Part 26

) (18: 31) Al-Bara' Ibn Azib related, "The Prophet was given a silk garment as a gift and we started touching it with our hands and admiring it. At that the Prophet said, 'Are you impressed with this?' We said, 'Yes.' He said, 'The handkerchiefs of Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh in Paradise are better than this.'"95 It has been related by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said, "Believers will be adorned as far as the places where their wudu reached."96 It has been related by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said, "Whoever enters the bliss of the Garden will never be destitute, and their garments will never wear out, and they will never lose their youth."97 The Attributes of the People of Paradise It has been related by Mu'adh Ibn Jabal that the Prophet said, "The people of Paradise will be in the Garden without hair, without beards and with their eyes anointed with kohl, aged thirty-three years."98 It has been related by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said, "The first group of people to enter Paradise will shine like the full moon and those who follow them will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. They will not have to pass water, answer the call nature, spit, or blow their noses. Their combs will be made of gold and their perspiration will smell like musk. Aloes-wood will be used in their dwellings. Their wives will be houris. All of them will look alike and they will resemble their father Adam (in stature), sixty cubits tall."99 As for their inward state and disposition, Allah says: ( We will strip away any rancour in their hearts — brothers, resting on couches face-to-face. ) (15: 47) It has been related by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said, "They (the people of the Garden) will not have any disagreements or rancour between them. Their hearts will be like one heart and they will glorify Allah in the morning and in the evening."100 95 al-Bukhari, 6/319. 96 Muslim, 3 / 140; Al-Nasa'i', 1/93. 97 Muslim, 17/174. 98 Al-Tirmidhi, 10/14, who classified it as hasan gharib. 99 al-Bukhari, 6/319; Muslim, 17/172-173. 100 al-Bukhari, 6/138; Muslim, 17/173. The Lowest and Highest Degrees of the People of Paradise It has been related by Al-Mughirah Ibn Shu'bah that the Prophet said, "Moses asked his Lord, 'Who amongst the people of the Garden will be the lowest in rank?' He it replied, 'It will be the last person to be allowed into the Garden from amongst those who deserve to enter it. I will say to him, "Enter the Garden." He will reply, "Omy Lord! how can I, when all its people have already settled in their dwellings and have been given what is due to them?"' "It will be said to him, 'Will you be content if you have a kingdom the size of one of one of the kings of the world?' He will reply, 'I will be content, my Lord.' He will say, 'This is for you, and this, and this, and this, and this.' After the fifth time he will say, 'I am very content, my Lord.' He will say, 'It is all for you and ten times more again like it — and for you is what your self desires and your eye enjoys.' He will say, 'I am very content, my Lord.' "He (Moses) then asked, 'Who will be the highest in rank?' He (Allah) replied, 'Whomever I have chosen — I have established their honour with My own Hand and set a seal on it with what no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor mind imagined.' This is confirmed by the Book of Allah, the Exalted, the Great: ( No self knows the delight that is hidden away for it in recompense for what it used to do." ) (32: 17) 101 The Houris of Paradise Allah it says: ( They will have there spouses of perfect purity and will remain there timelessly, for ever. ) (2: 24) He also says: ( We will marry them to dark-eyed maidens. ) (44: 51) It has been related by Anas Ibn Malik that the Prophet said, "A morning's journey or an afternoon's journey in the Way of Allah is better than the whole world and everything in it; and a place which is a bow's shot of any one of you — or even just a foot step — into the Garden is better than the whole world and everything in it; and if one of the houris of the Garden were to look at the earth, she would fill the whole space between them with light, and she would fill what is between them with perfume — and even the veil over her face is better than the whole world and everything in it."102 It has been related by Abu Hurairah that the Prophet said, "The first group to enter the Garden will shine like the full moon, and the next group will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. Their hearts will be as if they are the heart of a single person, for they will have neither enmity nor jealousy between them.