will come to them except what is written.

Their soul is attached to the worldly body because it thinks that body is the only paradise it has. Or will ever have. So it doesn’t want to let go. At any price, it wants to hold on. To take the soul from its ‘paradise’ at death is the greatest torture possible. God describes the death of the disbelievers as a tearing of the soul from the body. Allah says:

79:1

“By the (angels) who tear out (the souls of the wicked) with violence…” (Qur’an, 79:1)

It tears because that soul doesn’t want to leave. It believed it was already in its’ heaven. It didn’t realize that there is something greater. So much greater.

For the believing soul, it’s different. The believer is in prison—not paradise. Why? What is a prisoner? A prisoner is someone who is trapped. A prisoner is kept from his home. Stuck, while he wishes to be somewhere better. The worldly body is a prison for the believer, not because this life is miserable for the believing soul, but because that soul yearns to be somewhere greater. It yearns to be Home. No matter how wonderful this life is for a believer, it is a prison compared to the Perfect life that awaits them. This soul’s attachment is to God and the true paradise with Him. It wants to be there. But this worldly life is what keeps that soul from returning—for a while. It is the barrier, the prison. Although, the heart of a believer holds the only true paradise of this life, the soul still seeks what is beyond. The soul still seeks its Home. But this soul must remain in the bars of the body for an appointed term. It must ‘do the time’, before it can be released to go Home. The attachment of the believing soul is not to the imprisoning body. When the sentence is over and a captive is told he can go Home, he would never hold on to the prison bars. So Allah describes the death of the believer very differently. God says:

79:2

“By those (angels) who gently take out (the souls of the believers)…” (Qur’an, 79:2)

The believing soul slips easily out of the body. Its ‘prison sentence’ is over and now it’s going Home. It doesn’t hold on like the disbelieving soul that thought it was already at the best it can get.

And so I could not imagine a more perfect analogy than the one used by our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Indeed this life is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever. We will all be called back by the very same caller.  The question is, will we live our life so that when that call comes we hold on to the bars of the prison? Or will we live so that the call is a call of release. A call back Home.

About the author

Yasmin Mogahed

Yasmin Mogahed

Yasmin Mogahed received her B.S. Degree in Psychology and her Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing her graduate work, she taught Islamic Studies and served as the Sisters’ Youth Director for the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. She also worked as a writing instructor for Cardinal Stritch University, and a staff columnist for the Islam section of InFocus News. Currently she’s an independent media consultant and a writer for the Huffington Post, where she focuses most of her work on spiritual and personal development. Her written works, including a book chapter on the portrayal of Islam post-911, have appeared in print and online publications worldwide.

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  • A beautiful and eloquent reminder, masha’Allah. One can never read such a reminder too many times in life… inna lilaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon.

  • Alhamdulillah. You had to post it up on my birthday. Even though i don’t celebrate birthdays, i feel that this article really did make me grow up a bit. Insha Allah will try translating it to bangla and will be sending it to you by email insha Allah

  • MASHALLAAAAH! amazing amazing, i loved it.
    Jazak Allah kheir and yes inshAllah may we all be of those who do not hang on to our bars when the call comes. excellent analogy sister Yasmin 🙂

  • Our soul yearns for the feeling of being satisfied all the time, but we know we can’t find that here. Your soul wants more, so help it achieve it by working towards what it really wants (the eternal abode), not what you think it wants (the temporary illusion)..

    JAK for the beautiful article.

  • My teacher once said that the soul is from the heavens and it will return to.heaven so during its life here on earth, it yearns all that is from the heavens, ie the divine message, the Quran. Our body was made from clay, something found on earth, annd so of yearns all thats worldy, it runs after the duniya. A Momin spends his time battling between the two. But always gives his soul the higher priority.

  • This is one of the most useful articles I have ever read.We must endure the hardships of this world and resist desires and whims to get the mercy of Allah,Exalted be He.May Allah gather us in Paradise!

  • This is a beautiful article. May Allah [swt] reward you, Sr Yasmin. Like others have mentioned, it definitely helps to (re)put things in perspective. I really needed this, and I may even print this article out to keep reminding myself of my reality.

    Jazakillah khayr.

  • umm what about the christian and Jewish disbelievers….aren’t they also looking to go to heaven ? why would they consider this world their jannah then ? , yet they try to make Dunia a paradise too…I believe there are some fallacies in this article…tread carefully.

  • This is a really beautiful article and take on the Haddith. I really wouldn’t have interpreted that haddith any better than what you noted in the first paragraph. Thanks for the wonderful article!

  • Once again, Jazak’Allahu Khairan for the insight and beautiful explanation. This is something that is often on my mind – how non-believers seem to enjoy this world “to the max” so-to-speak. While we can still enjoy within the limits of Allah’s rules and regulations, I love how that in Islam, death is the actual beginning and not the end, others may fear this transition; maybe it’s because they don’t think there is anything following this life or that because they don’t have a belief system, or they don’t have that higher goal to reach, as they are just after the fruits of this Dunya. Just my thoughts.

  • This is a matter of priority and sense of proportion.Yes. A momin’s life of this world is also beautiful if it is lived giving priority always to al-Akhirah over ad- dunya. There is beauty and peace and serenity in living in this world according to the commandments of Allah(SWT) and His Messenger(SAW).

  • wow this article makes you wannt to cry and really makes you think?
    and makes me think i definately will want to live so that my call is a call of release. A call back Home.i deffo dont want to cling onto the bars of this life on earth

  • i read some posts of yasmin mogahed inlcuding the stab poetry. Her writing skills and choice of words to put emphasis or invoke thought is impressive.

    This article started as something very obvious but gradually developed into one of the best i have read and as always she ends it with a great moral.

  • mashaAllah, what a beautiful article and reminder. This really brought a tear to my eye at the ending 🙂

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