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Right to Appreciate Beauty and Enjoy the Bounties Created by God

Sūrah al Hadid 57. 27
The Qur'an tells Muslims that monasticism was not prescribed by God. Though they are to remember that the hereafter is more important than the life on earth, Muslims are told to reject the negative view that it is wrong to enjoy the beauty and bounty of God's creation.

Sūrah al A`raf 7.32:
"Say: "Who is there to forbid the beauty which God has brought forth for His creatures, and the good things from among the means of sustenance?"
Say: "They are (lawful) in the life of this world unto all who have attained to faith -- to be theirs alone on Resurrection Day."  

Sūrah al A`raf 7.31
'O children of Adam!  Beautify yourselves for every act of worship, and eat and drink freely, but do not waste: verily He does not love the wasteful.'

 

Note:  As pointed out by Muhammad Asad, "By declaring that all good and beautiful things of life, i.e., those which are not expressly prohibited -- are lawful to the believers, the Qur'an condemns, by implication, all forms of life-denying asceticism, world-renunciation and self-mortification." 

The Qur'an regards physical phenomena as "Signs of God."  Some of the most memorable passages in the Qur'an point to the insight and wisdom which can be gained by reflecting on the myriad manifestations of God's creative activity all around us. 

The right to develop one's aesthetic sensibilities so that one can appreciate beauty in all its forms, and the right to enjoy what God has provided for the nurture of humankind, are, thus, rooted in the life-affirming vision of the Qur'an.