What is Paradise (Jannah) in Islam?
'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined.' The Qur'an's descriptions of Jannah are deliberate hints of a reality that exceeds language — and the classical scholars traced every hint.
10 passages from 7 books in the library
Paradise (Jannah) is the abode of eternal reward, described in the cited classical works as a place of gardens, trees, rivers, gates, rooms, and "various delights." Imam al-Ghazali, in the Iḥyāʾ, speaks of forsaking this world's adornment for the adornment of Paradise and names companions such as Abu Bakr and Abdur-Rahman ibn Auf as among its people. Strikingly, al-Ghazali teaches that gazing upon Allah is "higher than Paradise itself" — the ultimate goal of its dwellers. Ibn Kathir relates the prophetic accounts of entering and descending from it.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 7 books by Ibn al-Qayyim, Imam al-Dhahabī, Imam al-Ghazali, and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
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"Whoever enters it enters that paradise, and whoever does not shall not enter the paradise. paradise of the hereafter. The Prophet, peace be upon him, alluded to this paradise by saying, when you pass by the gardens of paradise, graze therein. They asked, what are the gardens of paradise? He replied, the circles of remembrance, the life of a sound heart. The Prophet also said, what lies between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of paradise. Do not assume that Almighty God's words, indeed, the righteous are in bliss, and indeed, the wicked are in a furnace, are confined solely to the day of resurrection. The righteous experience"
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"The sincere believer, devoted to Allah, is among the most serene in living, the most at ease in heart, the most content in spirit, and the happiest in soul. This is an immediate paradise before the eternal paradise. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, If you pass by the gardens of paradise, then graze freely. They asked, What are the gardens of paradise?"
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"Another said, There are moments that pass through the heart where I say, If the inhabitants of paradise are in such a state, they are indeed in a blessed life. Another remarked, There is a paradise in this world akin to the paradise in the Hereafter. Whoever enters it enters that paradise, and whoever does not shall not enter the paradise."
13th–14th century · Damascus, Syria
Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ — the monumental biographical dictionary of Islamic scholarship, from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ through al-Dhahabī's own era. A working-scholar reference used for seven centuries.
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"I bear witness to what I heard with my own ears and what my heart retained from the Messenger of Allah, for I would not narrate falsely from him. He said: 'Abu Bakr is in Paradise, Umar is in Paradise, Ali is in Paradise, Uthman is in Paradise, Talha is in Paradise, Zubair is in Paradise, Abdur-Rahman is in Paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik is in Paradise,' and the ninth of the believers is in Paradise, and if I wished to name him, I would.""
14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
More on Ibn al-Qayyim →
· Provenance →
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""Oh, the fragrance of Paradise! By اللّٰه, I find its scent beyond أُحُد." From this comes the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: "When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, graze therein." They asked, "And what are the gardens of Paradise?" He said, "The circles of remembrance." And from this is his saying: "What is between my house and my pulpit is a garden from the gardens of Paradise." It is a garden for the people of knowledge and faith, for what arises in their hearts from the signs of Paradise is so vivid to the believers that it is as if they see it with their own eyes."
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"and after the afternoon until the sun sets." It is known that they did not use the explicit word 'testimony'. Similarly, when the Prophet testified that ten individuals would enter Paradise, he did not use the word 'testimony' explicitly but simply stated: "أَبُو بَكْر is in Paradise, عُمَر is in Paradise, عُثْمَان is in Paradise, عَلِيّ is in Paradise," and so on."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
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"loving other than God, and thereby sharing his love for God with another. Or he abandons it aspiring for the reward of God in the Hereafter, thus forsaking the pleasures of worldly drinks for the drinks of Paradise, forsaking the enjoyment of maidens in this world for the maidens of Paradise, forsaking the gardens of this world for the gardens and trees of Paradise, forsaking adornment in this world for the adornment of Paradise, and forsaking delicious foods for the fruits of Paradise out of fear of being told, 'You exhausted your pleasures during your worldly life."
14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
More on Ibn al-Qayyim →
· Provenance →
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"Lord, what goodness and grace have they been deprived of? And with Allah is success. Whoever wishes to dwell in the gardens of Paradise in this world, as narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah, said, The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came out to us and said, O people, graze in the gardens of Paradise. We said, O Messenger of Allah, and what are the gardens of Paradise? He said, The gatherings of remembrance. Then he said, Go in the mornings and evenings and remember."
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
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"Guidance and support of Allah the Hadith scholar Abu Hatim Muhammad Ibn Hibban said in his Sahih The mention of Moses the interlocutor of Allah asking his Lord about the lowest and highest ranks of the people of paradise It is narrated that Moses asked his Lord which of the people of paradise has the lowest rank Allah said a man who comes after the people of paradise have entered paradise. It will be said to him enter paradise He will say how can I enter when people have taken their places and received their portions?"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"serpent descended in Isfahan, narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim as well. Al-Sudi said, Adam descended in India with the black stone and a handful of leaves from paradise. He scattered them in India, and the fragrant tree grew there. From Ibn Umar, he said, Adam was descended at al-Safa and Eve at al-Marwah, narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim also. Abd al-Razak said, Umar told me from Auf, from Qasama bin Zuhair, from Abu Musa al-Ashari, who said, Indeed, when Allah descended Adam from paradise to earth, he taught him the craft of everything, and provided him with fruits from paradise. Hence, your fruits here are from the fruits of paradise, but these change, whereas those do not change."
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