Sunan Ibn Majah
Zuhd
كتاب الزهد
Chapter 38
صِفَةِ النَّارِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Abbas ibn Muhammad al-Duri narrated to us: Yahya ibn Abi Bukayr narrated to us: Sharik narrated to us, from Asim, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: The Fire was fueled for a thousand years until it turned white; then it was fueled for a thousand years until it turned red; then it was fueled for a thousand years until it turned black. It is black like the darkest night.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic repeats a thousand years three times, with the color changing from white to red to black. The final comparison is to a dark night.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Khalil ibn Amr narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Salamah al-Harrani narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, from Humayd al-Tawil, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection, the person among the disbelievers who enjoyed the greatest ease in this world will be brought, and it will be said: Dip him once into the Fire. He will be dipped into it, then it will be said to him: So-and-so, did you ever experience any comfort? He will say: No comfort ever came to me. Then the believer who suffered the greatest hardship and affliction will be brought, and it will be said: Dip him once into Paradise. He will be dipped into it, then it will be said to him: So-and-so, did you ever experience hardship or affliction? He will say: No hardship or affliction ever came to me.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic contrasts the disbeliever with the greatest worldly comfort and the believer with the severest hardship, and then asks each about comfort or suffering after a single immersion. The English witness has a typographical error in the question to the first person; the Arabic is clear.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman narrated to us: Isa ibn al-Mukhtar narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Abi Layla, from Atiyyah al-Awfi, from Abu Said al-Khudri, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: The disbeliever will indeed become immense, until his molar is larger than Uhud. The proportion of his body to his molar will be like the proportion of one of your bodies to your molar.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report uses the comparison with Mount Uhud for the disbelievers molar, then compares body-to-molar proportions. The translation retains both comparisons without attempting to reconcile the scale.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abd al-Rahim ibn Sulayman narrated to us, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, who said: Abdullah ibn Qays told us: One night I was with Abu Burdah, and al-Harith ibn Uqaysh came to us. That night al-Harith told us that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Among my community are those through whose intercession more than the number of Mudar will enter Paradise. And among my community are those who will be made immense for the Fire until they become one of its corners.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source transmits the Prophetic report through al-Harith ibn Uqaysh, who visited Abdullah ibn Qays and Abu Burdah. The comparison with Mudar is retained as a tribal reference; the final phrase says a person will be enlarged for the Fire until becoming one of its corners.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Ubayd narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Yazid al-Raqashi, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Weeping will be sent upon the people of the Fire, and they will weep until their tears are exhausted. Then they will weep blood until it forms on their faces like furrows; if ships were sent into them, they would sail.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes the blood on their faces as having the form of furrows and says ships would sail in it. The translation preserves this image without converting it to an explanatory comparison.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Ibn Abi Adi narrated to us, from Shubah, from Sulayman, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited: O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims. [Quran 3:102] Then he said: If a drop of Zaqqum were dropped on the earth, it would ruin the livelihood of the people of this world. Then how will it be for one who has no food other than it?
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic includes the full Quranic clause from 3:102 before the saying about Zaqqum. Zaqqum is named without an explanatory gloss in the source; the question at the end emphasizes the plight of those whose only food is Zaqqum.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abadah al-Wasiti narrated to us: Yaqub ibn Muhammad al-Zuhri narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Sad narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Ata ibn Yazid, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: The Fire will consume the son of Adam except for the mark of prostration. Allah has forbidden the Fire to consume the mark of prostration.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic repeats the exception for the mark of prostration and explicitly states that Allah has forbidden the Fire to consume it.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Bishr narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection, death will be brought and made to stand on the Bridge. It will be said: People of Paradise! They will look up, fearful and apprehensive that they might be taken from the place they occupy. Then it will be said: People of the Fire! They will look up, hopeful and joyful that they might be taken from the place they occupy. It will be said: Do you recognize this? They will say: Yes, this is death. Then it will be commanded to be slaughtered upon the Bridge. Then it will be said to both groups: You will abide forever in what you now experience; there will never be death in it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes each group looking up with opposite expectations: the people of Paradise fear being removed, while the people of the Fire hope to be removed. Death is then slaughtered on the Bridge, and both are told there will be no death in their respective state.
Chapter 39
صِفَةِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has never occurred to any human heart. Abu Hurayrah said: And beyond what Allah has already shown you, recite, if you wish: No soul knows what joy of the eyes has been hidden for them as a reward for what they used to do. [Quran 32:17] He said: Abu Hurayrah used to recite it as joys of the eyes.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic continues after the divine saying with Abu Hurayrahs own reference to Quran 32:17 and reports his recitation in the plural form قرات أعين, unlike the verse wording قرّة أعين. The English witness omits both additions; they are retained here as part of the Arabic source.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from Hajjaj, from Atiyyah, from Abu Said al-Khudri, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: A handspan in Paradise is better than the earth and all that is on it—this world and all that it contains.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic appends this world and all that is in it after the reference to the earth and all it contains, clarifying the comparison.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us: Zakariyya ibn Manzur narrated to us: Abu Hazim narrated to us, from Sahl ibn Sad, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A space in Paradise the size of a whip is better than this world and all that it contains.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says a place or space in Paradise the size of a whip; the English witness similarly renders it as a place the size of a whip.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Suwayd ibn Said narrated to us: Hafs ibn Maysarah narrated to us, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ata ibn Yasar, that Muadh ibn Jabal said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Paradise has one hundred levels, each level spanning the distance between heaven and earth. The highest of them is al-Firdaws, and its middle is al-Firdaws. The Throne is above al-Firdaws, and from it the rivers of Paradise flow forth. When you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says both that al-Firdaws is the highest level and that it is the middle of Paradise (أوسطها); the English witness gives best for the second phrase, but the Arabic has been retained. The Throne is said to be above al-Firdaws, from which the rivers flow.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Abbas ibn Uthman al-Dimashqi narrated to us: al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Muhajir al-Ansari narrated to us: al-Dahhak al-Maafiri narrated to me, from Sulayman ibn Musa, from Kurayb, the freedman of Ibn Abbas, who said: Usamah ibn Zayd narrated to me that one day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: Is there anyone who will strive for Paradise? Paradise has no equal, by the Lord of the Kaabah! It is radiant light, a swaying fragrant plant, a lofty palace, a flowing river, abundant ripe fruit, a beautiful and lovely wife, and many garments, in an everlasting abode, in delight and freshness, in a high, secure, splendid dwelling. They said: We will strive for it, Messenger of Allah. He said: Say, If Allah wills. Then he mentioned jihad and encouraged it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic includes a full series of images for Paradise, then has the Companions pledge themselves to strive for it and the Prophet direct them to say if Allah wills. The final sentence says he then mentioned jihad and urged it. The English witness renders several clauses differently and has typographical errors; the Arabic wording is followed.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from Umarah ibn al-Qaqqaa, from Abu Zurah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The first group to enter Paradise will be in the form of the moon on the night of the full moon. Those who follow them will be in the light of the brightest shining star in the sky. They will not urinate, defecate, blow their noses, or spit. Their combs will be of gold, their perspiration musk, and their censers aloeswood. Their spouses will be the wide-eyed houris. Their character will be that of a single man, and their form will be that of their father Adam, sixty cubits tall. Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, with a report like the hadith of Ibn Fudayl from Umarah.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic gives a second chain—Abu Muawiyah, al-Amash, Abu Salih, Abu Hurayrah—and says it reports similarly to Ibn Fudayls narration from Umarah. The source describes the censers with aluwah, rendered as aloeswood, rather than pearls as in the English witness. It uses a cubit (dhira) for Adams height.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Wasil ibn Abd al-Ala, Abdullah ibn Said, and Ali ibn al-Mundhir narrated to us: They said: Muhammad ibn Fudayl narrated to us, from Ata ibn al-Saib, from Muharib ibn Dithar, from Ibn Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Al-Kawthar is a river in Paradise. Its banks are of gold, and its course runs over ruby and pearls. Its soil is more fragrant than musk, and its water is sweeter than honey and whiter than snow.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic gives three narrators jointly at the start of the chain. It describes the rivers course as running over ruby and pearls; the remaining comparisons are fragrance to musk and sweetness and whiteness of its water.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Umar al-Darir narrated to us: Abd al-Rahman ibn Uthman narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Amr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: In Paradise there is a tree whose shade a rider could travel through for one hundred years without crossing beyond it. Recite, if you wish: And extended shade, and flowing water. [Quran 56:30–31]
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic follows the saying about the tree with a Quranic citation that includes two phrases: extended shade and flowing water. The English witness cites only the first phrase; both Arabic phrases are translated here.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Ammar narrated to us: Abd al-Hamid ibn Habib ibn Abi al-Ishrin narrated to us: Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr al-Awzai narrated to me: Hassan ibn Atiyyah narrated to me: Said ibn al-Musayyab narrated to me that he met Abu Hurayrah. Abu Hurayrah said: I ask Allah to bring us together in the marketplace of Paradise. Said asked: Is there a marketplace in it? He replied: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told me that when the people of Paradise enter it, they will settle in it according to the merit of their deeds. They will be granted an appointed time equal to a Friday from the days of this world, when they will visit Allah, Mighty and Majestic. His Throne will be displayed to them, and He will appear to them in a garden among the gardens of Paradise. Pulpits of light, pearl, ruby, chrysolite, gold, and silver will be set out for them. The lowest among them—and none of them is low—will sit on dunes of musk and camphor, and they will not think that those on the chairs have a better place to sit. Abu Hurayrah said: I asked, Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord? He said: Yes. Do you dispute seeing the sun and the moon on a full-moon night? We said: No. He said: Likewise, you will not dispute seeing your Lord, Mighty and Majestic. No one will remain in that gathering without Allah, Mighty and Majestic, addressing him directly, until He says to a man among you: Do you remember, so-and-so, the day you did such and such? He will remind him of some of his betrayals in this world. The man will say: My Lord, did You not forgive me? He will say: Indeed; it was through the vastness of My forgiveness that you reached this station. While they are in that state, a cloud will cover them from above and rain down perfume upon them, whose fragrance they have never found the like of. Then He will say: Rise to the honor I have prepared for you, and take whatever you desire. We will come to a marketplace surrounded by angels, containing things like which eyes have never seen, ears have never heard, and hearts have never imagined. Whatever we desire will be brought to us; nothing will be sold or bought there. In that marketplace the people of Paradise will meet one another. A man of high rank will encounter someone below him—and none of them is low—and will be astonished by the clothes he sees him wearing. Before their conversation is over, even finer clothes will appear on him, for no one should grieve there. Then we will return to our homes, where our spouses will meet us and say: Welcome! You have come with greater beauty and fragrance than when you left us. We will say: Today we sat with our Lord, the Compeller, Mighty and Majestic, and it is fitting that we return as we have returned.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic report is lengthy and includes Said ibn al-Musayyabs question about the marketplace, Abu Hurayrahs account of meeting Allah, the reminder of past wrongs and forgiveness, the marketplace scene, and the return to spouses. These portions are all absent from or summarized in the English witness; the translation follows the Arabic in full. It says people settle according to the merit of their deeds and explicitly repeats that none of them is low or insignificant.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn Khalid al-Azraq, Abu Marwan al-Dimashqi, narrated to us: Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Abi Malik narrated to us, from his father, from Khalid ibn Madan, from Abu Umamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no one whom Allah admits to Paradise except that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, marries him to seventy-two wives: two of the wide-eyed houris, and seventy from his inheritance among the people of the Fire. There is not one of them whose private part is desirable, while his male organ does not become limp. Hisham ibn Khalid said: By his inheritance among the people of the Fire he means men who entered the Fire, so the people of Paradise inherited their women, just as the wife of Pharaoh was inherited.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic includes an explicit sexual description and a final explanatory comment attributed to Hisham ibn Khalid. The comment explains the seventy as women inherited from men who entered the Fire, and compares this with the wife of Pharaoh. Both the report and its transmitter gloss are retained; the English witness omits the gloss.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Muadh ibn Hisham narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from Amir al-Ahwal, from Abu al-Siddiq al-Naji, from Abu Said al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When a believer in Paradise desires a child, its gestation and birth will take place in a single hour, just as he desires.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic specifies that both gestation and birth occur within one hour, according to the believers wish. The English witness adds that the child is grown up, which is not stated in the Arabic.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Jarir narrated to us, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from Abidah, from Abdullah ibn Masud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I know the last of the people of the Fire to come out of it and the last of the people of Paradise to enter it. He is a man who will emerge from the Fire crawling. It will be said to him: Go and enter Paradise. He will come to it, and it will seem to him that it is full, so he will return and say: My Lord, I found it full. Allah will say: Go and enter Paradise. He will come to it, and it will seem to him that it is full, so he will return and say: My Lord, I found it full. Allah, Glorified is He, will say: Go and enter Paradise. He will come to it, and it will seem to him that it is full, so he will return and say: My Lord, it is full. Allah will say: Go and enter Paradise, for you will have the like of the world and ten times as much—or you will have ten times the like of the world. He will say: Are You mocking me—or laughing at me—when You are the King? Abdullah said: I saw the Messenger of Allah laugh until his molars showed. It used to be said: This is the lowest in rank among the people of Paradise.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic repeats three attempts in which the man imagines Paradise to be full and returns; the final divine promise has two alternative wordings, ten times as much as the world or ten times the worlds like. His response also has two alternatives, mocking or laughing. The concluding statement identifies his rank as the lowest among the people of Paradise.