flowing. They will then head for one of the two—just as though they had been ordered to do so—and drink from it. It will cleanse their bellies of every speck of filth, harm, hardship, or rancour. Next they will go to the other spring and wash in it; the radiance of bliss will run over them, and thereafter their hair will never change, their skin will never alter, and their heads will never be dishevelled, as though they had been anointed with oil. They will then reach Paradise, and it will be said:
“Peace be upon you; you have done well, so enter it to dwell therein forever” [al-Zumar: 73].
The youthful attendants will welcome them, circling around them just as the children of this world gather round a dear one returning home, saying, “Rejoice in the honour Allah has prepared for you.” One of those youths will then go to a wife of his from among the ḥūr al-ʿīn and announce, “So-and-so”—calling him by the name he bore in the world—“has arrived.” She will ask, “Did you see him?” He will reply, “Yes, I saw him and he is right behind me.” One of them will be so overtaken by joy that she hurries to stand upon the threshold of her door.
When he reaches his dwelling he will look at the foundations of its structure and see that its stones are pearls, above which rises a lofty building of red, green, yellow—of every colour. Then he will lift his eyes to the ceiling, and behold, it is like lightning; had not Allah decreed that his sight remain, it would almost have taken his vision away. He then lowers his head and there are his wives, with
“cups set ready (14),
cushions arrayed (15),
and carpets spread out” [al-Ghashiyah: 14-16].
They will recline and say:
“All praise is due to Allah, Who has guided us to this; we would never have been guided had Allah not guided us. The messengers of our Lord certainly came with the truth.” And a voice will proclaim, “That is Paradise; you have been made to inherit it for what you used to do” [al-Aʿrāf: 43].
Then a herald will announce: “You shall live and never die, remain and never depart, and be healthy and never fall ill.” (1)
This report indicates that the transformation of form—from the condition men possessed in the world to a height of sixty cubits and a breadth of seven cubits, which is the description of everyone who enters Paradise, young and old alike, as the hadith states—takes place at these two springs: they wash in one, so the radiance of bliss flows over them; they drink from the other, which cleanses their bellies of impurity. Thus their stature is renewed, harm removed, and the radiance of bliss poured over them after the washing and drinking. This is more suitable and closer to what is correct than the earlier narration that placed the transformation in the arenas of the Resurrection—its chain of transmission is weak. Still further from the mark is the claim of those who said it occurs upon emerging from the graves, for clear evidences contradict that; Allah knows best.
ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak said: Sulaiman ibn al-Mughīrah narrated to us, from Humayd ibn Hilāl, who said: It has reached us that when a man enters Paradise he is fashioned in the likeness of the people of Paradise, clothed in their garments, adorned with their ornaments, and shown his wives and servants. An overwhelming surge of joy (2) overtakes him; were it possible for him to die, he would die from the sheer force of that joy. He will then be told, “Do you behold this surge of joy? It is yours, lasting and unending.”
And Ibn al-Mubarak said: Rashdīn ibn Saʿd narrated to us, from Zuhrah ibn Maʿbad al-Qurashī, from Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān