The gardens of Jannah in this world are two.
They're the gardens in which Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
is remembered,
and they are the gardens in which someone else
is remembered for the sake of Allah.
Now, what do I mean by that?
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
that "The circles of knowledge in this life
are gardens of paradise."
How so?
Allah is praising you.
The angels are praising you.
And you are dwelling in a place
where your name is only being increased in rank.
Similarly, the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
that when you go and visit a sick person,
70,000 angels accompany you and Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
gifts you with a garden of many fruit in Jannah."
So SubhanAllah people carry flowers to visit the sick here
and let them know that they're
in their thoughts and prayers.
And Allah, who is never outdone in goodness,
gives those who visit the sick unimaginable gardens
of flowers, that cannot even be perceived in this world.
So when you remember Allah, or you remember someone else
for the sake of Allah,
your gardens of paradise are only expanding.
So you have your palace and you come outside
and you don't have to worry about the weather being bad.
It's beautiful weather in Jannah.
But before we talk about the gardens themselves
what are the other properties that you own
besides your palace?
Because remember, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
did not just give you your own place to dwell
but structures of beauty all around you.
So you go outside and what do you see?
You see the Khiyam, which are tents or pavilions,
that serve primarily as the guest houses.
Ibn Al-Qayyim Rahimahullah
said that "These pavilions are different
from the ghura, from the apartments and from the palaces.
They are pavilions that are situated in the gardens
and on the beaches and the river fronts of Jannah,
and the pavilions are for guests and for enjoyment.
So Imam Ibn Abi al-Dunya
He explains it in this way.
He says that
"All of the heavenly creatures reside in these guest homes
and the palaces are where only the believers live.
So this is what is built for the believers
by the believers
with the permission of Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
So for example, Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says
"Hoorun maqsuratin fil khiyam"
That it is in these guest homes that the
"hoorun 'een"
the maidens reside.
And then when you read about the servants
in Al-Jannah, then they await you
at the gates and the doors of your palace.
And when you want anything
it comes to you without any effort.
And what are the angels doing?
They're constantly checking up on you while you are
in your palace,
but you retire to your palace in privacy.
The Khiyam is also where you meet and receive friends.
So you have this concept of the majalis,
the gatherings in paradise.
And so whether you are in a gathering
let's say in one of the sahaba,
in one of their khiyam, or someone comes to you,
you receive each other and you are received in these Khiyam,
in these pavilions.
And even then, SubhanAllah, privacy is emphasized.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
"The believer in paradise, will have a tent made
out of a single hallowed out pearl and it's 60 miles long.
And as he visits the families and the guests
in each one of them, no one will be able to see the other."
So privacy is being emphasized
just like it is with the ghuraf.
Ibn 'Abbas radiAllahu Anhu and Ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu Anhu
said that this tent will be a gem
of a hollow pearl, one farsakh high
and 50 farsakhs wide.
Now a farsakh is about five miles.
So you can think about
the width and the height of these places.
Then he said that it will have a thousand doors of gold,
and an angel will enter from each door
with a gift from a Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
Subhanallah these are the guest houses,
And inside these guest homes,
you also have day beds that you can relax on.
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says
"Muttaki'eena 'ala furushin bataa'inuha min istabraq
wa jana al-jannatayni dan"
that these believers will recline on furnishings lined
with fine fabric,
and the fruit of both gardens will hang within reach,
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says also,
"Muttaki'eena 'ala rafrafin khudrin
wa 'abqariyyin hisaan"
That they'll be reclining on green cushions
and fine beautiful carpets.
And you also have where Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says
"Fihaa sururin marfoo'ah wa akwabun mawdoo'ah
wa namaariqu masfoofah wa zarabiyyu mabthoothah"
That in it are raised couches, cups put in plates,
cushions lined up, and carpets spread all around.
So basically you have gold doors, green drapes,
green cushions lined up,
and fine green carpets
in these high ceiling guest pavilions.
And these are again in the gardens.
And the gardens themselves
we haven't even started to talk about.
Now how well,
when you think about exotic destinations in this world,
they always have a few things.
They always have beautiful sand
they've got grass and they've got water.
And the theme of Jannah is indeed Jannaat,
these incredible gardens that never
cease to amaze the eye and offer absolute comfort.
And you have all the time in the world.
So a person could stop and admire a flower
for a hundred years and completely be unworried about time.
So let's start with just the ground of Jannah or its soil.
So you got the homes, the guest homes,
and now you're looking into your gardens.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said that
the gravel of Jannah is pearl and ruby,
and that the dirt of Jannah is saffron.
In another narration,
the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
said its dirt is saffron, but its soil is musk.
Ibn Al-Qayyim Rahimahullah,
he reconciles this by saying
that while the color is saffron, the fragrance is musk.
And of course Jannah has variety.
And he said this is the best combination
because it's the best of beauty, and radiance.
And in some narrations,
the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
mentions the grounds being "pure white musk."
So again, more than one surface
and each one being more beautiful than the other.
And in the famous Hadith of Ibrahim 'Alayhi Salaam
giving advice on dhikr,
on the remembrance of Allah, which we will get to.
He said that the plains of Jannah
are white musk with fine grains.
So imagine sandy white beaches,
but imagine now that the beaches have a smell.
and we understand it better when we look
at the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam's journey
on the night of Isra and Mi'raj.
He said Alayhis Salatu WasSalaam
that when Jibreel 'Alayhi Salaam
would strike the ground in paradise
the fragrance would come out.
So imagine that with every step in paradise
a fragrance is elicited
just making it so much more beautiful.
The feel of the soil on your feet
how it smells, how it looks.
All of that is Jannah.
All of that is pleasure.
And in one Hadith the
Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
that the ground of paradise is white.
And in one narration
the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam mentioned hills
and dunes of camphor.
And he said, SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam, that people gather
around these hills and dunes,
and Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
sends upon them while they are gathered,
breezes of mercy that continue to diffuse upon them.
The fragrance of the musk of Jannah.
And when the Sahaba used to hear of these gardens,
They knew that the gardens
of this world meant nothing compared to them.
When Abu Talha
radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
heard
"Lan tanaalu al-birra hatta tunfiqoo mimma tuhiboon"
that you will not achieve righteousness
or its reward being Jannah
until you spend of that which you love most.
So he comes to the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
and he says,
"Ya Rasulullah"
I have this garden of mine in Medina
and it is the most prized garden in Medina.
It was a garden in front of the masjid
of the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
Bir Rooha
and it had all sorts of springs and trees.
And Abu Talha said
I couldn't think of anything more beloved to me than this.
So I'm giving away this garden
because he was seeking that garden in Jannah.
And when Abu Dehdah
radiAllahu Ta'ala Anhu heard
"Mandhaladhi yuqridullaha qardan hasana fa yuda'ifahu lah"
Who will loan to Allah a beautiful loan,
so that Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la
will multiply and grant him a generous reward?"
he immediately comes to the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam and he says
"Here is a garden with 600 palm trees
and I'm giving it for this garden from
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la."
And when he comes to his garden
to tell his wife that he donated it
his wife was picking dates with their son
and he says,
"Ya Umm Dehdah" "Oh Umm Dehdah"
Leave this garden for I sold it for a garden in Jannah.
And she starts knocking the dates out
of her son's hand saying,
"Rabihal baiy', rabihal baiy', rabihal baiy'"
This is a profitable trade,
This is a profitable trade, this is a profitable trade.
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam says,
in amazement of this,
how many bundles of date palms are there in Jannah for
Abu Dehdah radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
Now, how many gardens of Jannah
do you sit in, in terms of gardens of knowledge?
And how many gardens of Jannah,
do you make yourself by visiting the forgotten?
And how many gardens of Jannah,
have you purchased by donating the goods of this world?
Ya ayatuhal nafsul
mutma'innah
irji'i
ila rabbiki raadiyatan
mardiyyah
fadkhuli fi 'ibadi wadkhuli
jannati
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