How would it be like when we are invited to the house of someone we admire and adore? Maybe a much-loved Leader, a celebrity we like, a religious man we look up to or someone who we know is better than us.
I remembered being invited to the family mansion of a family friend of ours last year. The house was massive, and none I had ever entered was of that size.
Each of the bedrooms was so big that you could play a small football match inside of them. They could easily house 4 double-beds in each of the four bedrooms. Each bathroom had a Jacuzzi and a separate shower area.
It was picture perfect, and had a big garden and a swimming pool as well. I was truly amazed. And it felt quite surreal.
What is Paradise Like?
And then I thought, what other house have we been invited to? Allah says in the Quran:
And Allah invites to the Home of Peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path. (10:25)
Allah invites us to the home of peace. What does the word peace mean anyway? In Arabic it is “Salam”- something we commonly know and use. And yet, what is salam? Salam is that state where one is safe, secure, free and perfect.
The house that Allah invites us to is the house of the hereafter. It is the house about which Allah states has rivers flowing in them beneath gardens. Gardens that are so much that the word for garden (Jannah) is the same word for that house.
The ceiling of the garden is the Throne of the Most Merciful King. The houses in the garden for the guests are made of bricks of gold and silver.
There will be food aplenty, as much as you want. There will be entertainment, whatever you want. There will be rivers of wine, of milk or whatever it is that you would like for it to be there.
The trees will be huge, and passing through the shade of that tree will take years. In fact, even the tree will have trunks of gold and silver. The fruits from the tree will be softer than butter and sweeter than honey. To make it short- Allah says in Surah Fussilat that therein will be everything that the heart desires.
There is More
And yet, there is more. How can there be more than whatever material we want? How can there be more than each person being given an estate that will take hundreds of years to cross through? Let us allow Ibn al-Qayyim to describe:
“… On the day that the caller will call:
‘O People of Paradise! Your Lord – Blessed and Exalted – requests you to visit Him, so come to visit Him!’
So they will say:
‘We hear and obey!’
Until, when they finally reach the wide valley where they will all meet – and none of them will turn down the request of the caller – the Lord – Blessed and Exalted – will order His Chair to be brought there.
Then, pulpits of light will emerge, as well as pulpits of pearls, gemstone, gold, and silver. The lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk, and will not see what those who are on the chairs above them are given. When they are comfortable where they are sitting and are secure in their places, and the caller calls:
‘O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allah in which He wishes to reward you!’
So they will say:
‘And what is that reward? Has He not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?’
And when they are like that, all of a sudden a light shines that encompasses all of Paradise. So, they raise their heads, and, behold: the Compeller – Exalted is He, and Holy are His Names – has come to them from above them and majestified them and said:
‘O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!’
So, this greeting will not be responded to with anything better than:
‘O Allah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty and Honor!’
So the Lord – Blessed and Exalted – will laugh to them and say:
‘O People of Paradise! Where are those who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? This is the Day of Increase!’
So, they will all give the same response:
‘We are pleased, so be pleased with us!’
So, He will say:
‘O People of Paradise! If I were not pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabitants of My Paradise! So, ask of Me!’
So, they will all give the same response:
‘Show us your Face so that we may look at it!’
Seeing Him
So, the Lord – Mighty and Majestic – will remove his covering and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allah – the Exalted – had not Willed not to burn them, would have burned them.
And there will not remain a single person in this gathering except that his Lord – the Exalted – will speak to him and say:
‘Do you remember the day that you did this and that?’ and He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the Worldly life, so he will say:
‘O Lord! Will you not forgive me?’
So, He will say:
‘Of course! You have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.’
So, how sweet is this speech to the ears, and how cooled are the righteous eyes by the glance at His Noble Face in the Afterlife…
Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, looking at their Lord… (Quran 75:22-23)” (From Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim)
Brothers and sisters if you have come this far, remember the house of peace that Allah has made for us.
Remember the house where we will finally be able to see Allah. Whenever you feel down in life, whenever you feel like letting go of Allah’s deen, whenever you feel like you cannot take any more, come back and read this. Ponder it, think about it and seek it. Paradise is true, and nothing is more important than that.
Allah has given us the invite, are we willing to do what it takes to be allowed entry?
(From Discovering Islam’s archive.)