1) The passage discusses the concept of paradise and true happiness. It argues that true enjoyment and pleasure comes from living righteously and having a relationship with God, not from wealth, freedom from religious restrictions, or a life of indulgence. 2) While some non-believers appear to live comfortably, they experience high rates of suicide, mental health issues, and inability to cope with difficulties. In contrast, those who trust in God can find happiness even during hardships. 3) Only by living according to God's commands and seeking God's pleasure can people achieve an eternal life of paradise and true enjoyment of this world. Outward luxuries alone do not guarantee happiness.

1. Paradise on Earth
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
The Review of Religions, January 1997
Translated by Amatul-Hadi Ahmad
On the evening of 16 August 1902, after the evening prayer, the Promised Messiah (as), as was
his practice, sat down with his companions, for general conversation and discussion. Someone
presented him with a note requesting consideration for employment and the Promised Messiah (as)
spoke briefly about the subject of material means of existence. The original Urdu transcript of this
discourse is contained in Malfoozat, Vol. 3, pp. 331-337.
The mystery of shortage and abundance of provisions (rizq) is something not easily grasped
by people. On the one hand there are in the Holy Qur'an promises made by God with the
believers that 'Allah is sufficient for him who places his trust in Allah' (Ch. 65, v. 4). Also,
'He who is mindful of his duty to Allah, for him Allah will prepare a way out of his
difficulties and will provide for him whence he expects not', (Ch. 65, vs. 3-4). God further
states (in the Holy Qur'an), that 'In the heavens is your sustenance and also that which you
are promised' (Ch. 51, v.23). And, again, swearing by his own being, God states, 'By the Lord
of the heavens and the earth, the Qur'an is certainly the truth even as that is true which you
speak' (Ch. 51, v. 24). Just as you cannot speak with your own tongue and then deny it, so
such promises have been made by God Almighty. Yet, in spite of these promises, it is
observed that there are many who are righteous and good with good fortune who practice
Islam yet they suffer from a shortage of rizq (the material means of their livelihood). If they
have enough for the night, they don't have sufficient for the morning and if they have some
for the day, they don't have any for the night.
[Here Hadhrat Maulana Nur-ud-din Sahib (ra), a devout companion of the Promised
Messiah (as), stated: 'When I first came here, the Promised Messiah (as) was writing the
book, Alamat-ul-Muqarabin, (i.e. Signs of Those who are Close to God). On my return, I
stayed in Gujarat and there a person asked me as to what Hadhrat Mirza Sahib was writing
at the time. I told him that he was writing a commentary on the verse Innal abrara lafi
naeem, (Ch. 82, v. 14), [meaning, 'Verily the virtuous will be in bliss']. At this he
commented, 'Are the disbelievers not living in comfort? Buggies are to be seen (carrying
them) everywhere all day long.

2. The Promised Messiah (as) commented: Your having recited this verse has reminded me of
another verse of the Holy Qur'an, Waliman khaafa maqamah Rabbehi jannatan (meaning,
'But for him who fears his Lord, there are two gardens of paradise') (Ch. 55, v. 47). Yes, such
events are observed but experience bears witness that such things cannot be attributed to
God. It is our faith that the promise made by God with regard to the bestowing of rizq
(material provisions) upon the righteous is true and that God Himself bestows rizq upon the
righteous as described in the above verses. All that is described in the above verses is true
and if we observe the world of godly people, we will note that no one from among the
virtuous has ever died of hunger -- the virtuous being those who have been accepted as such
by the true believers who bore witness to their righteousness. It wasn't just the case,
however, that they did not die of hunger, they did not suffer from the anguish of the
shortage of provisions to any extreme degree, even though they may not have had the
highest standards of well being. The Holy Prophet (saw) had adopted a life of poverty, but
from his generosity it can be seen that his poverty was self-imposed rather than being a
form of punishment. In other words, there are in this path many difficulties that one has to
confront. There are some who are apparently righteous and good but they face a shortage of
provisions. Seeing all this, one has to admit that the promises made by God are all true, but
the element of human weakness needs to be recognised.
[Hadhrat Maulana Nur-ud-din Sahib (ra) here stated that he had received a letter from
someone in London who had written to him that he should come to London to see whether
it was the Christians who had attained paradise, or the Muslims? Maulana Nur-ud-din
Sahib added that he had responded by writing back to him that the true Christianity was
that of Jesus (as) and his disciples and the true Islam was that of the Holy Prophet(saw) and
his companions and he should make a comparison of the two and see for himself].
(The Promised Messiah (as) continued): In spiritual matters it is not given to every one to
derive the correct conclusions. Some people go to London and see that there is much
freedom there. The habit of drinking alcohol is so widespread that shops selling alcohol
stretch for miles. There is no difference between adultery and non-adultery. Is this
paradise? This is not what is meant by paradise. You see, a human being has a wife and he
has a relationship with her. Birds and animals also have such relationships. But God has
endowed the human being with the capacity for purity and cleanliness and for knowledge
and comprehension and as a result of the senses and the capacities with which the human

3. being has been endowed, he derives greater enjoyment from the relationship with his
partner than do the animals. The animals do not have similar senses and comprehension
and, hence, they do not hold their partners in any special regard, like the dog, for instance.
So, if human beings with all their capacities cannot attain enjoyment (through legitimate
relationship) and instead live their lives like animals, what then is the difference between
them and the animals? God has stated that paradise is for the believers and this has been
stated because true enjoyment from the pleasurable things of this world can only develop
when there is true righteousness accompanying it. He who abandons righteousness and
frees himself from the barriers of halal and haram, (i.e. that which is permitted and that
which is not permitted), such a person falls from his true status and comes down to the level
of animals.
When in Hyde Park, in London, shameless acts are committed openly like animals and there
is no modesty, and if a person, suppressing his humanity, observes this, he would wish to
repent a thousand times from such paradise and from such pleasure and would ask God to
save him from such a shameless and debased group of people. To think that the life of such a
group of people is a life of paradise is utter foolishness.
The truth is that the key to paradise is righteousness. How can a person who has no trust in
God, find true enjoyment? It is sometimes observed that when people who have no trust in
God, have money stolen from them (the shock of this is so great that) they lose their ability
to speak. And look at these, so called, dwellers of paradise who commit suicide in such large
numbers and they do this at the slightest thing. This shows how weak of heart and lacking in
inner strength they really are, that they do not have the capacity to bear sorrow. Those who
do not possess the capacity to bear sorrow and to confront difficulties, do not have the
means of true enjoyment (rahat). Whether we can make them understand this or not,
whether anyone can understand this or not, the truth of the matter is this that the true
enjoyment from pleasure-giving things can only be truly enjoyed through righteousness.
The righteous person has enjoyment in his heart and possesses an everlasting pleasure
(suroor). You see, if a person has a relationship or friendship with another person, how
happy he is to see that friend. How much greater enjoyment a person would derive if he had
a relationship with God! But he who does not have a relationship with God, what hope can
he have? And paradise begins with hope.

4. There are so many suicides in these civilised nations from which we can deduce that there is
no happiness. A suicide is committed at the slightest loss of happiness. But the person who
possesses righteousness and has a relationship with God, possesses that everlasting
happiness that comes with faith.
All things of this world suffer change and alteration. Various tribulations come one's way.
Illnesses attack. Sometimes one's children die. In short, some difficulty or other, some pain,
some sorrow is there. This world is a place of troubles and these things prevent one from
sleeping with ease. The more one's circle of relations widens, the more the sphere of
difficulties and tribulations widens. As the circle of relationships becomes enlarged through
different stages, these troubles can make fifty sorrows out of one. If a person is alone, he will
have less worries but when he has a wife, children, parents, sisters, brothers and other
relations, then the slightest trouble becomes a problem for him. Given the totality of these
relationships, one could only find happiness if no one (from his circle of relationships)
became ill or suffered any problem or difficulty. The thought that wealth brings happiness is
also incorrect. Happiness does not come with wealth by itself. If one's health is not good or,
for example, one suffers from a poor stomach, would that be a life of paradise? So, we learn
from this that wealth is not the source of happiness. The truth is that the person who has a
relationship with God, he is the one who, in every respect, enjoys a life in paradise (a life of
true happiness). This is because God is omnipotent and He has the power to keep away from
a person all manner of difficulties as well as the power to protect him against suffering
caused by financial problems. Should such problems ever arise, then God grants the
capacity to face them with courage and strength.
The totality of the dimensions which are necessary for the well being of a person are not
possessed (by anyone), not even a king. These are all in the hands of only the One, the King
of Kings, who grants to whomsoever He wishes. It is sometimes observed that there are a
type of people who have a great deal of wealth but they become a victim of illnesses such as
consumption, and life for them becomes very bitter. So, who can take care of the millions of
problems that are with human beings? If there is sorrow, who can grant a person
forbearance? It is God alone who can do so.
Patience is a great thing which does not allow deep sadness to come near even in times of
great difficulties and tribulations. There are some rich people who during the period of ease

5. and enjoyment become extremely proud and full of self importance but at the slightest
trouble they cry out loud like children. We do not know of anyone who has not been affected
by some accident and whose relations have not suffered some sorrow. Whose life is one of
paradise? Only of that person upon whom there is God's blessing. That is why it is a big
mistake when, seeing someone dressed in white, people say such a person is heavenly. If you
were to ask such people they will tell you about the many tribulations they have had to
confront. Just observing someone's clothes, or seeing them riding in buggies or drinking
alcohol and assuming (that they are happy and living in paradise) is incorrect. Other than
that, a life of complete freedom is in itself a life of hell. What could be more of a life of hell
than one in which there is no respect for God and no relationship with God. A dog can eat
something dead or he can act badly (he is free to do so) -- Will this be a life of paradise?
Likewise, a person who eats dead things and commits acts of shamelessness, who knows no
distinction between wealth that is halal, (i.e. obtained legitimately) and that which is haram
(i.e. obtained illicitly), this would be an accursed life which bears no resemblance to a life of
paradise.
It is true that a life of paradise is one (in which one is safeguarded against all ills) but it is
only for those who trust in God completely and thus in accordance with the promise
vouchsafed by God in the verse 'And He (Allah) takes care of the righteous', (Ch. 7, v. 197),
i.e. they come under God's protection and care. On the other hand, the days of a person
distanced from God are spent in fear and wishful thoughts. He cannot be happy. There was
a person in Sialkot who used to take bribes. He used to say that all he ever sees are chains.
The fact is that a bad deed should have a bad ending. It is for this reason that the soul can
never be content with bad deeds. So, where is the pleasure in bad deeds? The act of every
bad deed pinches at the heart and a person feels a weight upon him and he is forced to ask
himself, 'What foolishness is this?' And as a result he curses himself. They also reach
horrendous extremes, one man killed a child for the sake of a few coins!
In short, life is nothing but to safeguard oneself against bad deeds and to trust in God
because he who places his trust in God before a trouble confronts him, he it is who is helped
by God in time of trouble. He who sleeps before trouble strikes him, is destroyed at the time
of trouble.

6. God is not in need of anything from anyone. When places such as Bicaneer suffered from
drought, people there went so far as to eat children. This happened because they did not live
their lives belonging to someone. Had they lived for God, the children would not have
suffered this fate. It is clear from the Hadith (the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(saw)) and from the Holy Qur'an as well as from the previous Holy Books that the bad deeds
of the parents sometimes bring calamity for the children. The verse of the Holy Qur'an 'He
cared not for the consequences thereof' (Ch. 91,v. 16), points to this that those who spend
their lives carelessly, God too becomes careless about them. You see, a servant who does not
greet his master for a few days, causes his master displeasure. So, why should God care for
him who breaks his ties with Him. (It is with this in view that) God states that He destroys
them and does not care for their progeny either. From this it can be understood that when a
righteous person dies, having done good in his life, God cares even for his progeny as can be
seen from the verse (of the Holy Qur'an, stating that) 'Their father had been a righteous
person' (Ch. 18,v. 83). For the righteousness and capability of this father, God made such
great prophets as Moses (as) and Khizr (as) perform labour, to mend the wall which now
belonged to his sons. What great status must such a person have (in God's sight)! God
covered up the real situation of the sons by not mentioning any details about them because
it would divert from the praise of their father and also because God covered up (the details
of the sons) for the sake of their father.
The same subject has been mentioned in earlier Holy Books where (God has stated) that he
takes care of up to seven generations of the progeny of a righteous person. The Prophet
David (as) also has said that he has never seen the children of a righteous person begging for
food.
In short, true joy is a provision ('rizq') from God which is not given to those who remain
outside the pale of obedience to God.