hanging from the Throne; they wander through Paradise wherever they please, and then return to those lanterns … and he related the rest of the report. (1)
We have also transmitted—in the Musnad of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Idrīs al-Shāfiʿī, from Mālik, from al-Zuhrī, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The spirit of a believer is a bird that alights in the trees of Paradise until Allah Most High restores it to its body on the day He resurrects it.” (2)
The rigorously authentic hadith already cited—narrated through Abū ’l-Zinād, from al-Aʿraj, from Abū Hurayrah—states that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and Hell is surrounded by temptations.” (3)
We also mentioned the narration transmitted by Ḥammād ibn Salamah, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, from Abū Salamah, from Abū Hurayrah—raised to the Prophet ﷺ—where he said:
“When Allah created Paradise He said to Jibrīl, ‘Go and look at it,’” and the like was said concerning the Fire. (4)
Likewise, in another hadith:
“When Allah created Paradise, He said to it, ‘Speak.’ It replied, ‘Successful indeed are the believers.’” (5)
He ﷺ also said:
“The Fire complained to its Lord, saying, ‘My parts are eating one another.’ So He allowed it two breaths: one in winter and one in summer. The most intense cold you experience comes from its freezing wind, and all the heat you encounter is from its scorching blast. Therefore, when the heat is severe, delay the prayer until it cools down.” (6)
It is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs—from Abū Hurayrah, and in Muslim alone from Abū Saʿīd—that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Paradise and Hell disputed. Hell said, ‘I have been given prideful and arrogant people.’ Paradise said, ‘Why is it that only the weak, the downtrodden, and the simple-hearted enter me?’ Allah, Exalted is He, said to Paradise, ‘You are My mercy; through you I show mercy to whom I will among My servants.’ And He said to Hell, ‘You are My punishment; through you I punish whom I will among My servants. Each of you shall have its fill.’ As for Hell, it will not be filled until its Lord places His Foot upon it; then it will say, ‘Enough, enough!’—and thereupon it will become full and draw itself together, one part within another. Allah does not wrong any of His creation. As for Paradise, Allah will create a new people for it.” This is Muslim’s wording. (7)