A Discussion on Paradise’s Architecture and the Substance of Its Palaces

Aḥmad said:

Abū al-Naḍr and Abū Kāmil narrated to us; they said: Zuhayr narrated to us; Saʿd (1) Abū Mujāhid al-Ṭāʾī narrated to us; Abū al-Mudillah, the freedman of the Mother of the Believers, narrated to us. He heard Abū Hurayrah say:

We said, “Messenger of Allah, whenever we see you our hearts grow tender and we feel as though we belong to the Hereafter, but when we leave you the world appeals to us and we become attached to women and children.”

He replied, “If only you could remain—or he said, ‘If you could always remain—’ in the state you are in when you are with me, the angels would shake hands with you with the palms of their hands and they would visit you in your homes. And if you were never to sin, Allah would bring forth a people who do sin so He might forgive them.”

He continued: We said, “Messenger of Allah, tell us about Paradise—how is it built?”

He answered, “Paradise is built of a brick of silver and a brick of gold; its mortar is the most fragrant musk; its pebbles are pearls and rubies; and its soil is saffron. Whoever enters it will enjoy bliss and never know distress, will abide forever and never die; his garments will never wear out, and his youth will never fade.” (2)

Al-Tirmidhī transmitted this narration through ʿAbd Allah ibn Numayr from Saʿdān al-Qubbī—reliable—from Saʿd Abū Mujāhid al-Ṭāʾī—also reliable—with the same chain, and he said: “It is ḥasan.” Both men’s reliability is affirmed in Ibn Mājah’s version, and they are among the narrators cited by al-Bukhārī (3).

Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā al-Bazzār narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ziyād al-Kalbī narrated to us; Bishr (4) ibn Ḥusayn narrated to us, from Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah, from Qatādah, from Anas, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Allah created the Garden of ʿAdn with His own Hand: a brick of white pearl, a brick of red ruby, and a brick of green emerald. Its mortar is musk, its pebbles are pearls, and its grass is saffron. Then He said to it, ‘Speak!’ and it said, ‘Successful indeed are the believers.’ Allah—the Exalted—declared, ‘By My might and majesty, no miser shall dwell beside Me within you.’ ” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then recited: “Whoever is safeguarded from the stinginess of his own soul, it is they who will prosper.” [Al-Hashr 59:9] (5)

Abū Bakr ibn Mardawayh said: ʿAbd Allah ibn Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; al-Qāsim ibn al-Mughīrah al-Jawharī narrated to us; ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-Murri (6) narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us, from Abū Rabīʿah—meaning ʿUmar (7) ibn