Paradise or Allah’s consent?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is narrated that a person named Mullah Qasim, who examined Yunus Emre’s diwan, tore up the pages he read because he could not comprehend the poet’s wise words with his superficial knowledge. When he read the following couplet, he realized his mistake:

“Dervish Yunus; do not utter words crookedly,
a Mullah Qasim will come to question you...”

One of the statements of Yunus Emre that causes people like “Mullah Qasim” to criticize him is as follows:

“What they call Paradise consists of a few mansions and houris.
Give it to anyone who wants it; what I need is You.”

According to them, “Yunus Emre insults Paradise with this poem.” However, there is no insult to Paradise in his words; He regards Allah’s consent as greater, and it is in compliance with the Quran. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a verse:

وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنَ اللّٰهِ اَكْبَرُۜ “...But the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of Allah...” (at-Tawba, 9/72)

Paradise is definitely something that people desire, and there is no problem in terms of religion to aspire to it. In fact, many verses encourage us to gain Paradise and to compete for it. (For example, see Aal-i Imran 3/133; al-Hadid 57/21) However, when it is compared to Allah’s consent, it is less important.

If someone has a very beautiful garden and if there are most beautiful fruits in this garden, those who eat the fruits of the garden will definitely love that garden. However, there is a great difference between loving the garden and loving the owner of the garden. There is such a difference between loving Paradise and loving Allah, who is the owner of Paradise.

Rabi’atul-Adawiyya, one of the greatest saints, states the following:

“O Allah! If I worship You out of fear of Hell, burn me in the fire of Hell. If I worship You in hope of Your Paradise, make it haram for me. If I worship You only because I love You, do not deprive me of Your beauty.” [Özköse, (Heyet) Tasavvuf, p. 123].

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