THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaum As-Sabt, 3rd day of Rajab, 1440, (Saturday, 9th March, 2019). Paradise should be our priority. Let's continue from the reminder yesterday. BismilLahir Rahmaanir Raheem To find out what really drives human behavior, two kinds of happiness must be distinguished: feel-good happiness and value-based happiness. Feel-good happiness is sensation-based pleasure. When we joke around or eat our favorite food, we experience feel-good happiness. This type of happiness rarely lasts longer than a few hours at a time. Value-based happiness is a sense that our lives have meaning and fulfill the larger purpose of our existence by connecting us to the Creator ALLAH. It represents a spiritual source of satisfaction, stemming from our deeper purpose and values. Living a God-conscious life rooted in the values of the Quran and Sunnah, a Muslim is driven - beyond sensual pleasures - by the desire to make it to Paradise and to be safe from Hell after death. Islamic values that take a person towards Paradise and away from Hell are the most significant factors in motivating a Muslim’s behavior and in contributing to his or her sense of happiness. The desire to achieve Paradise in the afterlife puts the meaning back into life, superseding all other desires, to bring a sense of direction. An empty lifestyle focused on wealth, possessions, drugs, alcohol, and sex is replaced with the hope of making it to Paradise, a sense of connection with ALLAH'S creation, and a life of devotion to ALLAH instead of wealth and possessions. A person is focused on pleasing ALLAH even at the cost of our fellow human beings' disapproval. One must remember that the jewel of Paradise is veiled by hardships. To be happy, wake up from materialistic dreams and realize that nothing save ALLAH alone is capable of satisfying human! Ultimate satisfaction will be in reaching our ultimate goal, Paradise, not in this world, where we are like travelers and strangers. Paradise is not ALLAH'S residence, or a spiritual state where one becomes a part of ALLAH, as some ignorant non Muslims mistakenly think. Paradise is a spiritual and sensual residence of pleasure in which all one’s senses will be gratified to the fullest. It is an abode of manifold enjoyments for the faithful, its dwellers will not feel the least pain or sadness. A place where every aspiration will be finally realized. Jannah (a beautiful garden) has historically inspired beauty as ALLAH describes it in the Quran. Many people have decorated their gardens so beautifully on earth in trying to emulate the description of Paradise in religious scriptures especially in the Quran something which can be clearly seen in the beautiful gardens which were present throughout the Muslim world, such as those in Persia, Spain, and India especially in Kashmir a suburb of India which is known as the paradise on earth, typically designed as a sort of escape or peaceful seclusion from the outside world. Waterworks and fountains were a common inclusion in Muslim gardens for their free flowing beauty and soothing sound. Artificial decorative elements were used in Muslim gardens as well, including the making of carpet-like parterres, and artificial trees and flowers made of precious metals and gemstones. Some Muslim gardens are so famed for their beauty that people come from far and wide to enjoy their tranquility. Among them are the Alhambra Palace garden in Granada, Spain, the Jag Mandir Palace garden in India and the Major Elle residence garden in Marrakech, Morocco. All these designs are nothing compared to the paradise ALLAH has prepared for HIS servants as such let's avoid following satanic influences and strive for Paradise. We can only achieve it through following the Manual for Paradise (Quran) and the Teacher for the Manual Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Let's study the Quran, recite it, listen to it and through it our hearts can find the real peace on earth. May ALLAH forgive our sins and grant us Jannat by HIS RAHMAH. Aameen.