Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Chapters on the description of Paradise
كتاب صفة الجنة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
Chapter 1
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ شَجَرِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘In Paradise there is a tree whose shade a rider could travel beneath for a hundred years.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith sahih and noted related reports from Anas and Abu Saeed.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Saeed al-Khudri reported that the Prophet said, ‘In Paradise there is a tree beneath whose shade a rider could travel for a hundred years without reaching its end.’ He said, ‘That is the extended shade.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib from Abu Saeed.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Every tree in Paradise has a trunk of gold.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib, referring to it as a report from Abu Saeed.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says that each tree's trunk (sāq) is made of gold; ‘trunk’ is used instead of the English witness's broader ‘tree.’ Abu Isa's grading note calls it a report from Abu Saeed, although the chain shown here runs from Abu Hurairah; both attributions are preserved as they appear in the source.
Chapter 2
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ الْجَنَّةِ وَنَعِيمِهَا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported: ‘We said, “Messenger of Allah, why is it that when we are with you our hearts soften, we turn away from worldly things, and feel like people of the Hereafter; but when we leave you, spend time with our families, and are with our children, we hardly recognize ourselves?” The Messenger of Allah said, “If you could remain in the state you are in when you leave me, the angels would visit you in your homes. If you never sinned, Allah would bring another people who would sin, so that He could forgive them.” I asked, “Messenger of Allah, from what was creation made?” He said, “From water.” We asked, “What is Paradise built from?” He said, “A brick of silver and a brick of gold; its mortar is fragrant musk, its pebbles are pearls and rubies, and its soil is saffron. Whoever enters it will live in comfort and never suffer, will remain there and never die; their garments will not wear out and their youth will not fade.” He then said, “Three people’s supplications are not rejected: a just leader, a fasting person when breaking the fast, and the supplication of the wronged. It rises above the clouds, the gates of heaven are opened for it, and the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, says, ‘By My might, I will surely help you, even if after a time.’” Abu Isa said that this hadith’s chain was not strong and, in his view, was disconnected; he noted another chain from Abu Hurairah that reports it from the Prophet.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic phrase about being with one's children literally says ‘we smell our children’; the translation conveys being close to and spending time with one's family without adding a specific action.
Al-Tirmidhi explicitly describes the chain as weak and disconnected in his view, while noting another chain from Abu Hurairah. The page labels the report Da'if (Darussalam).
Chapter 3
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ غُرَفِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ali reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘In Paradise are chambers whose exteriors can be seen from within and whose interiors can be seen from outside.’ A Bedouin stood and asked, ‘Who are they for, Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘For those who speak well, feed others, fast regularly, and pray to Allah at night while people are asleep.’ Abu Isa described this hadith as gharīb. He noted that some scholars criticized the memory of this Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq, a Kufan, and distinguished him from Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq al-Qurashi, a Medinan who was more reliable.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source explicitly distinguishes two transmitters named Abd al-Rahman ibn Ishaq: the Kufan in this chain and the more reliable Qurashi Medinan.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abdullah ibn Qays reported from his father that the Prophet said: ‘In Paradise are two gardens whose vessels and everything in them are of silver, and two gardens whose vessels and everything in them are of gold. Nothing will remain between the people and their seeing their Lord except the cloak of Majesty upon His face in the Garden of Eden.’
Through the same chain, the Prophet also said: ‘In Paradise there is a tent of hollowed pearl, sixty miles wide. In each corner of it is a household; they do not see the others, and the believer visits them in turn.’
Abu Isa graded this hadith sahih. He identified Abu Imran al-Jawni as Abd al-Malik ibn Habib. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said that the name of Abu Bakr ibn Abi Musa was unknown. Abu Musa al-Ashari was Abdullah ibn Qays, and Abu Malik al-Ashari was Saad ibn Tariq ibn Ashyam.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic presents two reports through the same chain; they are separated into paragraphs for clarity.
The first report's phrase about the cloak of Majesty and seeing the Lord is translated closely to the Arabic wording.
The second report says each corner of the pearl tent has a household and that the believer visits them in turn; no family size is specified.
Chapter 4
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ دَرَجَاتِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘In Paradise are one hundred levels, with a distance of one hundred years between each two levels.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic gives the distance between each pair of levels as a hundred years; it does not specify a unit of travel.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muadh ibn Jabal reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever fasts Ramadan, performs the prayers, and makes pilgrimage to the House—I do not know whether he mentioned zakat or not—Allah is bound to forgive him, whether he emigrates for Allah’s sake or remains in the land where he was born.’ Muadh asked, ‘Should I tell people about this?’ The Messenger of Allah replied, ‘Leave people to act. There are one hundred levels in Paradise, and the distance between each two levels is like the distance between heaven and earth. Al-Firdaws is the highest and central part of Paradise; above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful, and from it the rivers of Paradise flow. When you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws.’ Abu Isa said that the version through Zaid ibn Aslam, Ata ibn Yasar, and Muadh was sounder in his view than Hammam’s version through Ata from Ubadah ibn al-Samit. He noted, however, that Ata did not meet Muadh, who died during Umar’s caliphate.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source narrator explicitly says he does not know whether zakat was mentioned in the list of deeds; this uncertainty is retained.
The source page labels the report Sahih. Abu Isa compares variant chains but also notes that Ata ibn Yasar did not meet Muadh; this chain discontinuity is preserved rather than resolved.
Al-Firdaws is rendered with its Arabic name. The Arabic describes it as the highest and central part of Paradise and says the rivers flow from it.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ubadah ibn al-Samit reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘In Paradise are one hundred levels, and the distance between each two levels is like the distance between heaven and earth. Al-Firdaws is the highest level; the four rivers of Paradise flow from it, and above it is the Throne. When you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws.’ A second chain gives a similar report.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This unit gives a separate wording of the report about Paradise's levels: it specifies four rivers flowing from al-Firdaws and says the Throne is above it. No grading statement appears in the Arabic text of this unit.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Saeed reported that the Prophet said, ‘There are one hundred levels in Paradise. If all people were gathered in any one of them, it would be spacious enough to contain them.’ Abu Isa described this hadith as gharīb.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘the worlds/people’ (al-ʿālamīn); the English witness interprets this as all the inhabitants of Paradise. The translation retains the broader wording without specifying further.
Chapter 5
فِي صِفَةِ نِسَاءِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abdullah ibn Masud reported that the Prophet said: ‘The whiteness of the shin of a woman among the people of Paradise will be visible through seventy garments, until her marrow can be seen. This is because Allah, Exalted is He, says, “As though they were rubies and coral.” A ruby is a stone through which, if you pass a thread and polish away its cloudiness, you can see it from the other side.’ A second chain gives a similar report.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic quotes the description ‘as though they were ruby and coral’ and explains the ruby's translucence by comparing it to a thread visible through a polished stone.
No grading statement appears in this source unit's Arabic text.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
A report from Abdullah ibn Masud gives similar wording in meaning but does not attribute it to the Prophet. Abu Isa considered this more accurate than the version narrated by Ubaidah ibn Humayd. He noted that Jarir and more than one other transmitter from Ata ibn al-Saib likewise reported it without attributing it to the Prophet. In another route, Qutaybah reported from Jarir, from Ata, a report similar to Abu al-Ahwas’s; Ata’s companions did not attribute it to the Prophet, and Abu Isa said this was more accurate.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This source unit is a chain and attribution note; it refers back to the preceding report but does not repeat its full wording. ‘Did not attribute it to the Prophet’ renders lam yarfaʿūhu.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Saeed al-Khudri reported that the Prophet said: ‘The faces of the first group to enter Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will shine like the full moon, and the second group will shine like the brightest star in the sky. Each man among them will have two wives, each wearing seventy garments, through which the marrow of her shins will be visible.’ Abu Isa graded this report hasan.
A second chain from Abu Saeed gives a similar report: ‘The first group to enter Paradise will be like the full moon, and the second like the brightest star in the sky. Each man among them will have two wives, each wearing seventy garments, through which the marrow of her shins will be visible.’ Abu Isa graded this version sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says that each wife wears seventy garments (ḥullah), not bracelets as stated in the English witness; the translation follows the Arabic in both reports.
The source gives two chains and distinct grades: Abu Isa calls the first report hasan and the second sahih. They are kept separate rather than collapsed into a single account.
Chapter 6
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ جِمَاعِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas reported that the Prophet said, ‘A believer in Paradise will be given such-and-such strength for sexual intercourse.’ He was asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, will he be able to do that?’ He replied, ‘He will be given the strength of one hundred.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith sahih gharib. He said that this wording from Qatadah, from Anas, was known only through the report of Imran al-Qattan; he also noted a related report from Zayd ibn Arqam.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic leaves the initial amount unspecified (‘such-and-such strength’) and then answers that he will be given the strength of one hundred; no further unit or multiplier is stated.
Chapter 7
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The first group to enter Paradise will look like the full moon. They will not spit, have a runny nose, or defecate. Their vessels will be of gold, their combs of gold and silver, their incense burners of aloeswood, and their perspiration will be musk. Each will have two wives, so beautiful that the marrow of their shins will be visible through the flesh. There will be no discord or mutual hatred among them; their hearts will be like one man's heart, and they will glorify Allah morning and evening.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith sahih and explained that al-uluwwah means al-oud, or aloeswood.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Al-Tirmidhi explicitly glosses al-uluwwah as al-oud; ‘aloeswood’ is used for the aromatic wood in the incense burners.
The Arabic says their combs are made of gold and silver; the wording is retained in that order.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Prophet said: ‘If even a fragment of what is in Paradise, as small as what a fingernail can hold, were to appear, it would adorn the far reaches of the heavens and the earth. If a man of Paradise were to look out and his bracelets became visible, they would eclipse the light of the sun as the sun eclipses the light of the stars.’ Abu Isa described this hadith as gharīb, known through this chain only from Ibn Lahi‘ah. He noted that Yahya ibn Ayyub transmitted it from Yazid ibn Abi Habib with a different chain, naming Umar ibn Saad ibn Abi Waqqas directly from the Prophet.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The hadith is transmitted with differing chains: this version goes through Dawud ibn Amir ibn Saad, his father, and his grandfather; Yahya ibn Ayyub's version names Umar ibn Saad directly. Abu Isa records the variation without resolving it.
The phrase about what a fingernail can hold describes an extremely small portion of Paradise's contents.
Chapter 8
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ ثِيَابِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The people of Paradise will be without body hair and beardless, with kohl-darkened eyes. Their youth will never fade, and their garments will never wear out.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses three descriptive terms: jurd (without body hair), murd (beardless), and kuhl (with kohl-darkened eyes). The English renders them directly rather than leaving murd untranslated.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Saeed reported that, regarding Allah’s words ‘and elevated couches’ (Qur’an 56:34), the Prophet said, ‘Their elevation is like the distance between heaven and earth: a journey of five hundred years.’ Abu Isa described this hadith as gharīb, known only through the report of Rashdin ibn Saad. Some scholars explained that the couches are in different levels, with the distance between the levels like that between heaven and earth.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives both the transmitted explanation of the verse and an alternative interpretation from some scholars; both are retained.
The Arabic names a journey of five hundred years as the measure of distance; it does not specify a mode of travel.
Chapter 9
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ ثِمَارِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Asma bint Abu Bakr said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah speak of the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary. He said, “A rider could travel for a hundred years in the shade of one of its branches”—or, “a hundred riders could shelter in its shade.” Yahya was uncertain which wording was correct. He also said, “It contains golden butterflies, and its fruit is like al-qilal.”’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Yahya explicitly expresses doubt between two descriptions: one rider traveling beneath a branch for a hundred years, or one hundred riders sheltering in its shade.
The source leaves ‘al-qilal’ unexplained; it is retained in transliteration rather than assigning a specific fruit shape.
Chapter 10
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ طَيْرِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah was asked, ‘What is al-Kawthar?’ He replied, ‘It is a river Allah has given me in Paradise, whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. In it are birds whose necks are like the necks of camels.’ Umar remarked, ‘How splendid they are!’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Those who eat them are even more splendid.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan. He identified Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Muslim as the nephew of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri and noted that Abdullah ibn Muslim narrated from Ibn Umar and Anas ibn Malik.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes the birds with a term of softness or luxuriance; the English witness takes Umar's remark as referring to their plumpness. The translation uses ‘splendid’ to preserve the appreciative sense without narrowing the image to body shape.
The source specifies that al-Kawthar is a river in Paradise.