(117) It is related by Abu Sa'eed that the Apostle of God said: “[When the dwellers of Paradise will have reached there and its superlative boons will have been conferred upon them] God will speak to them, ‘O dwellers of Heaven!' He will say. ‘Our Lord', they will reply, ‘We are here! We are here in Thy sublime presence, and all that is good belongeth to Thee [i.e., Thou can grant to anyone what Thou want to grant and withhold from anyone what Thou want to withhold] !' He will ask, ‘Are you happy [i.e., Are you pleased with what you have been given here]?' The blessed ones will reply, ‘Why should we not be pleased when Thou hast granted to us things Thou never had granted to any of Thy creatures.' God will, then, inquire, ‘May We bestow upon you something which is even superior to those joys?' ‘O Lord', the bondmen will submit, ‘What is there which is superior to these blessings?' Upon it, God will say, ‘We bestow upon you Our eternal good pleasure. Now We shall never be displeased with you'.”
Commentary.-For the Benevolent One to inquire from the bondmen, after He had granted them Paradise and its matchless comforts, whether they were happy and contented is an act of unbounded graciousness in itself, and, with it, the gift of everlasting good pleasure, literally, defies every expression of gratitude. Were a fraction of happiness the dwellers of Heaven would experience at that time to be revealed to us in the present existence the desire for none of the earthly pleasures would be left in our hearts.