THE modern wave of consumerism seems to have given way to variety of temptations. "Obey your desires" has become the battle cry of the pop culture. Eat, drink and be merry had been the central obsession of many ignorant and backward societies since the time immemorial but today's society has taken this old obsession to unbelievably new heights. The best available, technologies, talents and resources of all kinds are being used to promote one message: Indulge your desires.

Not only Islam but many secular societies have warned their peoples against the slogan and taught that the road to self-indulgence can never lead to true happiness. This road to the pursuit of pleasure, in fact, leads straight into external Hell. Warnings to this effects have been conveyed by Allah through His messengers.

The entire mission of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), was to caution us against the social evils that lead to Hell and shows us the path that leads to Paradise. His teachings remain with us, so that we can avoid the perils. The holy Prophet said: "The Fire has been surrounded by lusts and desires and the Paradise by hardships" (Bukhari and Muslim).

Another Hadith explains that, when Allah created the garden, He asked Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) to go and take a look at it.

Jibreel having visited the Paradise said to Allah "O, My Lord, By Your Honour, no one who hears about this place would stay away from it. Then Allah surrounded Paradise by Hardships and difficulties and asked Jibreel to go again and have another look. So he went and looked at it again. He then said "O, My Lord. I am afraid that very few will be able to enter it".

Then Allah created Hell and surrounded it by all kinds of lusts and desires and asked for Jibreel's comments. This time after looking at it the angel said "O, My Lord, By Your Honour! I am afraid that few will be able to avoid it". These Ahadiths (sayings of the holy Prophet) capture beautifully the test of life: The path to Hell is slippery and downhill. It looks attractive and promises instant satisfaction. It makes us feel good just like drug addicts who feel good when they go on high, oblivious to the ruin that awaits them.

Paths of hedonism, consumerism and materialism lead but to Hell. It promises 'liberation' from all norms, moral values, obligations and the higher authority, so that we can become slaves of our desires. This is the path to eternal doom and gloom.

On the other hand, the path to Paradise is most definitely the uphill one. It requires sacrifice and self-control, patience, obedience and submission to our Creator, and hard work and firm commitment. It requires us to give up instant gratification in order to secure eternal bliss. This path is paved with hurdles and hardships. But should we choose our destination simply on the basis of righteousness, how easy to go into paradise.

Although Hell is a greater horror than the worst of all human minds put together can ever imagine, it is easier to avoid it as we have been warned about the evils and pitfalls that lead to it and given the freedom of choice to avoid them.

Although paradise is a greater treasure than all human minds put together can imagine, the journey to paradise is easier than the journey to the treasure islands found in fables where the seekers have to find the path of their own. Here we have been shown the path and taught to tread through the road map shown to us by the holy Prophet.

Yes, the worldly temptations shall always be there. That is by design, otherwise there would be no test of human judgement and endurance. But then it is a fair test. We have been given the capacity to shun the temptation and embrace the temporary pains and hardships for the sake of eternal pleasures and peace of minds. All it takes is Iman (belief) commitment and always seeking help from Allah, and we can overcome all the seemingly impossible hurdles and hardships.

Our success lies not in blindly obeying our desires but in controlling them in obedience to Allah. Our goal is not to maximise our pleasures here, but to reach to the House of Eternal Pleasure. Once we set this as our objective and stick to this perspective, it brings joy to this life as we have been promised in the Hereafter

The innate and spiritual desires are a different kind of upliftment of feelings than the basic desires of instant pleasures. The joy that righteousness brings to this life is the joy of the person who is awake and alert. By contrast, the pleasure sought by satisfying our lusts is like the pleasure felt by a drunkard who has fallen into a sewer. He may be sound asleep but can anyone, who knows the reality of his situation, envy him? - Riaz A. Siddiqui