Some scholars have said: Her house is made of qasab of pearl because she won the qasab al-sabaq—that is, the first place—in affirming the truth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when Allah, exalted is He, first sent him. This is borne out by the report from the earliest days of the Revelation: she was the very first to believe. When he told her what he had seen and added, “I have feared for myself,” she replied, “Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You uphold family ties, speak the truth, bear the burdens of others, provide for those who have nothing, and assist people in times of calamity.” (1)

As for the mention of Mary and Āsiyah in that ḥadith, it hints that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ will marry them both in the Hereafter. Some have tried to derive this from the Qur’an—His, Most High, statement in Sūrat al-Taḥrīm: “previously married as well as virgins” (66:5)—and then, at the end of that sūrah, Āsiyah and Mary are mentioned. A similar report is related from al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib and others among the early generations, and Allah knows best.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd said: ʿAlī ibn al-Mundhir al-Ṭarīqī (2) narrated to us; Ibn Fuḍayl narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq narrated to us, from al-Nuʿmān ibn Saʿd, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“In Paradise there are chambers whose outer aspect can be seen from within and whose inner aspect can be seen from without.”

A Bedouin stood up and asked, “O Messenger of Allah, for whom are they?” He replied:

“For those who speak kindly, feed others, persist in fasting, and pray at night while the people sleep.”

Al-Tirmidhī also transmitted it—from ʿAlī ibn Ḥujr, from ʿAlī ibn Mus-hir, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq—and said: “It is gharīb; we know it only through his narration.” (3)

Al-Ṭabarānī narrated, through the ḥadith of al-Walīd ibn Muslim—he said: Muʿāwiyah ibn Sallām informed us, from Zayd ibn Sallām; he said: Abū Sallām narrated to me; Abū Muʿāniq al-Ashʿarī narrated to me; Abū Mālik al-Ashʿarī narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“In Paradise there are chambers whose outside is visible from the inside and whose inside is visible from the outside. Allah has prepared them for those who feed others, continue to fast, and pray at night while the people sleep.” (4)

Al-Ṭabarānī likewise related—through the ḥadith of Ibn Wahb—he said: Ḥuyayy narrated to me, from Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said:

“In Paradise there are chambers whose exterior can be seen from their interior, and whose interior can be seen from their exterior.”

Abū Mālik al-Ashʿarī asked, “O Messenger of Allah, for whom are they?” He replied:

“For those whose words are pure, who give food, and who stand in prayer at night while the people sleep.”

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḍiyāʾ said: In my estimation, this chain is ḥasan.