[3:148] And God gave them the reward of this world,
The smallest part (aqillu) of that is satisfaction, then contentment, then living with Him, then intimacy in sitting between His hands, then the perfection of joy in meeting Him, then considering the innermost self insignificant (istiqlāl) in His existence.
[3:148 cont'd] and the fairest reward of the Hereafter, and God loves the virtuous.
It means their entering the Garden, emancipated from [this world] and not being held captive by it.
It is said the reward of this world and the Hereafter is the absence (ghayba) from the two abodes in the vision of the Creator of them both.
When He said: the reward of this world, He said regarding the Hereafter: and the fairest reward of the Hereafter, so it must be that the reward of the Hereafter is superior to the reward of this world since He has bestowed on it the description the fairest. This superiority is [the Hereafter's] permanence, perfection and fruits; and that it cannot be adulterated by anything negating it, nor can harm occur in it.