In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
It is Paradise.
Ibn al-Qayyim’s description of Paradise.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad.
And upon all his family and companions.
To proceed:
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his description of Paradise:
How can one estimate the worth of a home that Allah fashioned with His own hand?
He made it a dwelling for those He loves.
He filled it with His mercy, His honors, and His good pleasure.
He described its bliss as the supreme triumph.
And its sovereignty as a magnificent kingdom.
He deposited within it all goodness in its entirety.
And He purified it from every defect, affliction, and deficiency.
If you ask about its earth and soil,
It is musk and saffron.
If you ask about its ceiling, it is the Throne of the Most Merciful.
If you ask about its floor, it is fragrant musk.
If you ask about its pebbles, they are pearls and jewels.
If you ask about its construction, it is a brick of silver and a brick of gold.
If you ask about its trees, there is no tree therein but that its trunk is of gold and silver.
Not of firewood and wood.
If you ask about its fruit,
It is like large jars in size.
Softer than butter,
And sweeter than honey.
If you ask about its leaves,
They are the finest of silken garments.
If you ask about its rivers,
They are rivers of water that does not stagnate.
And rivers of milk,
The taste of which never changes.
And rivers of wine, a delight,
To those who drink.
And rivers of honey,
Purified.
If you ask about their food,
It is fruit of whatever they choose.
And the meat of birds,
Of whatever they desire.
If you ask about their drink,
It is Tasnim, ginger,
And camphor.
If you ask about their vessels,
They are vessels of gold,
And silver, in the clarity,
Of crystal.
If you ask about the width of its gates,
The distance between the two doorposts,
Is a journey of forty years.
Yet a day will come,
Upon it,
When it is crowded with throngs.
If you ask about the rustling,
Of the wind through its trees,
It stirs,
With delight for those who hear it.
If you ask about its shade,
There is a single tree in it,
Which,
A swift, diligent rider,
Travels in its shade for a hundred years,
Without crossing it.
If you ask about its vastness,
The lowest of its inhabitants,
Travels within his kingdom, his couches,
His palaces, and his gardens,
For a distance of a thousand years.
If you ask about,
Its tents and pavilions,
A single tent,
Is a hollowed-out pearl,
Sixty miles in height.
Of those tents.
If you ask about its upper chambers,
They are rooms, above which are,
Built rooms,
Beneath which flow,
The rivers.
If you ask about its height,
Look at the star,
Rising or setting on the horizon,
Which one can barely,
Perceive with the eyes.
If you ask about the clothing of its people,
It is silk and gold.
If you ask about their furnishings,
Their linings,
Are of thick silk,
Spread out in the highest,
Ranks.
If you ask about their thrones,
They are couches upon which,
Are curtains, fastened,
With buttons of gold.
They have no gaps,
Nor openings.
If you ask about the faces of its people,
And their beauty, it is like,
The image of the moon.
If you ask about their age,
They are thirty-three years old,
In the image,
Of the father of mankind.
If you ask about what they hear,
It is the singing of their spouses,
From the wide-eyed houris.
And higher than that,
Is hearing the voices of the angels,
And the prophets.
And higher than both,
Is the speech of the Lord of the worlds.
If you ask about their mounts,
Upon which they visit one another,
They are noble steeds,
Of whatever Allah wills,
Carrying them wherever,
If you ask about,
Their ornaments and attire,
They are bracelets of gold and pearls.
Upon their heads,
They wear crowns.
If you ask about their servants,
They are immortal youths,
As if they were hidden pearls.
If you ask about,
Their brides and spouses,
They are the full-breasted maidens of equal age,
In whose limbs,
There flows,
The bloom of youth.
The roses and apples,
Are what their cheeks wear.
And the pomegranates,
Are what their bosoms contain.
And the strung pearls,
Are what their mouths hold.
And for softness and delicacy,
Are their waists.
The sun runs,
Through the beauty of her face,
When she appears.
And lightning flashes,
From between her teeth,
When she smiles.
If she meets her beloved,
Then say what you will,
About the meeting of the two luminaries.
And if she speaks,
What is your thought,
Of the conversation of two lovers?
And if he embraces her,
What is your thought,
Of the intertwining of two branches?
He sees his own face,
In the surface of her cheek,
As one sees it in a mirror,
Which a polisher has burnished.
And he sees the marrow of her shins,
From behind the flesh,
Not hidden by her skin,
Nor her bone,
Nor her garments.
If she were to look upon the world,
She would fill all that is between the earth,
And the sky with fragrance.
And she would cause the mouths,
Of all creation to utter praise,
Magnification, and glorification of Allah.
And she would adorn for herself,
All that is between the horizons.
And every eye,
Would be closed to all else.
And she would eclipse the light of the sun,
Just as the sun,
Eclipses the light of the stars.
And everyone on the face of the earth,
Would believe in Allah, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer.
And her head-covering,
Upon her head,
Is better than the world and all that is in it.
And her union,
Is more desirable to him than all,
His wishes.
She does not increase with the passing,
Of ages, except in beauty,
And splendor.
She does not increase with the length of time,
Except in love and intimacy.
Free from pregnancy and childbirth,
And menstruation and postpartum bleeding.
Purified from mucus,
And saliva,
And urine and excrement,
And all other impurities.
Her youth never fades,
Her garments never wear out,
Her beauty never fades,
nor does the splendor of her attire,
and one never tires of the sweetness of her company.
She has restrained her gaze
for her spouse alone,
never casting it toward anyone
else.
He, too, has restrained his gaze for her,
for she is the ultimate object of his desire
and his heart’s longing.
If he looks at her, she brings him joy,
and if he commands her to obey him,
she obeys.
If he is away from her, she remains chaste,
and he is with her
in absolute peace and security.
This is she,
whom no human has touched before him,
nor any jinn.
Every time he looks at her,
she fills his heart with joy,
and every time she speaks,
she fills his ears
with words like pearls, strung together
or scattered.
When she appears,
she fills the palace and the chamber with light.
If you ask about her age,
they are peers,
in the prime of youth.
If you ask about her beauty,
have you ever seen the sun and the moon?
If you ask about her eyes,
they have the deepest black
in the clearest white,
with the most beautiful, wide-eyed gaze.
If you ask about her stature,
have you ever seen
the most graceful of branches?
If you ask about her bosom,
they are full and firm,
like the swelling
of a pomegranate.
If you ask about her complexion,
it is as if it were ruby
and coral.
If you ask about her character,
they are the virtuous,
the beautiful,
in whom is combined
both outer beauty and inner excellence.
They have been granted beauty of the soul
and of the form,
for they are the delight of the spirits
and the joy of the eyes.
If you ask about the beauty of their companionship
and the pleasure found there,
they are the affectionate, loving women
toward their spouses,
with a gentleness of manner
that blends with the soul
in perfect harmony.
What, then, do you think of a woman
who, when she smiles at the face
of her husband, illuminates
Paradise with her smile?
And when she moves from one palace
to another,
you would say, "This is the sun
moving through the constellations
of its orbit."
If she converses with her husband,
how beautiful is that conversation!
If she embraces him,
how delightful is that
embrace and closeness!
If she sings,
what a delight to the eyes
and the ears!
If she entertains and brings pleasure,
how wonderful is that
companionship and enjoyment!
If she kisses,
there is nothing more desirable
to him than that kiss.
And if she grants herself,
there is nothing more delightful or sweeter
than that gift.
This is so.
If you ask about the Day of Increase,
and visiting the Almighty, the Praiseworthy,
and seeing His Face,
which is exalted above any representation
or resemblance,
just as you see the sun at midday
and the moon on a full-moon night,
as has been transmitted repeatedly
from the Truthful, the Believed, regarding it—
and that is found
in the Sahih collections, the Sunan,
and the Musnad collections,
from Jarir, Suhayb,
Anas, Abu Hurayrah,
Abu Musa, and Abu Sa'id—
then listen:
The day the caller calls out,
"O people of Paradise,
your Lord,
Blessed and Exalted is He, invites you to visit Him,
so come forth to
His visitation."
They will say, "We hear
and we obey."
They will rise to the visitation, hastening.
Suddenly, the noble mounts
have been prepared for them,
and they will mount upon their backs,
rushing.
Until, when they reach the wide
valley that was appointed
as their meeting place,
and they are gathered there,
the caller will not leave any of them
behind.
The Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, will command
His Throne to be set up there.
Then there will be set up for them
pulpits of light,
pulpits of pearl,
pulpits of chrysolite,
pulpits of gold,
and pulpits of silver.
The lowest of them—
and far be it from them that there should be among them
anyone of low status—will sit upon mounds
of musk,
and they will not feel that those on the pulpits
are above them in gifts.
Until, when they are settled
in their seats
and their places are secure,
the caller will call out,
"O people of Paradise,
you have a promise from Allah
that He wishes
to fulfill for you."
They will say, "What is it?
Has He not whitened our faces,
weighed down our scales,
admitted us into Paradise,
and distanced us from
the Fire?"
While they are in that state,
a light will shine upon them,
for which Paradise will glow.
They will raise their heads,
and there is the Almighty, Majestic is He,
looking down upon them from above.
He will say, "O people of Paradise,
peace be upon you."
This greeting will be answered with nothing
better
than their saying,
"O Allah, You are Peace,
and from You is peace.
Blessed are You, O Possessor of
Majesty and Honor."
Then the Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, will manifest to them,
smiling at them,
and He will say,
"O people of Paradise!"
The first thing they will hear
from Him,
Exalted is He,
will be,
"Where are My servants who
obeyed Me in the unseen
and did not see Me?
This is the Day of Increase."
They will agree upon
one word:
"We are pleased,
so be pleased with us."
He will say,
"O people of Paradise,
I am pleased with you.
I did not settle you in My Paradise—
this is the Day of Increase—
except to ask of Me."
They will agree upon one word:
"Show us Your Face,
that we may look upon it."
So the Lord,
Majestic is His Majesty, will remove the veils
and manifest to them,
and there will cover them of His light
that which, had Allah,
Exalted is He, not decreed
So that they are not consumed,
and there remains in that
gathering no one
but that their Lord,
Exalted is He, addresses them directly,
to the point that He says, "O
so-and-so, do you remember
the day you did such-and-such?"
reminding him of some
of his betrayals in the worldly life.
He will say, "O
my Lord, did You not forgive me?"
He will reply, "Indeed,
it is by My forgiveness
that you have reached this station of yours."
Oh, the delight of the ears
at that discourse,
and oh, the joy of the eyes
of the righteous as they gaze
upon the Noble Countenance
in the abode of the Hereafter.
And oh, the humiliation of those returning
with a losing bargain.
[Some] faces that Day
will be radiant,
looking toward their Lord.
And [some] faces
that Day
will be contorted,
expecting that there will be done to them
something back-breaking.
So hasten to the Gardens of Eden,
for they are
our original homes,
and therein is our encampment.
But we are captives of
the enemy; so do you think
we shall return to our
homelands and be safe?
O Allah, we
ask You for Paradise and its bliss,
and we ask You for the highest
level of Paradise,
without reckoning
or punishment.
O Allah, amen.
And the journey has a continuation;
it is
Paradise.