WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.089 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:05.089 --> 00:00:09.089 It is Paradise. 00:00:09.089 --> 00:00:22.210 The description of the people of Paradise. 00:00:22.210 --> 00:00:24.210 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. 00:00:24.210 --> 00:00:28.210 And may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad. 00:00:28.210 --> 00:00:31.210 And upon all his family and companions. 00:00:31.210 --> 00:00:32.210 To proceed: 00:00:32.210 --> 00:00:34.619 O people of Paradise, 00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:38.619 you will live in those gardens, by the permission of Allah. 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:41.619 You will be in the form and stature of our father Adam, peace be upon him, 00:00:41.619 --> 00:00:44.689 which is the most perfect of forms. 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:47.689 Allah created him with His own hand and perfected his form, 00:00:47.689 --> 00:00:50.750 standing sixty cubits tall, 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:53.750 and seven cubits wide. 00:00:53.750 --> 00:00:57.750 This is the greatest and most complete of human statures. 00:00:57.750 --> 00:01:00.750 You will be at the age of thirty-three years. 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:04.980 Reflect upon this height, width, and age, 00:01:04.980 --> 00:01:06.980 for within it lies wisdom 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:09.980 that is hidden from no one. 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:14.040 It is the most eloquent and complete state for the fulfillment of pleasure. 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:16.040 The proportion between the height and the width 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:18.170 is not hidden from you, 00:01:18.170 --> 00:01:21.170 for if one were to exceed the other, 00:01:21.170 --> 00:01:23.170 the balance would be lost. 00:01:23.170 --> 00:01:26.620 Here we all are in Paradise, 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:28.620 our complexions fair, 00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:30.620 the most beautiful of fair complexions, 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:32.620 our eyes adorned with kohl, 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:35.620 the most beautiful of adornments. 00:01:35.620 --> 00:01:38.620 We will be hairless on our bodies, 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:41.620 beardless on our faces, 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:44.620 and curly-haired on our heads. 00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:48.620 Our character will be the best that a person can possess, 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:52.810 having reached the pinnacle and limit of goodness. 00:01:52.810 --> 00:01:56.810 Indeed, our beauty will increase as the ages pass. 00:01:56.810 --> 00:01:59.969 What of faces that look upon Allah? 00:01:59.969 --> 00:02:02.969 How could they return? 00:02:02.969 --> 00:02:05.060 Without a doubt, 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:08.060 their light and beauty will only increase. 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:10.479 For every Friday, 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.479 we will go to the market of Paradise, 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.479 and the north wind will blow upon us, 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.479 scattering upon our faces and garments 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:21.479 the soil of Paradise, 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.479 with its saffron and fragrance, 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.479 so we will increase in beauty and splendor. 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:29.479 We will return to our families, 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:31.479 and they will say to us, 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.479 "You have increased in beauty and splendor." 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:36.479 We will say to them, 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.479 "And you, by Allah, 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.479 have increased in beauty and splendor after we left." 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:45.830 This is the state every week. 00:02:45.830 --> 00:02:47.830 Here in Paradise, 00:02:47.830 --> 00:02:51.830 we will eat whatever we desire of various meats and birds, 00:02:51.830 --> 00:02:57.830 and drink whatever we wish from rivers of milk, wine, water, and honey, 00:02:57.830 --> 00:03:00.830 as well as from the springs of Paradise. 00:03:00.830 --> 00:03:02.830 Yet, despite this, 00:03:02.830 --> 00:03:05.830 we will have no need for urination or defecation, 00:03:05.830 --> 00:03:10.830 nor will it produce belching as happens with worldly food. 00:03:10.830 --> 00:03:14.930 Rather, we will digest what we eat with complete ease, 00:03:14.930 --> 00:03:19.930 and it will exit our bodies as sweat and perspiration, fragrant like musk, 00:03:19.930 --> 00:03:24.409 so we will increase in fragrance upon fragrance. 00:03:24.409 --> 00:03:26.409 O people of Paradise, 00:03:26.409 --> 00:03:31.409 we are here in eternal well-being and perfect health. 00:03:31.409 --> 00:03:35.409 No ailments or diseases afflict us, 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:38.500 nor any pain or fatigue. 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:41.500 Our bliss therein is lasting and eternal; 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:45.539 no misery or distress shall reach us. 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:50.599 Our youth therein does not fade or change, 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.599 nor is it replaced by old age or decay. 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:57.699 Furthermore, we do not sleep therein, 00:03:57.699 --> 00:04:00.699 because sleep is the brother of death, 00:04:00.699 --> 00:04:02.699 and there is no death in Paradise. 00:04:02.699 --> 00:04:06.789 And because sleep is a disconnection from reality, 00:04:06.789 --> 00:04:10.789 and there is no disconnection from pleasure in Paradise, 00:04:10.789 --> 00:04:14.789 nor any pause in the moments of bliss, 00:04:14.789 --> 00:04:17.790 without boredom or weariness. 00:04:17.790 --> 00:04:22.180 Rather, we will be given great strength in everything: 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:25.240 in eating, drinking, and desire, 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:28.339 such that the strength of one of us 00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:31.339 will be equal to the strength of one hundred men, 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:35.339 so that the feeling of pleasure may be greater and more complete. 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:38.459 Did Allah the Almighty not say in His Book, 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:41.459 describing the people of Paradise: 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:46.689 "Gardens of perpetual residence, which they will enter," 00:04:46.689 --> 00:04:51.689 "they will be adorned therein with bracelets," 00:04:51.689 --> 00:04:57.689 "of gold and pearls," 00:04:57.689 --> 00:05:01.689 "and their garments therein will be silk." 00:05:01.689 --> 00:05:04.689 And they will say, "Praise be to Allah," 00:05:04.689 --> 00:05:08.689 "who has removed from us all sorrow." 00:05:08.689 --> 00:05:14.689 “And they say: Praise be to Allah Who hath put grief away from us. Lo! Our Lord is Forgiving, Bountiful,” (35:34) 00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:18.689 “Who, of His grace, hath installed us in the mansion of eternity, where toil toucheth us not nor can weariness affect us.” (35:35) 00:05:18.689 --> 00:05:27.689 “Who, of His grace, hath installed us in the mansion of eternity, where toil toucheth us not nor can weariness affect us.” (35:35) 00:05:27.689 --> 00:05:33.139 “Who, of His grace, hath installed us in the mansion of eternity, where toil toucheth us not nor can weariness affect us.” (35:35) 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:36.139 "An-nasab" (fatigue) is the weariness of the body, 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:38.139 and "al-lughub" is the weariness of the soul. 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:42.709 Both are removed from us in Paradise. 00:05:42.709 --> 00:05:45.709 As for the state of our hearts in Paradise, 00:05:45.709 --> 00:05:48.709 they are free from malice and envy, 00:05:48.709 --> 00:05:52.709 and everything else that exists in the world. 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:55.709 There is no disagreement or hatred among us. 00:05:55.709 --> 00:05:58.779 We are inspired to glorify and praise Allah, 00:05:58.779 --> 00:06:04.189 just as we are inspired to breathe, in the morning and the evening. 00:06:04.189 --> 00:06:10.189 The highest in rank among us is the one who looks upon Allah the Almighty every day. 00:06:10.189 --> 00:06:14.189 And the lowest in rank—though there is no one among us who is "low"— 00:06:14.189 --> 00:06:18.189 is he who travels through his kingdom for two thousand years, 00:06:18.189 --> 00:06:23.860 and he looks at the furthest end of his kingdom just as he sees the nearest. 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:25.860 O people of the gardens, 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:30.860 we will descend into the degrees of Paradise according to our deeds. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:33.930 For entry into Paradise is by grace, 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:38.250 but our stations therein are by justice. 00:06:38.250 --> 00:06:41.250 Paradise has a hundred degrees, or more, 00:06:41.250 --> 00:06:45.250 and within each degree are further degrees. 00:06:45.250 --> 00:06:50.629 The distance between two degrees is like that between the heaven and the earth. 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:53.629 The highest of them is the degree of Firdaws, 00:06:53.629 --> 00:06:57.629 and the highest degree of Firdaws is the Wasilah, 00:06:57.629 --> 00:07:04.629 which Allah the Almighty has reserved for our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:08.629 It is the closest of degrees to Allah the Almighty. 00:07:08.629 --> 00:07:11.980 We will see those above us in their chambers 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:17.980 just as we see a brilliant star fading on the horizon in the east or the west. 00:07:17.980 --> 00:07:21.209 Did Allah the Almighty not say: 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:27.500 “There are degrees (of grace and reprobation) with Allah, and Allah is Seer of what they do.” (3:163) 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:32.500 "And Allah is All-Seeing of what they do." 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:37.009 Here, it will be said to the companion of the Qur'an: 00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:39.009 "Recite and ascend," 00:07:39.009 --> 00:07:44.009 "for your station is at the last verse you recite." 00:07:44.009 --> 00:07:48.040 So he will recite and ascend through the degrees of Paradise, 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:52.870 until he recites the very last thing he has memorized. 00:07:52.870 --> 00:07:55.870 And now, come with me, my companions, 00:07:55.870 --> 00:07:59.939 to look into these beautiful gardens. 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:02.939 What is their soil composed of? 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:04.939 How is their construction? 00:08:04.939 --> 00:08:07.939 How are their houses and palaces? 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:11.939 Let us learn more and more about them. 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:15.449 Look at the soil of Paradise; 00:08:15.449 --> 00:08:18.449 it is made of precious saffron, 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:20.449 than which there is nothing better. 00:08:20.449 --> 00:08:22.480 Its color is beautiful, 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.480 its appearance is beautiful, 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:26.480 and its texture is soft. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.540 When water is mixed with it, 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:31.540 or the wind blows over it, 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:34.539 we smell the scent of pure musk, 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:37.539 intense in its pleasant fragrance. 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:41.580 Some of its lands are white "darmaka" (fine flour), 00:08:41.580 --> 00:08:45.580 resembling bread made from pure white flour, 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:49.700 known for its softness and smoothness. 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:51.700 This is the soil of our Paradise, 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.700 which our feet tread upon, 00:08:54.700 --> 00:08:56.769 and upon which we walk. 00:08:56.769 --> 00:08:58.769 So how is its construction? 00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:00.769 How is its ceiling? 00:09:00.769 --> 00:09:06.409 How are its palaces, rivers, and orchards? 00:09:06.409 --> 00:09:08.409 O people of Paradise, 00:09:08.409 --> 00:09:12.500 this musk and saffron in the soil of Paradise 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:15.500 gives it a powerful scent, 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:17.500 fragrant and pure. 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:22.500 We find its scent from vast, distant spaces. 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:25.919 Some of us will smell the scent of Paradise 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:28.919 from a distance of forty years. 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:33.080 This is the one with the lowest rank in Paradise. 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:35.080 And some of us will smell it 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:38.080 from a distance of seventy years. 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:40.080 And some of us will smell its scent 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.080 from a distance of five hundred years. 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.080 And some of us will smell its scent 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:49.080 from a distance of a thousand years, 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:52.080 and that is due to his purity and the purity of his deeds. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.590 This scent that you smell from afar 00:09:56.590 --> 00:09:59.590 resembles the scent of henna, 00:09:59.590 --> 00:10:03.820 which is the queen of the fragrant plants of Paradise. 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:08.820 All the believers will smell the scent of Paradise in the Hereafter, 00:10:08.820 --> 00:10:11.820 those near to it and those far. 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:14.820 Some may even smell it in this world, 00:10:14.820 --> 00:10:17.820 as an honor from Allah for them, 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:22.820 just as Anas Ibn al-Nadr, may Allah be pleased with him, smelled it on the day of Uhud, 00:10:22.820 --> 00:10:24.820 when he said: 00:10:24.820 --> 00:10:27.820 "I smell the scent of Paradise," 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:30.820 "I find it below Uhud." 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:32.820 He could not restrain himself, 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:36.820 so he advanced and fought the people until he was killed. 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:40.820 They found over eighty wounds on him. 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:47.230 Some believers may smell this scent when their souls are taken, 00:10:47.230 --> 00:10:50.230 as a glad tiding hastened for them. 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:55.220 Those below will see those above them 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:59.220 like stars, seen with the naked eye. 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:06.259 This is not restricted to the messengers of Allah, but for them and the truthful ones of faith. 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:10.289 Yet the lowest among them—and there is no one low among them, 00:11:10.289 --> 00:11:14.289 for there is no deficiency in the gardens— 00:11:14.289 --> 00:11:18.289 is he whose kingdom spans a distance 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:22.320 of two thousand of our years. 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:29.320 He sees the furthest point of it just as he sees the nearest. 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:36.740 This is so, and their age is thirty-three, which is the strength of youth. 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:43.799 Their height is the height of their father, sixty, but their width is seven, without deficiency. 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:50.929 This is so, and the proportion between this width and the height of wondrous status is not hidden. 00:11:50.929 --> 00:11:55.120 Their complexions are fair, and they have no beards, 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:59.120 curly-haired, with eyes adorned with kohl. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:06.120 This is the perfection of beauty in their skin, their hair, and likewise their eyes. 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:13.120 The fragrance is found from a distance of forty years, and if you wish, a hundred is also narrated. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:20.120 Likewise, seventy has been narrated; all of this is authentic and supported by two reports. 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:27.309 It has also been estimated at five hundred, multiplied, without any deficiency. 00:12:27.309 --> 00:12:35.409 If this is authentic, then it, and what came before it, is entirely possible. 00:12:35.409 --> 00:12:39.700 O Allah, grant us Paradise and its bounties. 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:43.789 O Allah, we ask You for the highest level of Paradise, al-Firdaws. 00:12:43.789 --> 00:12:47.789 Without reckoning and without prior punishment. 00:12:47.789 --> 00:12:52.919 O Allah, answer our prayer, for the journey remains. 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:56.049 It is Paradise.