Paradise, or Jannah is a place that Allāh táālā has created for believers.
In it are such comforts and blessings that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, nor has the thought of which ever crossed a human heart. Descriptions of Paradise are mentioned to give an idea of how grand and beautiful the place will be; else, the grandest of things in this world cannot compare with the most ordinary thing in Paradise.
If a damsel of Paradise would as much as peep into our world, the entire space between the earth and the heavens would become illuminated and filled with fragrance. That light would be so bright that the sun and the moon would pale in comparison to it.
The mantle of a damsel from Paradise is better than this world and everything in it. In another narration, “If a Houri were to expose the palm of her hand in this world, its beauty would cause strife among the people; if she were to reveal her mantle, its beauty and brilliance would pale the brilliance of the sun, similar to how a lamp pales in comparison to the sun. If an object from Paradise, even a fragment no bigger than a finger nail, were to appear in this world, it would become an adornment for the heavens and the earth; if a bracelet to be worn by the dwellers of Paradise were to appear, it would outshine the sun, just like the sun outshines the twinkling of stars. A tiny or insignificant space in Jannah, such as the place where one would place their whip [in this world], is far better than this world and everything in it. How vast is the Jannah?
Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ know best. However, a general idea about its vastness can be gauged from the following description: There are a hundred levels in paradise and the distance between each level is as far as that between the sky and the earth. Then how big is the space in each level?
I do not recall any specific narration that describes the vastness of each level, but there is a ĥadīth in Tirmidhī which can give us an idea about it.
The ĥadīth says: “If everyone in all the worlds were to be accommodated in one level, there would be enough space for everyone”. There is a huge tree in Paradise, in whose shade, a swift rider can ride for a hundred years, and the shade would not have ended. The doorways of Paradise will be so wide that a rider on a swift horse would take seventy years to reach the other end, starting from one end. In spite of the doorways being so wide, there will be so many people entering Paradise that they will be jostling and brushing each others shoulders; the jostling of the crowd will cause the doorways to creak. There are palaces made of a variety of gems which are spotlessly clean and crystal clear.
The insides of the palaces will be visible from the outside and vice-versa. The walls of the palaces in Jannah will be made of gold and silver bricks; the mortar will be made of musk.
These gold and silver bricks will be laid out alternately; the floor will be made of saffron, the pebbles will be pearls and rubies. In one narration, it is said: The bricks in the Garden of Eden [jannatu’l ádn] will be of many types - there will be white bricks made from pearls, red from rubies, and green bricks made from emeralds. The plaster will be made of musk, saffron will be in place of grass; the pebbles therein will be pearls and the soil will be made of ambergris. There are pavilions in Paradise made of pearls which will be as high as sixty miles. There are four rivers in Paradise: 1.
A river of pure water 2. A river of milk 3. A river of honey 4. A river of [pure] wine And from these rivers, streams will flow by the house of every Paradise-dweller. The streams in Jannah will not be made by digging the ground and creating a trough; instead, they will flow upon the ground.
One of the banks is made of pearls and the other made of rubies; the bed of the streams will be made of pure musk [that does not mix or dissolve in the stream]. The wine of Paradise is not fetid like the wine in this world, which is malodorous, bitter, and causes intoxication; one who drinks such wine loses his mind and begins to blabber nonsense and becomes indecent and foul-mouthed.
The pure wine of Paradise will be free from all such odious characteristics. The dwellers of Paradise will be given exquisite and delicious foods; whatever they desire to eat will be presented to them immediately. If they happen to see a bird and desire to eat its flesh, the bird will be presented ready to eat - fried, grilled or roasted (as one may desire) - instantly. If one wishes to drink water or anything else, cups and glasses will appear forthwith in one’s hand.
Whether water, milk, wine or honey – they will be present exactly according to one’s taste and in just enough quantity – neither a drop more, nor less.
After one finishes their drink, the goblets will disappear and return to their places, all on their own. In Paradise, there will be no dirt, filth, faeces, urine, spittle, phlegm, ear wax, excrement or body grime and odour. Everything that one eats in Paradise will be digested completely without creating waste and [as a token of that digestion] there will be a fragrant burp and sweat that will emanate from the skin and evaporate. The burp and sweat will have fragrance like musk. Every man will be given the strength of a hundred men [from this world], in their capacity for eating, drinking and sexual intercourse. The people of Paradise will glorify Allāh [say tasbīĥ] all the time, voluntarily, and involuntarily, similar to one’s breathing. There will be at least 10,000 servants to serve a single person; every servant will have a dish of silver in one hand and a golden dish in another; in every dish there will be a food of an entirely new kind not found in the other, and the taste of which will keep increasing as one eats and does not diminish in the least;
every meal will be as delicious as the other and every bite or mouthful will have seventy distinct flavours of which one will relish and savour every flavour without missing a single one. The clothes of Paradise-dwellers will never age or deteriorate; their youthfulness will not fade; it will endure without aging or decay. The faces of the first group of people to enter paradise will be as radiant as the full moon;
the faces of the second group will shine like that of a brilliant star. All the people of Jannah will be united and concordant [as if their hearts are one]; there will be no conflict or dispute, nor dislike nor hatred. Every man will have [at the least] two wives from the wideeyed houris [ĥūr al-áyn].
A houri will have seventy garments upon her, yet, the flesh of her shins will shimmer like red wine in a transparent glass bottle. If we were to drill a hole in a ruby and pass a string through it, the string would certainly be visible from the outside; therefore, Allāh has compared the houris to rubies [in the Qur’ān]. A man will be able to see the reflection of his own face in her cheek; she will be wearing numerous pearls and the lowest of which will be so brilliant that it can illuminate the earth from the east to the west. In one narration it is said that if a man were to place his hand between her shoulders on her back, he will be able to see that from the side of her bosom, across her flesh, skin and the clothes upon her. If the clothes of the people of Jannah were to appear in this world, anyone whose gaze fell upon them would faint; people [in this world] will not be able to bear to look upon such magnificent clothes. A man will find her as a virgin every time he goes near her; however, the defloration that will happen every time will neither hurt the man nor the lady. If a houri were to spit in the sea, the entire water would turn sweet. In another narration, if a woman from Paradise were to spit in the seven oceans, the water of all the oceans would become sweet. After a man enters Paradise [and reclines on a couch], houris – two at the side of his head and two near his feet – will sing for him in the most melodious voice.
Their singing will not be like the satanic music of this world. Rather, it will be the praise of Allāh táālā. Their voices will be extremely pleasing and enchanting; no one among humans or jinn would have ever heard such music. These beautiful damsels will sing songs such as:
We shall live forever, we will never perish We are gentle, comforting, we shall never see anguish Pleased we are and content; not angered, nor peevish Glad tidings to those destined for us; bestowed upon them to cherish. The people of Paradise will not have hair on their bodies, except for the hair on their heads, and the hair of their brows and eyelashes.
Nobody will have a beard [or moustache] and their eyes will be as if lined by kohl and everyone will appear young and about thirty years of age. They will never grow older. The lowest among the Paradise dwellers will have 80,000 servants and 72 wives.
They will be given magnificent crowns and the smallest pearl from those crowns [would be so dazzling that it] could illuminate this earth from the east to the west.
If a Muslim desires for children in Paradise, his wife will become pregnant and deliver the child, and the child will grow up and become an adult – all in a very short period of time. There is no sleep in Paradise because it [sleep] is a form of death; there is no death in Paradise. Every person entering Paradise will attain a rank according to his deeds – however, the Grace of Allāh táālā is infinite [and He may give some people ranks far higher than their deeds].
After entering Paradise and after a period of about a week [period on this earth]
has passed, the people of Paradise will be granted the Divine Vision of Allāh. The Glorious Throne [ársh] will also be displayed.
The People of Paradise will behold Allāh táālā in one of the gardens. Various podiums will be placed for the people of Paradise; podiums of light, of pearls, of rubies and emeralds, of gold and silver – and the lowest of such seats will be a mound of camphor and musk – even though not one of these will be inferior, nor will anybody feel inferior or superior to others.
The dwellers of Paradise will see Allāh táālā just as one is able to see the sun or the full moon [i.e. clearly and easily]; every one can see [the sun or the moon] from their own places, without obstructing another’s view. Allāh will grant His Vision and then say: “O so-and-so! Do you recall that day when you did such and such a thing?” He will remind the person of some sins he had committed in this world.
The person will entreat: “O my Lord Almighty, have You not forgiven me?” Allāh will say: “Yes. And it is only by My Grace and Forgiveness that you have reached this station.” At this moment, a cloud will form and there will be a shower of perfume – a fragrance that they would have never felt before. Allāh táālā will say: “Go and take from the honour that I have prepared for you.
Take whatever you wish.” The people will then enter a marketplace which is surrounded by angels; in it will be such things which no one has ever seen, nor any ear has heard of, nor has their thought crossed a human’s heart. They will take whatever they like – there will be no buying and selling but just taking things they like. People will meet each other in this market.
Paradisedwellers from lower levels will meet those from higher levels and will look at their attire and admire it. And then, even before their conversation has ended, the person from the lower level will feel his clothes are superior to the other’s. This is because there is no sadness or disappointment in Paradise.
People will then return to their own homes and their wives will welcome them back and congratulate them.
They will say: “You have become more handsome than when you left us.” They will reply: “We were blessed to sit in the Presence of our Lord Almighty; little wonder, our beauty has increased.” When the people of Paradise wish to meet each other, they will sit on their thrones and will be automatically transported to the place they wish to go to. In another narration, it is said that grand vehicles and horses will be brought to them and they will mount those horses [or vehicles] and go wherever they wish to go. The lowest among the people of Paradise will have gardens, wives, luxuries, servants and thrones, [gifts] so many that they will reach a distance of a thousand years.
And those who are more beloved to Allāh, will behold Him [i.e. see Allāh] in the morning and in the evening. When the people of Paradise have all entered Paradise, Allāh táālā will ask them: “Do you desire for anything more?” They will reply: “You have made our faces radiant, you have allowed us to enter Paradise, you have given us salvation and saved us from Hellfire.
[What more can we ask for?]” It is at this moment that the veil upon the sight of creation will be lifted and they will behold their Lord Almighty and they will realise that there is no greater bounty than the Vision of the Lord Almighty.
O Allāh! Grant us the blessing of Divine Vision [that we see you] for the sake of your beloved, the kind and merciful Prophet – upon whom be blessings and salutations. Amen!
Footnotes
In a ĥadīth narrated by Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه from the Prophet ﷺ: “Allāh táālā has said: I have prepared for My righteous slaves, things that no eye has ever seen, nor has an ear heard of, nor has its thought crossed a human heart.” [Bukhārī, §3244, §4779; Muslim, §2824].
Author’s Note: The Glorious Kábah is greater than Paradise and the blessed tomb of the Prophet ﷺ is greater than the Kábah; in fact, it is even greater than the Mighty Throne (ársh). However, these things are not deemed as ‘things of this world’.
Şaĥīĥ al-Bukhārī, §6568; Mújam al-Kabīr of Ţabarānī, §5512 [reporting the ĥadīth of Saýīd ibn Áāmir ibn Ĥidhyam al-Jumaĥī رضي الله عنه].
Al-Targhīb wa’t Tarhīb, §5657.
Sunan al-Tirmidhī, §2547.
Everything in Paradise is sublime; but here it is mentioned thus for a comparison.
Şaĥīĥ al-Bukhārī, §3250, §6415; Tirmidhī, §3024; Ibn Mājah, §4330; Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §15564 (ĥadīth of Sahl ibn Saád ). 75
That is, after being informed by Allāh. This was the practise of the Companions, who would say: “Allāh and His Messenger know best”. Allahu wa rasūluhū aálam.
Muslim, §1884; Tirmidhī, §2537, §2539, §2549, §3303; Nasā’ī, §3128-29; Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §7923 and §8474 from Abū Hurayrah, §22087 from Muáādh ibn Jabal, §22695 and §22738 from Úbādah ibn Şāmiţ رضي الله عنهم.
Everyone that has ever lived; even though, many of those will go to Hell.
Tirmidhī, §2540; Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §11236 from Abū Saýīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه.
Bukhārī, §3251, §3252, §4881, §6552; Muslim, §2826, §2828; Tirmidhī, §2523, 3293; Sunan Ibn Mājah, §4335; Sunan Dārimī, §2880-81; Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §7498, §9417, §9650, §9832, §9870, §9950, §10065, 10259, from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه and §12070, §12390, §12677, §12928, §13155, §13458 from Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه.
“There are eight doors in Paradise and the width of each doorway is such that a swift rider would take 70 years to reach from one end to another.” Musnad Imām Aĥmad, §12602 from Abū Razīn al-Úqaylī [whose name is Laqīţ ibn Şabirah رضي الله عنه].
Tirmidhī, §2548.
Targhīb, §5476 from Ţabarānī and Ĥākim in Mustadrak; Musnad Aĥmad §22905, Ibn Ĥibbān reporting from Abū Mālik al-Ashárī رضي الله عنه. Also in Musnad Aĥmad §6615 from Ábdullāh ibn Ámr رضي الله عنه. Tirmidhī, §2535.
Sunan Dārimī, §2821; Tirmidhī, §2534 76
The words in the ĥadīth are durratun bayđā’a: white pearls, yāqūtatun ĥamrā’a: red corundum (or ruby) zabarjadatun khađrā’a: green aquamarine (among green gemstones – a peridot or an emerald).
Ibn Abi’d Dunyā cited in Al-Targhīb wa’t Tarhīb, §5469.
Khaymah is a tent, a camp or a pavilion.
Bukhārī, §3243; Muslim, §2838 In another version, “the width of the canopy is sixty miles” Bukhārī §4879; Muslim, §2838; Tirmidhī, §2536. Imām Nawawī says there is no contradiction here: the height [ţūluhā] and width can both be 60 miles.
Sūrah Muĥammad, 47:15. “In it are streams of water that never stagnate [or stink]; and streams of milk that will never be spoiled or become unpalatable; and streams of delicious wine and streams of pure honey”. Targhīb, §5483; Tirmidhī, §2580.
Tirmidhī, §2580; Musnad Aĥmad, §20052, ĥadīth of Muáāwiyah ibn Ĥaydah رضي الله عنه. An analogy from our world is the supply of water through pipelines and the aqueducts from a main reservoir in ancient Rome.
Targhīb §5484 vide Ibn Abi’d Dunyā.
See Endnote 21 for Quranic verses that mention the wine of Paradise. 77
Targhīb, §5507-5509, citing Ibn Abi’d Dunyā, Musnad Bazzār, §3532 and Bayhaqī in Al-Baáth wa’l Nushūr, §318. And passed around them will be plates and goblets of gold; and in there is whatever a soul desires and delights the eyes; and you shall remain therein forever. Sūrah Zukhruf, 43:71. And for you, in it [Paradise] is whatever your souls desire; and you will be given whatever you ask for. Sūrah Fuşşilat, 41:31.
And flesh of bird, whichever they desire. Sūrah Wāqiáh,56:21. Bayhaqī in Al-Baáth wa’n Nushūr; Ibn Abī’d Dunyā in Şifatu’l Jannah, vide Al-Durr al-Manthūr.
Targhīb, §5502, citing Ibn Abi’d Dunyā.
Muslim, §2835; Abū Dāwūd, §4741.
Ibid.
Unlike burp that smells and sweat that stinks in this world.
Tirmidhī, §2545; Ibn Ĥibbān, §7424. Dārimī, §2821; Musnad Aĥmad, §19269 and §19314 from Zayd ibn Arqam رضي الله عنه.
Muslim, §2835; Abū Dāwūd, §4741.
In the ĥadīth it is said: “The lowest of the Paradise dwellers will have 10,000 servants..” 78
Targhīb, §5504 citing Ibn Abi’d Dunyā.
Muslim, §2836. Dārimī, §2822
Bukhārī §3524, §3327; Muslim §2834; Tirmidhī §2530, §2543; Ibn Mājah §4333; Musnad Aĥmad §7152, §7165, §10593 from Abū Hurayrah and §11126 from Abū Saýīd al-Khudrī.
Tirmidhī §2533-34, §2541. Ibn Ĥibbān §7396. Targhīb 5526.
“As if they are rubies and corals” [Sūrah Al-Raĥmān, 55:58].
Musnad Aĥmad, §11715 from Abū Saýīd al-Khudrī; Ibn Ĥibbān, §7397.
Targhīb, §5530 citing Abū Yaálā and Bayhaqī in Al-Baáth wa’n Nushūr, §668.
Targhīb, §5518 citing Ibn Abi’d Dunyā.
Targhib §5530 citing Abū Yaálā and Bayhaqī from his Al-Baáth, §668.
Targhīb §5532 vide Ibn Abī’d Dunyā.
Targhīb §5533. 79
Targhīb §5538 citing Ţabarānī and Bayhaqī from his Al-Baāth, §421.
Targhīb §5537 vide Tirmidhī §2564, reporting from Mawlā Álī رضي الله عنه.
Only Sayyidunā Ādam عليه السلام will have a beard.
Tirmidhī, §2571. That is, their health and vigour will not deteriorate.
This is only for emphasis and does not mean non-believers will enter Paradise. The author has translated the ĥadīth which starts with: “When a believer, after entering paradise, wishes for children...”
The word mentioned in ĥadīth is sāáh; literally, ‘in the same hour’. Tirmidhī, §2572; Ibn Mājah, §4338; Dārimī, §2829. Imām Tirmidhī adds: “There is a difference of opinion among scholars concerning this; some said that people will have sexual intercourse in Paradise but that will not result in children. This is the position of tābiýī scholars, Tāwūs, Mujāhid and Ibrāhīm Nakhaýī. Muĥammad [i.e. Imām Bukhārī] narrated from Is’ĥāq ibn Ibrāhīm [i.e ibn Rāhwayh] concerning the ĥadīth: “When a believer wishes for a son in Paradise, in the same hour it will happen as he wishes; however, he will not wish so.” Muĥammad [al-Bukhārī] said: It is also reported by Abū Razīn al-Úqaylī from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: “The people of Paradise will not give birth to children”.
Mishkāt al-Maşābīĥ, §5653 vide Shuáb al-Īymān §4745; Ţabarānī in Awsaţ §919. 80
This does not mean that Allāh táālā is present in one of the gardens; rather, people will go to a special garden from whence they will see Allāh táālā.
This does not mean that Allāh táālā is in a direction or at a distance or one’s sight can encompass Him; we will see Him without modality and we do not know how. We believe that we can see Him and this is based on verses of the Qur’ānic and explicit ĥadīth such as Tirmidhī §2563.
The entire passage is the translation of the ĥadīth in Tirmidhī §2558. 81
Targhīb §5549 vide Ibn Abī’d Dunyā reporting from Ismāýīl ibn Áyyāsh رضي الله عنه.
Targhīb §5550; §5551, §5552, §5553 vide Tirmidhī §2543-§2544.
Tirmidhī §2562.
Imām Ibn Áţāyillāh al-Sakandarī has said: “It is not Allāh táālā who is veiled; rather, the veil is upon our sights.” Because if He were veiled, it would mean that the veil is greater than Him, and suggest corporeality. We seek Allāh’s refuge from such a belief. Allāh táālā is transcendent from being a body or having properties of bodies – Glory be to Him.
Muslim §181, Tirmidhī §2564, §2561. 82