Chapter: Clarifying what Allah the Exalted has prepared for the believers in Paradise
Allah the Exalted says:
“Indeed, the God-fearing will be amid gardens and springs. Enter them in peace, secure! We shall remove whatever rancor is in their breasts; as brothers, they will be upon couches facing one another. No weariness shall touch them therein, nor will they ever be expelled.”
He also says:
“Those who believed in Our signs and were Muslims—‘Enter Paradise, you and your spouses, rejoicing!’ Platters of gold and cups will be passed round them; therein they shall have whatever their souls desire and what delights the eyes, and there you will abide forever. Such is the Garden you have been made to inherit for what you used to do. You shall have abundant fruit therein, from which you will eat.”
And He says:
“Verily, the God-fearing will be in a secure abode, amid gardens and springs, dressed in fine silk and heavy brocade, facing one another. Thus it is; and We shall pair them with wide-eyed maidens. There they will call for every kind of fruit in safety. They will taste no death therein except the first death, and He will protect them from the torment of the Blaze—an act of grace from your Lord. That is the supreme triumph.”
And He says:
“Indeed, the righteous will be in bliss, upon thrones gazing about. You will recognize on their faces the glow of delight. They will be given to drink pure sealed nectar—its seal is musk; so for this let those who strive, strive. Its mixture will be of Tasnīm, a spring from which those nearest to Allah drink.”
There are many other well-known verses on this subject.
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—concluded his book, Riyad al-Salihin, by describing the everlasting bliss that Allah has prepared for the believers. May Allah make me and you among them. We hope this is a good omen: that Allah will seal our deeds and yours with the deeds of the people of Paradise, that He has forgiven the author of the book, and that He has likewise sealed his life with the works of the people of Paradise.
In His magnificent Book, Allah the Exalted mentions many verses describing what He has prepared for the people of Paradise. Among the most comprehensive are His words: “There you shall have whatever your souls desire, and there you shall have whatever you call for—a welcome from the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” Whatever delight a person might wish for is found in Paradise; whatever he asks for is there—and even more. Allah, exalted is He, also says: “They shall have therein whatever they will, and with Us is yet more,” and He says: “No soul knows what has been hidden for them of that which will delight the eyes, as a reward for what they used to do.”
This means that no human being can fully grasp the reality of what Allah has prepared in Paradise, for it is beyond anything a person can imagine. The pleasures of this world are only a sample that bears no comparison to the bliss of the Hereafter. Allah has shown His servants a portion of delight and a portion of punishment in this life merely so that they might take heed; otherwise, the difference between worldly pleasure and the pleasure of the Hereafter is beyond comprehension.
Paradise is the abode Allah has prepared for His pious allies. The author begins with Allah’s words: “Indeed, the God-fearing will be amid gardens and springs: ‘Enter them in peace, secure.’” It will be said to them, “Enter in peace, safe from every harm—safe from every affliction, illness, old age, death—from everything.”
“And We shall remove whatever rancor is in their breasts” means that when they enter Paradise, Allah will remove any malice remaining in their hearts. Before entering, they will be halted on a bridge between Paradise and Hell, where those with claims will be requited one from another. Once they have been refined and purified and their hearts are left clear, free of resentment, they will enter Paradise after Allah has removed what was in their hearts of rancor.
“Upon couches, facing one another”: a sarīr (couch) is what one sits upon. “Facing one another” shows their exquisite etiquette in sitting—no one turns his back on the others. Some scholars said they will sit around one another in a wide circle, and in a circle no one sits with his back to the rest; each person faces the others.
“No weariness shall touch them therein, nor will they ever be driven out”: they will experience no fatigue or exhaustion, and they will never leave it; rather, they will dwell there for all eternity.
In the second verse—“O My servants, there is no fear upon you this Day, nor shall you grieve”—Allah, glorious is He, will call out to His believing servants on the Day of Resurrection when they have entered Paradise. Fear concerns what lies ahead, and grief relates to what has passed. Since they have attained perfect bliss, they will fear nothing of what is to come, nor will they grieve over anything that is past.
“Those who believed in Our signs and were Muslims”: they believed in their hearts and submitted with their limbs, yielding to Allah’s command. They did not disobey Him by committing what is forbidden or by neglecting what is obligatory.
“Enter Paradise, you and your spouses, rejoicing”: that is, you will enjoy bliss. Their spouses include the wide-eyed maidens and also their wives from this world, for Allah says: “And those who believed and whose offspring followed them in faith—We shall unite their offspring with them, and We shall not deprive them of anything of their deeds; each person is in pledge for what he earned.” They and their spouses will rejoice—hibr meaning luxuriant delight.
Within it is whatever souls desire and whatever delights the eyes: “Platters of gold and cups will be passed round them, and therein is whatever souls desire and what pleases the eyes.” In this verse Allah did not specify who will serve them, but He clarified it elsewhere: “Immortal youths will circulate among them with cups, pitchers, and a glass of flowing drink; they will suffer no headache therefrom nor will they be intoxicated.”
As for the third verse, “Indeed, the God-fearing will be in a secure station”—a place where they are safe from everything, as noted earlier. “They will wear fine silk and heavy brocade, facing one another”—this is their clothing, the finest grades of silk.
And Allah says: “Indeed, the righteous will be in bliss, upon thrones gazing about. You will recognize on their faces the glow of delight. They will be given to drink pure sealed nectar—its seal is musk; so for this let those who strive, strive. Its mixture will be of Tasnīm, a spring from which those nearest to Allah drink.”