Book 28: Events of the Day of Resurrection and the Beginning of Creation

`Ali reported God's messenger as saying, "In paradise there is a meeting-place for the large-eyed maidens who will raise voices such as created beings have never heard and say, `We are the women who live forever and do not pass away, we are the women in affluent circumstances who will not be destitute, we are the women who are pleased and not displeased. Blessed are those who belong to us and to whom we belong!" Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Hakim b. Mu'awiya reported God's messenger as saying, "In paradise there are a great river of water, a great river of honey, a great river of milk and a great river of wine; then the smaller rivers will be divided off." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Darimi transmitted it from Mu'awiya. (Mirqat, 5, 301 says this is most probably Mu'awiya b. Abu Sufyan because Hakim's father is not known to have been a Companion of the Prophet.)

Abu Sa'id reported God's messenger as saying, "A man will recline in paradise on seventy pillows before he turns round. A woman will then come and strike him on the shoulder and he will see his face in her cheek clearer than a mirror. The smallest pearl she wears will illuminate the space between the east and the west. She will give him a salutation to which he will respond, and when he asks her who she is she will reply that she is some of the extra[*]. She will be wearing seventy garments through which his eye will pierce so that he will see the marrow of her leg through them, and she will be wearing crowns the smallest pearl of which will illuminate the space between the east and the west." *Quran, 1, 35. Ahmad transmitted it.

Abu Huraira said that one of the people of the desert was with the Prophet (ﷺ) when he was telling that one of the inhabitants of paradise will ask his Lord's permission to cultivate crops, and He will reply, "Do you not have what you have wished for?" He will say, "Yes; but I should like to cultivate crops." He will then sow seed and in less than the twinkling of an eye it will appear, grow to maturity and be reaped, like mountains in magnitude. God most high will then say, "There you are, son of Adam, for nothing will satisfy you." Then the desert Arab said, "I swear by God that we shall find him belonging to Quraish or to the Ansar, for they are agriculturists; but as for us, we are not agriculturists." Thereupon God's messenger laughed. Bukhari transmitted it.

Jabir told that when a man asked God's messenger whether the inhabitants of paradise would sleep, he replied, "Sleep is the brother of death, and the inhabitants of paradise do not die." Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-iman.

Jarir b. 'Abdallah reported God's messenger as saying, "You will have ocular vision of your Lord." In a version he told that when they were sitting with God's messenger, he looked at the moon on the night when it was full and said, "You will see your Lord as you see this moon and have no doubts about seeing Him. If, therefore, you can keep from being prevented from prayer before the sun rises and before it sets, do so." He then recited, "Celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting[*]." *Quran; 20:130 (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Suhaib reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, "When the inhabitants of paradise enter it God most high will ask, `Do you wish me to give you anything more?' and they will reply, `Hast Thou not whitened our faces, hast Thou not brought us into paradise and saved us from hell?' The veil will then be removed, they will look at God's face, and will not have been given anything dearer to them than looking at their Lord." He then recited, "Those who do good will have the best reward and something more[*]." *Quran; 10:26 Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn `Umar reported God's messenger as saying. "The lowest in station among the inhabitants of paradise will be he who looks at his gardens, his wives, his bliss, his servants, and his couches stretching a thousand years' journey, and the one who will be most honoured by God will be he who looks at His face morning and evening." He then recited, "Faces on that day will be bright, looking at their Lord[*]." *Quran; 75:22 f. Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Razin al-`Uqaili told that he asked, "Messenger of God, will each one of us see his Lord, being alone with Him, on the day of resurrection?" and received the reply, "Certainly." He asked, "What sign is there of that in His creation?" and received the reply, "Abu Razin, does each one of you not see the moon on the night when it is full, being alone with it?" When he agreed, he said, "It is only a part of God's creation, but God is more glorious and greater." Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Dharr told that he asked God's messenger whether he had seen his Lord and received the reply, "He is Light; how can I see Him?" Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn `Abbas quoted, "The heart did not belie what it saw[1]," And he has seen Him at another descent[2]," saying that he saw Him twice in his heart. Quran; 53:11 Quran; 53:13 Muslim transmitted it. In Tirmidhi's version he said Muhammad saw his Lord. `Ikrima said he asked whether God does not say, "The eyes do not perceive Him but He perceives the eyes[*]," and he replied, "Out upon you! That is when He shines forth with His own essential light; but he has seen his Lord twice." *Quran; 6:103 Tirmidhi.

Ash-Sha'bi told that Ibn `Abbas met Ka`b at `Arafa and asked him about something, whereupon he said "God is most great" so loudly that the mountains re-echoed his voice. Ibn `Abbas said, "We are the B. Hashim," and Ka'b replied, "God has divided the vision of Him and His speech between Muhammad and Moses, for He spoke twice to Moses and Muhammad saw Him twice." Masruq said he went to visit `A'isha and asked whether Muhammad had seen his Lord, whereupon she replied, "You have said something that makes my hair stand on end." Telling her not to be excited he recited, "He has indeed seen the greatest of the signs of his Lord1." She replied, "where is it leading you? It was only Gabriel. Who told you that Muhammad saw his Lord, or concealed any command given him, or knew the five things of which God most high said, `God has knowledge of the last hour, He sends down the rain 2? He considered falsehood to be serious. But he saw Gabriel, seeing him in bodily form only twice, once at the lote-tree of the boundary, and once at Ajyad3 with six hundred wings blocking out the horizon." [1] Quran; 53:18 [2] Quran; 31:34 [3] A place in the neighbourhood of Makkah. Tirmidhi transmitted it, and the two shaikhs transmitted it with an addition and a difference. In their version he told that he asked `A'isha the meaning of His words, "Then he drew near and was suspended, and was two bows' length away or nearer[4], "and she replied, "That was Gabriel who used to come to him in human form, but on this occasion he came to him in his own form in which he was fashioned and blocked out the horizon." [4] Quran; 53:8

Ibn Mas'ud said regarding God's words, "He was two bows' length away or nearer," "The heart did not belie what it saw," and "He has indeed seen the greatest of the signs of his Lord," that they all refer to his seeing Gabriel who had six hundred wings. (Bukhari and Muslim.) In Tirmidhi's version he said regarding "The eye did not belie what it saw" that God's messenger saw Gabriel in a mantle of thin brocade, filling the space between the sky and the earth. Tirmidhi and Bukhari tell regarding His words, "He has indeed seen the greatest of the signs of his Lord," that he saw thin green brocade which blocked out the horizon in the sky.

Malik b. Anas was asked about the words of God most high, "Looking towards their Lord[1]," and told that some people said it referred to His reward. To this Malik replied, "They lie. How do they explain His words, `Nay, on that day they shall be veiled from their Lord'[2]?" Malik said men would look at their Lord with their eyes on the day of resurrection, adding, "If the believers were not to look at their Lord on the day of resurrection God would not have reproached the infidels with being veiled saying, `Nay, on that day they shall be veiled from their Lord'." Quran; 75:23 Quran; 83:15. This verse refers to unbelievers. It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Jabir reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, "While the inhabitants of paradise are in their bliss a light will shine out to them, and raising their heads they will see that their Lord has looked down on them from above. He will then say, `Peace be to you, inhabitants of paradise,' the proof of that being the words of God most high, `Peace, a word from a merciful Lord[*].' He will then look at them and they will look at Him, and they will not turn aside to any of their bliss as long as they are looking at Him till He veils Himself from them and His light remains." *Quran; 36:58 Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "The fire you have is one-seventieth part of the fire of Jahannam." Someone suggested that if it were ordinary fire, it would be enough, but he replied, "It has sixty-nine parts in excess of fires in this world, each of them being equivalent to their heat." (Bukhari and Muslim, the wording being Bukhari's.) Muslim's version has "Your fire which the son of Adam kindles," and uses the feminine singular pronoun instead of the feminine plural. (This is a matter which makes no difference to the translation, but is purely connected with different forms of expression allowable in Arabic grammar.

Ibn Mas'ud reported God's messenger as saying, "Jahannam will be brought on that day having seventy thousand halters, each being pulled by seventy thousand angels." Muslim transmitted it.

An-Nu`man b. Bashir reported God's messenger as saying, "The inhabitant of hell who will have the lightest punishment will be he who has two sandals and two sandal-straps of fire from which his brain will bubble like a pot, and he will think that no one is having a more severe punishment than he, although he is having the lightest punishment." (Bukhari and Muslim;)

Ibn `Abbas reported God's messenger as saying, "The inhabitant of hell who will have the lightest punishment will be Abu Talib, and he will be wearing two sandals from which his brain will bubble." Bukhari transmitted it.

Anas reported God's messenger as saying, "The one among the inhabitants of hell who had the pleasantest life in the world will be brought on the day of resurrection and dipped once in hell. Then will be said, `Son of Adam, have you ever experienced any good? Has any pleasantness come your way?' to which he will reply, `No, my Lord, I swear by God.' Then the one among the inhabitants of paradise who had the most miserable life in the world will be brought and dipped once in paradise. Then will be said, `Son of Adam, have you ever experienced any misfortune? Has any distress come your way?' to which he will reply, `No, my Lord, I swear by God, no misfortune has ever come my way, and I have never experienced any distress'." Muslim transmitted it.