In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
It is Paradise.
The trees of Paradise and their fruits.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad.
And upon all his family and his Companions.
To proceed:
O people of Paradise!
This is what our Lord promised us.
Here we see it as the truth, just as He promised us.
Look at what Allah has prepared for us.
Look at those trees and those shades.
Do you see the fruits and the rivers?
Do you see the springs of Paradise?
How magnificent is this bounty!
Come, let us draw a little closer to these trees.
For the trees of Paradise are not like the trees of this world.
The palm tree is not like the palm tree [of this world].
The pomegranate is not like the pomegranate.
Nor is the milk like the milk.
Nor is the honey like the honey.
Indeed.
The names are the same.
But the taste and the color are different.
There is a common denominator between them,
so that it is valid to apply the name to them
in both this world and Paradise.
Paradise contains planted places,
containing trees and palm trees,
and other plants and flowers that we do not know.
It also contains other lands, which are plains,
with no trees in them.
Their planting is done by our own hands.
We plant those lands by saying: "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to Allah) and "Alhamdulillah" (Praise be to Allah),
and "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah) and "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest).
Just as the Friend of Allah, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, informed us.
And we plant in it by saying: "Subhan Allah al-Azim" (Glory be to Allah the Almighty),
and by saying: "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah" (There is no power and no strength except by Allah).
And we plant in it with our own hands while we are in Paradise, however we wish.
O people of Paradise!
The trees of Paradise are magnificent.
They have magnificent branches,
so much so that their branches hang outside the walls of the gardens of Paradise.
They have a magnificent shade,
so much so that a swift rider could travel in their shade for a hundred years without reaching the end of it.
Did Allah the Almighty not say:
﴾And shade extended﴿
Meaning it expands and stretches,
never shrinking or receding.
Allah the Almighty creates this shade by His power without a sun,
and He is capable of all things.
These trees also
have magnificent fruits.
A single cluster of grapes—
a crow would fly for a month continuously
without falling or stumbling,
until it crossed the distance of that cluster.
And if it were brought down to this world,
all the people of the earth would eat from it.
The trunks of these trees are made of gold.
You will not see around them any of the bark debris
or any parts of the tree that usually fall off.
O people of Paradise!
Look at the palm trees.
Their trunks are of green emerald,
and the bases of their fronds are of red gold.
From their fronds come the garments of the people of Paradise,
including their tailored clothes and their ornaments.
The "tailored clothes" are garments fitted to the body.
Their fruits are like large water skins and buckets,
whiter than milk,
sweeter than honey,
and softer than butter.
Their dates have no pits.
Among the magnificent trees of Paradise
is the tree of Tuba.
A swift rider traveling
in its shade for a hundred years would not reach the end of it.
Our Lord prepared it for those of His servants who believed and did righteous deeds.
For the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informed us, saying:
"Tuba for those who saw me and believed in me,
then Tuba, then Tuba, then Tuba
for those who believed in me and did not see me."
A man asked him:
"And what is Tuba?"
He said:
"A tree in Paradise,
a hundred-year journey [in width].
The garments of the people of Paradise emerge from its buds."
Yes.
In that tree, our clothes are woven,
and from it, we take our garments
for adornment and beauty.
Otherwise, we have no need to change our clothes,
for whoever enters Paradise enjoys bliss and knows no misery.
His clothes do not wear out, and his youth does not fade.
They wear in it [garments of] fine silk and heavy brocade,
which are two types of silk,
and of the best colors, which is green.
So He combined for them both the beauty of the garment's appearance and its softness,
so the eye delights in its appearance
and the body in its softness.
O you who long for it!
Among the magnificent trees of Paradise
is the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary (Sidrat al-Muntaha),
above the seventh heaven.
Everything that ascends from the earth ends there,
and to it ends the knowledge of creation, from the angels and others among the prophets.
The fruits of this tree are like the water skins of Hajar,
and its leaves are like the ears of elephants.
It has colors we do not know what they are;
they are not like the colors of this world.
We have never seen anything like them.
It is covered by butterflies and locusts of gold.
Allah the Almighty said about it:
“And verily he saw him yet another time” (53:13)
﴾At the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary,
near it is the Garden of Abode.﴿
“When that which shroudeth did enshroud the lote-tree,” (53:16)
Then, when the wind blows upon those trees in Paradise,
the leaves move
and brush against one another,
playing the sweetest melodies
that ears have never heard the like of.
The heart is enraptured before the hearing,
with a rhythmic tone
and a guarded sound,
containing no vain talk and no sin.
This is the true, original melody;
you have not heard and will not hear its like except in Paradise.
And if the singing of the houris accompanies it,
then that is a delight that no other delight can match.
If the people of this world heard it,
they would die of longing and passion.
O my companions!
In Paradise, each one of us has what he desires.
A man of Paradise may even desire to farm,
so he asks his Lord for permission to farm.
Allah says to him:
"Are you not in whatever you wish of crops, trees, and palm trees?"
He says: "Yes,
but I love to farm with my own hands."
So he is granted permission to farm in his kingdom.
He hastens and sows, and it sprouts immediately,
and he hastens the growth of its plants,
its maturation, and its harvest,
becoming like mountains.
All of this happens in less than the blinking of an eye.
Allah the Almighty says:
"Take it, O son of Adam,
for nothing satisfies you."
But, O my brothers,
amidst all these gardens and orchards,
and this bounty that stretches as far as the eye can see,
how does a person move between his properties and his farms?
Do not worry about that,
for Allah will create for you whatever mounts you desire,
and even more than you can imagine.
A man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said:
"O Messenger of Allah,
are there horses in Paradise?"
He said: "If Allah admits you into Paradise,
you will be brought a horse of red ruby
that has two wings,
and you will be mounted upon it."
So, there are horses in Paradise,
but they are not like the horses of this world.
Horses that have wings,
flying with their rider quickly to wherever he wants,
and whenever he wants.
In Paradise, there are also camels with bridles,
meaning they have bridles from Paradise.
A man rides upon them
and takes a stroll upon them between his properties
and what Allah has prepared for him.
And you also have sheep in Paradise,
for a sheep is among the beasts of Paradise.
And for each one of the people of Paradise—
their trees are of two types: those that have
a second example in this world,
like the Lote tree, the source of the Nabq, thornless,
where the thorns are replaced by fruits of various colors.
This, and the shade of the Lote tree is among the best of shades,
and its benefit is the refreshing of the bodies.
And the fruits are among the best of shades,
and its fruits also have benefits,
some of which bring joy to the sorrowful.
And the Talh (banana tree), which is layered, just as
a hand is layered with fingers and fingertips.
And likewise the pomegranates and the grapes,
from which the clusters are hanging low.
This, and a type that has no
counterpart in this world to be seen with the eye.
It is enough to mention what has been said so far:
"Of every fruit, there are two kinds."
And I pass over those similar in color
but different in taste; that is the one of many colors.
But for their splendor and the pleasure of their taste,
there is something other than what you find here.
You find pleasure in eating them when you reach them,
And you see them as they were before, identical in appearance.
Ibn 'Abbas said: "There is nothing in the highest Paradise,"
"Save for the names, which you see as similar."
Meaning that the realities are not like those of this world,
Even though both share the same name.
How delightful are those fruits and their planting,
And likewise the soil of that garden.
And likewise the water with which it is irrigated,
How delightful is that drink for the thirsty.
When you take a fruit, another appears in its place,
Replacing it exactly where it was.
It never ceases, nor does it wait for the sun to set,
To be weighed upon my scales.
Nor does one need to climb the branches of the trees,
Rather, the clusters are lowered, so however,
You wish, you may pluck them with the greatest of ease.
A report has come that the trunk is made of gold,
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi with clarity.
Ibn 'Abbas said: "And those trunks,"
"Are of emerald, of the most beautiful colors."
Their garments are made of the vines within it,
And of the abundance of pure gold.
Its fruits have no pits,
They are like large water jars; how magnificent is that grace.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri also narrated that Tuba,
Its span is a hundred years, without any decrease.
The blossoms open up within it,
Clothing them in whatever colors they desire.
O Allah, grant us Paradise and its delights.
O Allah, we ask You for the highest level of Paradise, al-Firdaws.
Without reckoning and without prior punishment.
O Allah, answer our prayer.
This journey has more to follow.
It is Paradise.