Hadith

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said that Allah said: “I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, nor has it occurred to human heart.” [Bukhari] In other words, Jannat is better than anything you can imagine. Our human experience does not prepare us to imagine how wonderful it could be. “And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden.” [Al-Qur'an 32:17] Ever been to a sale where everything was 100% off? Actually you have. You bought Jannah for practically nothing. Allah insisted on buying our earthly lives from us in exchange for eternal life in Paradise. He made us and He made Jannah. He needs neither. Then why make either? Because He wanted US -- you and me! Only when you really want something do you insist on buying it despite its defects. Humans are impatient, hasty, weak, stingy and irritable, yet Allah(subhana wa ta’ala) insisted on buying our faulty earthly lives in exchange for infinite happiness. Our bargain is in the Qur'an: “God has bought of the believers their lives and their possessions, promising them paradise in return… a promise which in truth He has willed upon Himself… And who could be more faithful to his covenant than God? Rejoice, then, in the bargain which you have made with Him: for this, this, is the supreme success!” [Al-Qur'an 9:111] In exchange for a limited lifespan we made a deal to get pure happiness for an infinite amount of time. Make a ratio of your time on earth compared to your time in the akhira, it would be 100 years: trillions of years. It doesn't matter how long you live because any number when compared to infinity (life in Jannat), becomes zero. So we essentially got Jannah for free. That is why Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said that if a person were to be dragged on his face from the moment that he was born to the time that he dies, he would consider that insignificant on the Day of Judgment. “O Allah, Make Your love the most beloved thing to me of all loves, and make my fear of you be the most fearful thing to me of all fears. Free me of the necessities of this world, by [granting me] a desire to meet You. When the eyes of the people of the world are cooled by their worldly belongings, let my eyes be cooled by Your worship.”