The Springs of Paradise

“Truly al-Muttaqûn [the pious and righteous] will be amidst Gardens and Water-springs” [15:45]

"Verily al-Muttaqûn shall be amidst shades and springs." [77:41]

Concerning the two Gardens which Allâh (swt) has prepared for those who fear their Rabb, Allâh (swt) said,

"In them [both] will be two springs flowing [free]." [55:50]

And concerning the two Gardens beneath them, He said,

"In them [both] Will be two springs gushing forth water." [55:66]

In Paradise there are two springs from which al-Muqarrabûn will drink pure and undiluted, whilst the Abrâr will drink their water mixed with something else. The first is the Spring of Kafûr, as Allâh (swt) says:

"Verily the Abrâr [the pious, those who fear Allâh and avoid evil, shall drink a cup [of wine] mixed with water from a spring in Paradise called Kafûr, A spring wherefrom the slaves of Allâh will drink, causing it to gush forth abundantly." [76:5-6]

He tells us that the pious will drink from it mixed with something else, whilst those close to Allâh will drink it pure and undiluted. The second Spring is of Tasnîm, as Allâh (swt) says:

"Verily al-Abrâr will be in delight [Paradise], On thrones, looking at all things. You will recognise in their faces the brightness of delight. They will be given to drink pure sealed wine, the last thereof [that wine] Will be the smell of musk, and for this let [all] those who strive who want to strive [i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allâh]. It [that wine] will be mixed with Tasnîm, a spring whereof drink those nearest to Allâh." [83:22-27]

Another of the springs of Paradise is called al-Salsabîl as Allâh (swt) says:

"And they will be given to drink there a cup [of wine] mixed with zanjabîl [ginger], a spring there, called Salsabîl". [76:17-18]

This is probably the same spring as that mentioned above, i.e. Kafûr.

The Palaces and Tents of Paradise

"and beautiful mansions in Gardens of everlasting bliss" [9:72]

In some places in the Qur'ân, Allâh (swt) described these dwellings as ghurafât [chambers or dwellings]:

"and they will reside in the high dwellings [Paradise] in peace and security." [34:37]

The reward for the slaves of the all-Merciful will be:

"Those will be rewarded with the highest place [in Paradise] because of their patience. Therein they shall be met with greetings and the word of peace and respect" [25:75]

Allâh (swt) described these Ghurafât:

"But for those who fear Allâh and keep their duty to their Rabb [Allâh], for them are built lofty rooms, one above the other, under which rivers flow. [This is] the Promise of Allâh, and Allâh does not fail in [His] Promise." [39:20]

Ibn Kathîr said: "Allâh has told us about His blessed slaves who will have rooms [or dwellings] in Paradise: these will be lofty palaces, lofty Rooms, one above another - story upon story, well-constructed, strong and decorated. The Prophet (saw) described these palaces to us. According to a hadith narrated by Ahmad, and Ibn Hibbân from Abû Mâlik al-Ash'ari and by at-Tirmidhi from 'Ali (ra) the Prophet (saw) said:

"In Paradise there are dwellings whose inside can be seen from the outside,and the outside can be seen from inside. Allâh [swt] has prepared them for those who feed the hungry, and speak softly and gently, fast continuously and pray at night whilst the people are asleep." [Sahîh al-Jâmi' as-Saghîr, 2/220, no. 2119]

Allâh (swt) has told us that there are tents or pavilions in Paradise:

"Houris [beautiful, fair females] restrained in pavilions" [55:72]

These pavilions are wondrous tents, made of pearls, each one is made from a single, hollowed-out pearl. They are sixty miles high; according to some reports they are sixty miles wide. Al-Bukhâri reports from 'Abdullâh ibn Qays that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) said,

"The tent is a hollowed out pearl, thirty miles high; in each corner of it the believer will have a wife whom no one else can see".

Abû 'Abdus-Samad and al-Hârith reported from Abû 'Imrân that the wording was "sixty miles high" [Sahih al-Bukhâri, Kitâb Bid' al-Khalq, Bâb Sifât al-Jannah, Fath al-Bâri, 6/318]

Muslim reported from 'Abdullâh ibn Qays that the Prophet (saw) said:

"The believer in Paradise will have a tent made out of a single, hollowed-out pearl, sixty miles long, in which he will have [a number of] wives, whom he will visit in turn, none of whom will see the others". [see also Muslim, Kitâb al-Jannah, Bâb fi Sifât Khiyâm al-Jannah, 4/2182, no. 2838]

The Prophet (saw) told us about the characteristics of the palaces of Some of his wives and companions. Al-Bukhâri and Muslim report that Abû Hurayrah (ra) said,

"Jibrîl came to the Prophet (saw) and said, "O Messenger of Allâh, Khadîjah is coming, carrying a container of food. When she comes to you, convey to her greetings of peace from her Rabb and from me, and give her the glad tidings of a house in Paradise made of brocade, in which there is no noise or exhaustion."" [Mishkât al-Masâbîh, 3/266]

Al-Bukhâri and Muslim report from Jâbir that the Messenger of Allâh )saw) said,

"I entered Paradise, where I saw ar-Rumaysa', the wife of Abû Talhah. And I heard footsteps and asked, "Who is that?" He [Jibrîl] said, "That is Bilâl." And I saw a palace with women in its courtyard. I asked, "Whose is this?" They said, "It is for 'Umar ibn al-Khattab". I had wanted to go in and look at it, but I remembered your jealousy [when women are concerned] 'Umar said, "May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allâh (saw), would I feel jealous from you?" [Mishkât al-Masâbîh]

The Prophet (saw) has told us of the way in which the believer may acquire more than one house in Paradise: Ahmad reports with a sahîh isnâd from Ibn 'Abbâs that the Prophet )saw) said,

"Whoever builds a masjid for Allâh, even if it is as small as the nestling-place scratched out by the sane grouse for its eggs, Allâh (swt) will build a house for him in Paradise". [Sahîh al-Jâmi' as-Saghîr, 5/265, no. 6005]

Ahmad, al-Bukhâri, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Mâjah report from 'Uthmân that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) said:

"Whoever builds a mosque for Allâh (swt), Allâh (swt) will build something similar for him in Paradise". [Sahîh al-Jâmi' as-Saghîr, 5/265, no. 6007]

Muslim, Abû Dawud, Ahmad, an-Nasâ'î, and Ibn Mâjah report from Umm Habîbah that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) said,

"Whoever prays Twelve extra ]supererogatory] rak'ahs every day, Allâh (swt) will build for him a House in Paradise." [Sahîh al-Jâmi', 5/316, no. 6234]

The Light of Paradise

"The scholars said there is no night and day in Paradise rather they will be in eternal everlasting light. They will know when night comes because curtains or screens will be put up and doors will be closed, and they will know when day comes because the curtains or screens will be taken down and the doors will be opened. This was mentioned by Abul-Faraj ibn al-Jawzî" [al-Qurtubî, at-Tadhkirah, p. 504] ]

Ibn Kathîr in his commentary on the âyah:

"And they will have therein their sustenance, morning and evening. Such is the Paradise, which We shall give as an inheritance to those of Our slave who have been al-Muttaqûn [pious and righteous]" [19:62-63]

He said,

"This means something approximate to the times of day and night, it does not mean that there will be a day and night there. They will know the passing of time by the changes in the light" ]Tafsîr Ibn Kathîr, 4/471[

On the same subject, Ibn Taymiyyah said,

"There is no sun and moon in Paradise, and no day or night, but they will know morning and evening From a light that shines from the direction of the Throne"" [Majmu' Fatâwa Shaikh al-Islâm, 4/312]

The Fragrance of Paradise

"Whoever kills a man of Ahl ad-Dhimmah [non-Muslims living under Islâmic rule] will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, even though its fragrance can be discerned from a distance of forty years' travelling." [Sahîh al-Jâmi as-Saghîr, 5/235 no. 6324 and 5/337 no. 6333]

The Trees and Fruits of Paradise

i) Its trees and fruits are of many kinds and everlasting

"Verily, for the muttaqûn, there will be a success [Paradise] gardens and grape yards" [78:31-32]

"in them [both will be fruits, date palms and pomegranates" [55:68]

"And those on the Right Hand - who will be those on the Right Hand? ]They will be] among thornless lote-trees, Among Talh trees with fruits piled one above another, In shade long-extended, By water flowing constantly, And fruit in plenty" [56:27-32]

The lotus tree [ad-Sidr] is a thorny plant, but in Paradise it will be thornless. At-Talh [acacia tree] is a tree of Hijâz, a kind of 'idah [a fair sized thorny shrub], but in Paradise its fruits will be ready to eat, with no effort required.

What Allâh (swt) has told us about the trees of Paradise is only a small part of what Paradise contains. Hence Allâh told us

"In them [both] will be every kind of fruit in pairs" [55:52]

Because of its abundance, people will be able to leave what they want and take what they want:

... "and therein they will call for fruits in abundance and drinks". [38:51]

"With fruits, any that they may select" [56:20]

"Verily the Muttaqûn shall be amidst shades and springs, And fruits - such as they desire" [77:41-42]

In short, Paradise contains all kinds of fruits and other joys that one's heart could desire:

"Trays of gold and cups will be passed round them, [there will be] therein all that one's soul could desire, all that the eyes could delight in, and you will abide therein forever" [43:71]

Ibn Kathîr spoke very cleverly about the greatness of the fruits of Paradise, and concluded that by means of understatement, Allâh (swt) conveyed the abundance and greatness of those fruits. He said,

"The lotus tree [as-Sidr] does not bear any fruit other than some insignificant, inferior fruits, and it is thorny. The acacia tree [at-Talh] is only used for shade in this world [not for fruit] but in Paradise there will be many of them, growing beautifully, and bearing such abundant fruit that a single fruit will have seventy kinds of taste and colour that resemble one another. So how do you think the trees that are grown for their fruit on earth will Be in Paradise, like apple trees, date palms, grape vines and so on? How do you think the flowers will be? In short, there will be what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human heart can comprehend and we ask Allâh (swt) to grant us some of this, by His Grace" [an-Nihâyah, 2/262]

The trees of Paradise bear fruit constantly, unlike the trees of this world, which bear fruit only at certain times or seasons. The trees of Paradise always bear fruit and offer shade:

"The description of the Paradise which the Muttaqûn have been promised! - Underneath it rivers flow, its provision is eternal and so is its shade" [13:55]

"And fruit in plenty, whose season is not limited, and their supply will not be cut off" [56:32-33]

The supply is continuous and the people of Paradise are never denied. One of the delights that the people of Paradise will enjoy is finding that its fruits are similar in appearance, but different in taste: "

Everytime they will be provided with a fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before", and they will be given things in resemblance [i.e. in the same form but different in taste]" [2:25]

The trees of Paradise are of rich and lush foliage -"With spreading branches" [55:48], and they are intensely green -"dark and green [in ] colour]" [55:64]. The intensity of the colour is because of the density of the trees in Paradise. The fruits of the trees will be low-hanging, in easy reach of the people of Paradise:

"Reclining upon the couches lined with silk brocade, and the fruits of the two Gardens will be near at hand" [55:54]

The shade of these trees will be as Allâh (swt) says:

... "and We shall admit them to shades wide and ever deepening". [4:57]

"In shade long-extended" [56:30]

ii) Some of the trees of Paradise

"In Paradise there is a tree which the rider of a swift horse would need one hundred years to pass beneath" [al-Bukhâri, Kitâb ar-Riqâq, Bâb Sifât al-Jannah, Fath al-Bâri, 11/416; Muslim, Kitâb al-Jannah, Bâb inna fil-Jannah Shajarah, 2/2176, no. 2828, from Abû Sa'îd al-Khudri; see also al-Bukhâri, Kitâb Bid' al-Khalq, Bâb ma jâ'a fi Sifât al-Jannah, Fath al-Bâri, 6/319]

And in the narration of Muslim from Abû Hurayrah and Sahl ibn Sa'd it Is said that:

"In Paradise there is a tree under whose shade a traveller could travel for one hundred years and not reach the edge of it" [Muslim, Kitâb al-Jannah, Bâb in fil-Jannah Shajarah Yasîr al-Râkib fi dhiliha mi'ah 'âm, hadith no 2826, 2827]

b) Sidrat al-Muntaha

There is a tree in paradise which Allâh has mentioned in a clear and unambiguous revelation. Allâh (swt) told us that our Prophet Muhammad (saw( saw Jibrîl in the form in which Allâh created him at that tree. He also told us that it was veiled with something known only to Allâh )swt) when the Prophet (saw) saw it:

"And indeed he [Muhammad] saw him [Jibrîl] at a second descent [i.e. a second time] near Sidrat al-Muntaha [the Lote-tree of the utmost boundary beyond which none may pass] near it is the Paradise of Abode. When that covered the lote-tree which covered it! The sight of ]Muhammad] turned not aside [right or left], nor did it transgress beyond [the] limit ordained for it]" [53:13-18]

The Prophet (saw) told us about what he saw of this tree:

"Then I was taken up until I reached Sidrat al-Muntaha and I saw its Nabq [fruits] which looked like the clay jugs of Hajar, its leaves were like the ears of elephants, and one of these leaves could cover the whole of this ummah. It was veiled in colours indescribable. Then I entered Paradise, And its lights were pearls and its soil was musk". [Sahîh al-Jâmi' as-Saghîr, 4/82 no. 4075, al-Bukhâri and Muslim; see also al-Bukhâri, Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi and Muslim, Sahîh al-Jâmi', 3/18, no. 2861]

c) Tûba.

This is a huge tree which produces the fabric for the clothing of the people of Paradise. Ahmad Ibn Jarîr and Ibn Hibbân report from Abû Sa'îd al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) said,

“Tûba is a tree in Paradise, as big as a hundred year's journey; the clothes of the people of Paradise comes from its calyces [the outer parts of its flowers]” Silsilat al-Hadith as-Sahîhah, 4/639, no. 1985, the isnâd is hasan.

Narrated by Ahmad from 'Abdullâh ibn 'Amr, who said,

"A man came to the Prophet (saw) and asked, "O Messenger of Allâh, tell us about the clothes of the people of Paradise; are they created or are they woven?" Some of the people laughed. The Messenger of Allâh (saw) said, "Why are you laughing? Because someone who does not know has asked someone who does know?" Then he turned and asked, "Where is the one who asked the question?" The man said, "Here I am, O Messenger of Allâh". He said, "No, they are produced by the fruits of Paradise"three times" [Silsilat al-Hadith as-Sahîhah, 640/4]

iii) The best aromatic plants in Paradise

Allâh told us that in Paradise there are aromatic plants:

“]there is for him] rest and provision [Rayhân - literally - sweet smelling plants, here used as symbolical of complete satisfaction and delight" [56:89]

In Mu'jam at-Tabarânî al-Kabîr, a report from 'Abdullâh ibn 'Amr whose isnâd is sahîh according to the conditions of al-Bukhâri and Muslim states that the Prophet (saw) said,

"The best of the aromatic plants of Paradise is henna." [SilSilah as-Sahîhah, 3/407, no. 1420]

iv) The trunks of the trees of Paradise are of Gold

One of the wondrous things that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) told us Is that the trunks of the trees are gold:

"There is no tree in Paradise that does not have a trunk made of gold" Ibn Hibbân, at-Tirmidhi, al-Bayhaqî, from Abû Hurayrah, Sahîh al-Jâmi' as-Saghîr 5/150 sahîh[

v) How can the Believer increase his share of the trees of Paradise?

A l-Khalîl ar-Rahmân and the Father of the Prophets, Ibrâhîm (as( asked our Prophet Muhammad (saw) on the night of the Isrâ' to convey his greetings to this ummah and to tell them the way in which they could increase their share of the trees of Paradise. At-Tirmidhi reported with a hasan isnâd from Ibn Mas'ûd that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) said:

"I met Ibrâhîm...and he said, "O Muhammad, tell your ummah that Paradise is a land whose soil is good and its water is sweet. It is an empty plain, which will be planted with SubhânAllâh, al-Hamdulillâh, and Allâhu Akbar" [Sahîh al-Jâmi' as-Saghîr, 5/34, no. 5028]

The Animals and Birds of Paradise

..."and the flesh of fowls any that they may desire" [56:21]

At-Tirmidhi reports from Anas that the Messenger of Allâh (saw) was asked,

"What is al-Kawthar?" He said, "That is a river that Allâh has given me... and in it are birds with necks like the necks of camels". 'Umar said, These birds will be in bliss". The Messenger of Allâh (saw) said, "Those who eat them will be more blissful"". [Mishkât al-Masâbîh, 2/91]

Al-Hâkim and Abû Na'îm reported from Ibn Mas'ûd that

"a man brought a haltered she-camel and said, "O Messenger of Allâh, this she-camel is for the sake of Allâh". He said, "You will have seven hundred haltered she-camels in Paradis. [Silsilat as-Sahîhah, 2/228 no. 634; a similar report is narrated by muslim, Mishkât al-Masâbîh, 2/350, 3799]