Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Chapters on the description of Paradise
كتاب صفة الجنة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
Chapter 23
مَا جَاءَ مَا لأَدْنَى أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ مِنَ الْكَرَامَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘When a believer in Paradise desires a child, its gestation, birth, and growth to the desired age will all take place in a single hour, as he wishes.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan gharīb.’
Scholars differed on this matter. Some said that there is sexual intercourse in Paradise but no children; this was related from Tawus, Mujahid, and Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i. Muhammad said that, regarding the Prophet’s report, ‘When a believer in Paradise desires a child, it will happen in a single hour as he wishes,’ Ishaq ibn Ibrahim said, ‘But he will not desire it.’ Muhammad also said that it was related from Abu Razin al-‘Uqayli that the Prophet said: ‘The people of Paradise will have no children there.’ Abu al-Siddiq al-Naji’s name was Bakr ibn ‘Amr; it is also said that it was Bakr ibn Qays.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source includes the hadith’s hasan gharīb grading, scholarly disagreement and attributions, and the two reported forms of Abu al-Siddiq al-Naji’s name. ‘Growth to the desired age’ clarifies the Arabic wording for a child’s age being completed in an hour; the English witness says ‘complete his aging.’
Chapter 24
مَا جَاءَ فِي كَلاَمِ الْحُورِ الْعِينِ
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 there is a gathering of the wide-eyed houris, where they raise their voices in a way no creature has ever heard. They say: “We are everlasting and will never perish; we live in bliss and will never suffer; we are content and will never be displeased. Blessed is the one who is ours and to whom we belong.”’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘The hadith of ‘Ali is gharīb.’ Other reports on this topic are related from Abu Hurairah, Abu Sa‘id, and Anas.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source calls the gathering for al-hur al-‘in and says their voices are unlike any heard by creatures. It ends with a topical cross-reference to reports from Abu Hurairah, Abu Sa‘id, and Anas, followed by the gharīb grading; this is rendered explicitly rather than the witness’s vague ‘other chains.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Regarding the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, ‘Then they will be in a garden, rejoicing,’ Yahya ibn Abi Kathir said: ‘Listening.’ The meaning of ‘listening’ is like what is mentioned in the hadith: the wide-eyed houris raise their voices.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This is an exegetical statement attributed to Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, not a new Prophetic hadith. The source explains the word al-samā‘ (‘listening’) by reference to the preceding report about the houris’ voices.
Chapter 25
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Three will be upon mounds of musk—I think he said, on the Day of Resurrection—and the earlier and later generations will envy their standing: a man who calls the people to the five daily prayers, day and night; a man who leads a people in prayer while they are pleased with him; and a servant who fulfills his duty to Allah and to his masters.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan gharīb; we know it only through the narration of Sufyan al-Thawri.’ Abu al-Yaqzan’s name was ‘Uthman ibn ‘Umayr; it is also said, ibn Qays.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator expresses uncertainty with ‘I think he said’ regarding the phrase ‘on the Day of Resurrection’; this qualification is retained. Ghibtah here is admiring envy or wishing for a similar standing. The source includes the report’s grading, sole known route, and variant forms of Abu al-Yaqzan’s name.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud reported from the Prophet: ‘There are three whom Allah loves: a man who rises at night reciting the Book of Allah; a man who gives charity with his right hand and conceals it—I think he said, from his left; and a man who is with a detachment whose companions flee, but he stands firm to face the enemy.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is gharīb through this route and is not preserved. The sound version is what Shu‘bah and others narrated from Mansur, from Rib‘i ibn Hirash, from Zayd ibn Zabyan, from Abu Dharr, from the Prophet. Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash makes many errors.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The narrator’s uncertainty about ‘from his left hand’ is preserved. The final clause describes the companions fleeing, not being killed. Abu ‘Isa says this route is not preserved, supplies the sound chain ending with Abu Dharr, and criticizes Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash’s accuracy; the witness omits this transmission-critical commentary.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet said: ‘There are three whom Allah loves and three whom Allah hates. As for those whom Allah loves: a man came to a people and asked them by Allah, without appealing to any kinship between him and them. They refused him, but one man stayed behind after them and secretly gave to him; no one knew of this gift except Allah and the one who gave it. And a people traveled through the night until sleep became dearer to them than anything it could be compared with. They stopped and laid their heads down, but one of them rose, humbly beseeching Me and reciting My verses. And a man who was with a detachment met the enemy when his companions were routed; he faced them, continuing until he was killed or granted victory. The three whom Allah hates are an old man who commits adultery, a poor man who is arrogant, and a rich man who is unjust.’
A second chain, through al-Nadr ibn Shumayl from Shu‘bah, reports the same meaning. Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is sahih. Shayban also narrated something similar from Mansur, and this is sounder than the hadith of Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The prior entry cited the Abu Bakr ibn ‘Ayyash route as not preserved; this entry gives the sounder Abu Dharr route and explicitly compares it favorably with that variant. The Arabic says the companions were routed, not killed, and preserves the endpoint as either death or victory.
Chapter 26
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 Euphrates is soon to uncover a treasure of gold. Whoever is present there, let him take none of it.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan sahih.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Through a different chain, Abu Hurairah reported from the Prophet a hadith similar to the preceding one, except that it says the Euphrates will ‘uncover a mountain of gold.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan sahih.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic variant is ‘a mountain of gold’ (جبل من ذهب), not the ‘pot of gold’ given in the English witness. ‘Similar to it’ refers to the preceding report, including its instruction not to take anything from the treasure.
Chapter 27
مَا جَاءَ فِي صِفَةِ أَنْهَارِ الْجَنَّةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hakim ibn Mu‘awiyah reported from his father that the Prophet said: ‘In Paradise there is a sea of water, a sea of honey, a sea of milk, and a sea of wine; then rivers branch off from them.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan sahih.’ Hakim ibn Mu‘awiyah is the father of Bahz ibn Hakim. Al-Jurayri’s teknonym is Abu Mas‘ud, and his name is Sa‘id ibn Iyas.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source says rivers branch from the four seas (ثم تشقق الأنهار بعد). It also includes narrator identification details omitted from the English witness.
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 said: ‘Whoever asks Allah for Paradise three times, Paradise says, “O Allah, admit him to Paradise.” And whoever seeks protection from the Fire three times, the Fire says, “O Allah, protect him from the Fire.”’ Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq also narrated a similar report from Abu Ishaq, from Burayd ibn Abi Maryam, from Anas, from the Prophet. It has also been narrated from Abu Ishaq, from Burayd ibn Abi Maryam, from Anas as a Companion statement (mawquf).
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source notes both a similar Prophetic (marfu‘) version through Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq and a mawquf version stopping at Anas; the English witness omits this transmission note.