Why Some Haram Pleasures Are Halal in Heaven? - 30 Verses For 30 Days 23/30

Salamun alaykum, dear brothers and sisters, and welcome to the 23rd Tafsir clip of this month of Ramadan. InshaAllah in this clip we're going to delve into verses 45 through 50 of Surat us-Saffat (37:45-50). These verses of the Qur'an are given giving a description of the people of Heaven and the pleasures that they indulge in and amongst the pleasures that they indulge in, these verses of the Qur'an tell us that there are glasses that they are drinking from.

And we know from these verses, other verses of the Qur'an as well, that these glasses that they are drinking from, one of the things that they drink from is this khamr or this wine that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala says, "Khamrin laddatin li sharibin" (47:15), for example, and the question that comes to mind, of course, is I thought wine was bad in this world. This is what Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala tells us, yes. Khamr is a terrible thing. You are to stay away from it. So many Ahadith and verses of the Qur'an as it relates to Khamr as an intoxicant that we may not even be able to count them.

So the question is, why is this Khamr all of a sudden halal when it comes to Heaven?

This is what the Qur'an is going to explain now in these verses. Because the Qur'an says that when they are drinking from the wine in Heaven, it's different from the wine in this world. The wine in this world, when you drink it, number one, you get that terrible headache and it leads to problems, physical issues, number one. Number two, this person is intoxicated. He opens his mouth, he doesn't really realize what he is doing. His judgment is impaired.

The Qur'an says when they drink of the wine in Heaven, they don't have any of these negative effects. "La fiha ghawlun wa lahum yunzafun" (37:47). Neither is there moments where they have this bad effect physically on them, nor do they get intoxicated by this drinking that they are doing. So what the verses of the Qur'an are telling us is this. This is a much deeper discussion, but I'll point it out very briefly. The Qur'an is saying, listen, if we point to a certain pleasure in this world, for example wine, and we say it's a problem and you should stay away from it, we don't have a problem with the pleasure itself. It's the problems that come along with that pleasure, that are a problem.

Otherwise, if you lived in a world where that pleasure did not come with those problems, then, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala would not have a problem with it. Therefore, the Khamr that in this world, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala has so many issues with it, and it is one of the greatest sins, yes, to drink from it. Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala in the next world says, yes, the Khamr is completely compatible with Heaven.

Why? Because that Khamr does not come with problems. And this is a general principle. Whenever Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala considers something harm in this world, it is not because it's pleasurable. No, that's all what Heaven is. Heaven is full of pleasures. It is those pleasures that come with a baggage of problems.

And if you look at our religion in this way, you understand that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is not trying to make life more difficult for us. He is just telling you and I that if you consider this Haram or if I consider this Haram, it's simply because this particular pleasure comes and brings with it a number of problems. The problems are more than the benefits, and this is exactly what we read in the verses of the Qur'an.

Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala says as it relates to Khamr in particular and intoxicans. He says there are benefits in it, but because the problems outweigh it, this is definitely haram for us and we are to never touch this.

So if we look at religion from this perspective, we don't see God as this strict King. We see Him as a kind Teacher who is telling you to stay away from sins because they will create more problems in your life.