29 - Heaven

1. This is a hadith which the Prophet (peace be upon him) narrates as stated by God, Mighty and Exalted, but it is not part of the Qur’an. It is called qudsī hadith, i.e. a sacred hadith.[1]

2. God, Blessed and Exalted, states that He has prepared for His devout servants, as reward for their obedience and worship, what they have never seen. They have hardly seen things that bear the same names, such as trees and rivers, as well as palaces made of gold, silver, carved pearls, etc. 

3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasizes that the luxuries of Heaven are unlike anything in our world. Indeed, no one has ever heard of what they are like.

4. God confirms that what He has prepared will never be known to humans in this life. Since they have never experienced anything like it through their two faculties of perception, i.e. seeing and hearing, they cannot imagine the nature of such a splendid life. Whatever people may imagine of types of luxury and comfort, they cannot visualize what they will have.

5. God further confirms all this quoting His own revelation and inviting us to read:

This means that no one knows what God keeps in store for the believers among His servants: it is all happiness, riches, luxuries that delight the eyes and please the souls.The Qur’an frequently speaks about Heaven and its happiness. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘A little place in Heaven where only a whip may be placed is better than this world and all it contains’.[2]

Implementation

1. The best love is to love righteous and devout people, because they are with God,

They present to Him their acts of obedience and worship, but He has no need of that, and He prepares for them what no eye has seen, no ear has heard of and no mind has ever imagined. It behoves every believer to stick to such people. Whenever one feels lazy or complacent, one should remember the fine abode God has made ready for them.

2. Al-Ḥasan said: ‘Such people concealed their [good] deeds in this present life; so God has concealed for them what no eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard of’[3]. In this case, every Muslim should do in private what no one knows except the One who has prepared that abundance of secret luxury.

3. Heaven is already in existence, and God has prepared it for his righteous servants. If some worldly but forbidden pleasure is offered to you, remind yourself that Heaven is already waiting and it is only a matter of perseverance for a short time before you will be taken there. 

4. Many people feel the temptation of worldly pleasures, imagine themselves enjoying them and hope to have them, even though the entire pleasures and enjoyments of this world, real and imaginary, cannot equal a hand span in Heaven. A wise person will keep reminding himself of Heaven and what it offers in order to keep yearning for it.

5. You, as well as your family and friends, should often remember Heaven and its description, and remind others of it. God has made this easier nowadays with easier ways of learning and communication.

6. The greatest blessing of all in Heaven is seeing God, Mighty and Exalted, even though we do not see Him in this life.

Jarīr ibn ‘Abdullāh narrated: ‘We were sitting with God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) when he looked at the moon on a night when it was full and said: “You shall indeed see your Lord as you see this moon, and you shall not be barred from seeing Him”’[4]. The worst suffering that will be inflicted on the wretched ones is that they will be deprived of seeing Him.