of Paradise will indeed visit one another riding on docile, white she-camels (1) whose seats are sumptuous, quilted saddles (2). As their soft hooves (3) strike the ground they raise clouds of musk-scented dust, and the halter—or even the mere strap—of a single one of those mounts is better than this world and all it contains (4).

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā also related—through Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAyyāsh, from ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad, from Zayd ibn Aslam [from his father], from Abū Hurayrah—that the Prophet ﷺ asked Jibrīl about the verse,
“And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will collapse, save those whom Allah wills” (al-Zumar 39:68).
He replied, “They are the martyrs; Allah will raise them with their swords slung across their chests, encircling His Throne. Angels will then come to them from the place of gathering, leading noble mounts of ruby whose reins are of white pearls, with saddles of gold, bridles of fine silk (sundus) and brocade (istabraq), and cushions of silk. Each stride covers a distance as far as a man’s eye can see. They will journey through Paradise on horses, and when their excursion has gone on for a long while they will say, ‘Come, let us go and see how Allah judges among His creatures.’ Allah will smile at them—and when Allah smiles at a servant, there is no reckoning for him (5).”

Abū Bakr ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: “Abū Mūsā Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Harawī narrated to us; al-Qāsim ibn Yazīd al-Mawṣilī narrated to us; Abū Ilyās narrated to me; Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn narrated to me. [H] Abū Nuʿaym likewise transmitted, through the ḥadith of al-Muʿāfā ibn ʿImrān: Idrīs ibn Sinān narrated to us, from Wahb ibn Munabbih, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī.”

Idrīs said, “Later I met him and he told me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
‘In Paradise there is a tree called Ṭūbā. If a swift, galloping horse were made to ride beneath its shade, it would do so for one hundred years without reaching the end of it. Its leaves are green garments; its blossoms are yellow riyāṭ (6); its twigs (7) are of fine silk (sundus) and brocade (istabraq); its fruit is magnificent robes; its sap is ginger and honey. Its river-bed is strewn with red ruby and green emerald; its soil is musk; its grass is blooming saffron (8); and al-anjūj (9) gives forth fragrance without fire. From its root gush salsabīl and pure nectar. Its shade is a gathering place for the people of Paradise, a spot they love and where they all converse.

While they are one day speaking beneath it, angels will come leading mounts of ruby into which life has been breathed, bridled with chains of gold. Their faces glow with radiance and beauty like shining lamps. Their backs are draped in crimson silk brocade, interwoven with white mirʿizzā (10)—the like of which no eye has ever seen. On them are saddle-frames whose panels are of pearl and ruby, inlaid with pearls and coral, their plates of red gold, adorned with sumptuous tapestry and purple brocade. The angels will make those noble mounts kneel for them, then—’