Part 13

The First People to Enter Paradise The first of mankind to enter Paradise will be our Prophet Muhammad (saw) and the first nation to enter Paradise will be his ummah. The first member of this ummah to enter will be Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra). Ibn Katheer quotes a number of Hadith [an-Nihayah, 2/213] that state this such as the report of Muslim from Anas (ra) according to which the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said, "I will be the first one to knock at the gates of Paradise". Muslim also reported from Anas that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "I will come to the gates of paradise and ask for it to be opened. The gatekeeper will ask, "Who are you?" I will say, "Muhammad". The gatekeeper will say, "I was ordered not to open the gate for anyone else before you"". al-Bukhaari, Muslim and an-Nasaa'ee report from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said: "We are the last, but we will be the first on the Day of Resurrection. We will be the first of mankind to enter Paradise". Abu Dawood reports from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said, "Jibreel came to me, and showed me the gate of Paradise through which my ummah will enter". Abu Bakr said, "O Messenger of Allaah (saw), would that I had been with you to see it!". The Messenger of Allaah (saw) "But you, O Abu Bakr, will be the first of my ummah to enter Paradise".

Those Who Will Enter Paradise Without Being Called to Account The first group of this ummah who will enter Paradise will be those who were pre-eminent in their imaan, taqwa, righteous deeds and adherence to the true religion. They will enter Paradise in one rank: the first of them will not enter until the last of them enters, and they will be as beautiful as the full moon. Al-Bukhaari reports from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said:

al-Jannah wa an-Naar – In the Light of the Qur'aan and Sunnah

"The first group to enter Paradise will be as beautiful as the full moon. They will not spit, blow their noses or excrete. Their vessels will be fo gold, their combs of gold and silver, their incense o aloe, and their sweat of musk. Each of them will have two wives, the marrow of whose leg-bones will be visible through their flesh because of their extreme beauty. There will be no differences or hatred among them (the people of Paradise); their hearts will be as one, and they will glorify Allaah (swt) morning and evening". (Kitaab Bid' al-Khalq, Baab Ma Jaa' fi Sifaat al-Jannah, Fath al-Baari, 6/318; Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi) al-Bukhaari reports from Sahl ibn Sa'd (ra) that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "Seventy thousand or seven hundred thousand - of my ummah will enter Paradise; the first of them will not enter until the last of them does so, and their faces will look like the full moon". (Fath al-Baari, 6/319) It is true that with each one of these seventy, Allaah (swt) will give His Prophet seventy thousand. Ahmad reports with a sahih isnaad from Abu Bakr (ra) that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "I have been given seventy thousand of my ummah, who will enter Paradise without being called to account. Their faces will be like the full moon, and their hearts will be as one. I asked my Rabb, may He be glorified, for more, and He gave me, along with each of them, seventy thousand more". (sahih al-Jaami', 1/350, no. 1068) Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hibbaan report with a sahih isnaad from Abu Umaamah that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said, "My Rabb promised me that seventy thousand of my ummah would enter Paradise without being called to account and without being punished, and with each one will be seventy thousand, and three handfuls of people picked up by my Rabb [i.e. it will be a great number]". (sahih al-Jaami' 6/108, no. 2988). The Prophet (saw) described the characteristics of these seventy thousand. al-Bukhaari reports from Ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet (saw) said, "I was shown the nations, and I saw a Prophet pass by with a group of his people, and another with a band of his people, another with only ten, another with five, and another on his own (with no followers). Then I looked and saw a large crowd of people. I asked, "O Jibreel, are these my ummah?" He said, "No, but look at the horizon." So I looked, and saw a huge multitude of people. Jibreel said, "These are your ummah, and those seventy thousand in front will not be called to account or punished." I asked, "Why?" He said, "They did not treat themselves with branding (cauterisation) or with ruqyaa (charms) and they did not see evil omens in things (i.e they were not superstitious): they put their trust only in their Rabb"". 'Ukaasha ibn Mihsan stood up and said, "Pray to Allaah (swt) to make me one of them". The Prophet (saw) said, "O Allaah (swt) make him one of them". Then another man stood up and said, "Ask Allaah (swt) to make me one of them". The Prophet (saw) said, 'Ukaasha has preceded you". (sahih alBukhaari, Kitaab ar-Riqaaq, Baab Yadhkul al-Jannah Sab'un Alfan bi Ghayri Hisaab, Fath al-Baari, 11/405) These may be the ones whom Allaah (swt) has called al-Muqarraboon (those nearest to Allaah swt): "And those foremost [in faith] will be foremost [in the Hereafter]. These will be those nearest to Allaah [al-Muqarraboon], in the Gardens of Bliss". (56:10-12) More of them will come from the early generations than from the later generations: "A multitude of those [foremost] will be from the first generations [who embraced Islaam], and a few of those [foremost] will be from the later generations". (56:13-14)

al-Jannah wa an-Naar – In the Light of the Qur'aan and Sunnah

The Poor Will Enter Jannah Ahead of the Rich Muslim reports from 'Abdullaah ibn 'Amr (ra) that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said "The poor of the Muhajireen will enter Paradise forty years ahead of the rich". (Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 2/663, no. 5235) Al-Tirmidhi reported from Abu Sa'eed, and Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah reported from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: "The poor of the Muhajireen will enter Paradise five hundred years ahead of the rich of the Muhajireen" (sahih al-Jaami' 4/90, no.4104). Elsewhere the Prophet (saw) explained that these are the people who have nothing to be brought account for, and this is in addition to their jihaad and virtue. al-Haakim reported from 'Abdullaah ibn 'Amr that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said, "Do you know who will be the first of my ummah to enter Paradise?" I said, "Allaah and His Messenger know best". He said, "The poor of the Muhajireen. They will come to the gate of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection and ask for it to be opened. The gatekeepers will say to them, "Have you been brought to account?" They will say, "What do we need to be brought to account for? We were carrying our swords and fighting for the sake of Allaah (swt) until we died." Then the gates will be opened for them and they will stay there for forty years before anyone else enters". (Silsilah al-Hadith as-Saheehah, 2/532, no. 853, al-Haakim said it is sahih according to the conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim). al-Bukhaari reports from Usaamah ibn Zayd that the Prophet (saw) said, "I stood by the gate of Paradise and saw that the majority of those who entered were the poor and wretched. The rich [Muslims] were detained while the people of Hell were ordered to be taken to Hell". (Sahih al-Bukhaari, Kitaab ar-Riqaaq, BAab Sifaat al-Jannah, wan-Naar, Fath al-Baari, 2/345) Some of the hadith quoted above stated that the poor will enter Paradise forty years ahead of other people while others state that the difference will be five hundred years. The two statements may be reconciled by pointing out that the poor a re not all alike, neither are the rich. As al-Qurtubee suggested (at-Tadhkirah, p.470) the poor vary in the strength of their imaan and their achievements, and the same applies to the rich. If we think in terms of the first of the poor and the last of the rich to enter Paradise then the time-span will be five hundred years, but if we are thinking of the last of the poor and the first of the rich, then the time span is forty years. And Allaah knows best." (Ibn Katheer, an-Nihaayah, 2/345)

The First Three to Enter Jannah Al-Tirmidhi reported with a hasan isnaad from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (saw) said: "I was shown the first three to enter Paradise: the Shaheed (the martyr); the one who is chaste and proud; and the slave who worships Allaah (swt) with devotion and is faithful and sincere towards his master" (Jaami' al-Usool, 10/535, attributed to Ahmad, al-Haakim and al-Bayhaqi)

The Sinners Among the Believers Will Enter Paradise (i) They will be brought forth from Hell and will enter Paradise by means of intercession. Muslim reports from Abu Sa'eed that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said:

al-Jannah wa an-Naar – In the Light of the Qur'aan and Sunnah

"The people of Hell will remain there, never dying, and never living. But there are people who will enter Hell because of their sins, and will be killed therein, so that they become like coals. Permission will be granted for intercession to be made, and they will be brought forth in groups and spread on rivers of Paradise, and it will be said, "O people of Paradise, pour water on them. Then they will grow like seeds in the silt left by a flood". [Muslim, Kitaab al-Imaan, Baab as-Shafa'ah wa Ikhraaj al-Muwahiddin min an-Naar, 1/172] Muslim also reports from Jaabir ibn 'Abdullaah that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said, "Some people will be brought out of the Fire, having been burnt all over except for their faces, and they will enter Paradise". [Muslim, Kitaab al-Imaam, Baab adna Ahl al-Jannah Manzilatan, 1/178] The people of Paradise will call these people who are brought out of Hell and admitted to Paradise, alJahannamiyyoon. al-Bukhaari reports from 'Imraan ibn Husayn (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said, "Some people will be brought out of Hell through the intercession of Muhammad (saw). They will enter Paradise and will be known as al-Jahannamiyyoon." [Sahih al-Bukhaari, Kitaab ar-Riqaaq, Baab Sifaat al-Jannah wan-Naar, Fath al-Baari, 11/418. They are also mentioned in a hadith narrated from Jaabir by Muslim, 1/179 and al-Bukhaari from Anas, Fath al-Baari 11/416] According to another sahih hadith narrated by Jaabir: "The Prophet (saw) said, "They will be brought out of the Fire through intercession, as if they are tha'areer". I asked, "What are tha'areer?" He said, "Daghabis [snake cucumbers]"". [al-Bukhaari, Kitaab ar-Riqaaq, Baab Sifaah al-Jannah wan-Naar, Fath al-Baari, 11/416] Muslim reports a lengthy hadith from Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet (saw) describes the Hereafter, and in which he says: "...When Allaah (swt) has finished judging mankind, and wants to bring whomever He wills out of Hell by His Mercy, He will order angels to bring forth those upon who He wishes to bestow His mercy of the people who never associated anything in worship with Allaah (swt), and who said, "Laa ilaaha illaah Allaah". The angels will recognise them in Hell, and will known them by the mark of sujood on their foreheads. The Fire will consume all of a man except the mark of sujood which Allaah (swt) has forbidden the Fire to consume. They will be brought forth, having been burned in the Fire, the water of life will be poured on then, and they will grow like seeds left by still after a flood". [sahih Muslim, Kitaab al-Imaan, Baab ar-Ru'yah, 1/299, no. 182] It was reported in more than one hadith that Allaah (swt) will bring forth from hell whoever has a dinaar's weight of faith in his heart, or even half a dinaar's weight or an atom's weight. Moreover, people will be brought forth who never did any good deeds at all. Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allaah (saw) said, "Allaah (swt) will admit the people of Paradise to Paradise and He will admit whomsoever He will by His Mercy. And He will admit the people of Hell to Hell, then He will say, "Look for anyone who has the weight of a mustard seed of faith in his heart, and bring him out"". [sahih Muslim, Kitaab al-Imaan, Baab Ithbat ash-Shafa'ah wa Ikhraaj al-Muwwahhadeen, 1/172] One of the reports about Hell is the hadith narrated by Jaabir ibn 'Abdullaah (ra) concerning entering Hellfire: "Then intercession will be permitted and they will interceded until whoever says Laa ilaaha illa Allaah and has a barley grain's worth of goodness in his heart will be brought forth. They will be made to stand in the courtyard of paradise and the people of Paradise will start to pour water over them, until they begin to grow like seeds left by silt after a flood. All traces of the Fire will disappear, then he [the person who was brought out of Hell] will keep asking until he is given the equivalent of this world and ten times more". [Sahih Muslim, Baab adna Ahl al-Jannah Manzilatan, 1/178]