Khadija radiAllahu 'anha was on her way
to the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
with a tray of food
when Jibril 'Alayhi Salaam
came to the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
to give her the glad tidings of a palace of Jannah
where she will be served.
When you think about the inaugural address
of the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam in Medina,
"Spread salaam and feed the people."
Imagine the one who used to bring salaam and sustenance
not to the people, but to our Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
and what nourishment awaits her in paradise.
And imagine sitting with her,
in her living room, with the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
and the angels serving all of us together.
So you enter Jannah and you want to feast.
What does that first meal look like?
All you have to do is order it
because the chefs of Jannah make what you want.
So whether it's biryani, or maqluba, or mandi, or burgers,
or durian, or jollof rice, you name it, whatever you want
order it and it will be served to you as you wish.
And it may be food that you couldn't have in this dunya.
Just like you can't have wine here
but you can have it there.
And you think about when western Muslims find a McDonald's
in the Middle East
or the first time you have pizza with halal pepperoni.
The point is nothing is off limits
in Jannah and you have what you want.
Now, is the food of Jannah even similar
to what we have here in any way?
Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says that in the Quran
"kullama ruziqu min'ha min thamaratin riz'qan qalu
hadha alladhi ruziq'na min qablu."
That, "Every single time they see another fruit
they say, 'This is what we had before.'"
Meaning, the fruit is familiar enough in name
and on the exterior, to where you recognize it.
But then once you bite into it, it's next level.
So it's sort of like an American mango
versus Pakistani or Bengali mangoes.
And I'm going to let you sort out which ones are better.
But biting it is different
than what it looks like on the outside.
Ibn Abbas radiAllahu Anhu said,
"In Jannah, nothing resembles anything
of this world except by its name."
And some of the scholars said the higher you go up
the more exotic the fruits get
to a point that they have no comparison.
Just like how when the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
was ascending on the night al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj,
the tree started to become unrecognizable
to the point that he was unable
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam to describe
the colors of Sidrat al-Muntaha in worldly terms.
So the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam mentioned bananas
and then he mentioned clusters of grapes.
And there was a Bedouin that asked the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam with excitement,
"Ya Rasulullah, 'inab? They have grape in Jannah?"
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, "Yes."
He said, "How big is a bundle of grapes in Jannah?"
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam
said, "The distance
of a month for a flying crow
which never gets exhausted and flies without pause.
And every time you pick a fruit in Jannah
it's automatically replenished.
And the tree branches lower their fruit for you
so you don't have to work for them.
Just like you used to ascend to good deeds with effort,
the fruits now descend to you with no effort."
These are the people who the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
would reach for imaan in the sky.
These are the people who the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said
would hold onto faith even when
it's like a burning, hot coal.
And so these are the people then, who receive The Book
in the right hand given to them after their hard work.
And now, the fruits of Jannah
lower themselves to them for eternity.
These are the fruits of your labor, literally.
So if these are the fruits,
what about the food and the cooked meals?
Now amazing things are going to happen that day,
some of which we can't process at all.
So for example, the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Allah will take the entire land of assembly from the Day
of Judgment, turn it into a single loaf of bread,
then throw it to the people of Jannah to eat."
So the appetizer is the Earth as a loaf of bread.
And when the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam was asked
"Well,
what will be the welcoming meal in paradise?"
He said that "There is a bull that is grazing now
in Jannah and it will be sacrificed upon arrival."
And he said SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam,
"A whale from whose excessive liver
seventy thousand people would be able to eat."
So a rare delicacy known as "kabid al-hoot",
the liver of a whale.
Now you might think to yourself,
you know, the bread of the Day of Judgment
and fish liver doesn't sound very appetizing.
And you might not even like seafood, but this is Jannah.
And just think of the idea
that the animal that's going to be sacrificed for you
is already grazing in Jannah right now.
And Allah says, "Walahmi tayrin mimma yashtahun."
"And then you can have the flesh
of any delicate bird that you desire."
So you look around in Jannah
and you see these huge birds flying around
and these birds are specifically for consumption.
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Their necks are like the necks of camels."
And Umar radiAllahu Anhu when he heard that he said,
"What blessed birds these are."
And the Prophet SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"No, the ones who eat them are even more blessed."
So how does that even work?
Do you hunt in Jannah?
Do you pick up a gun in Jannah?
Do you have something to shoot them with? (laughs)
No. The Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said, "Effortless.
You look at a bird in Paradise
and desire it and it immediately falls
on your plate roasted to perfection
just like the fruits lower themselves to you."
Now this is what we somewhat can recognize
and the ease by which it comes to us cooked
or fresh as we please is part of the Jannah experience.
But then you have the buffet
of Jannah that has meals that we've never even heard of.
Ibnul Qayyim Rahimahullah said that,
"Seventy dishes of gold will be passed around them.
Each dish will have a different type
of food that is not in the other."
And the best part of it is that in Jannah,
there is no weight gain, there is no waste,
you don't get bloated in Jannah, you don't get full.
It's just pure "shahwah", pure desire.
And Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says, "Even in the vessels,
golden trays and cups,
with endless servants circling around,
the platters themselves are art
that is pleasing for you to stare at."
"Qawarira min fiddatin wa dhahab."
Crystal glasses and golden platters.
And then come these "abariq", these pitchers
that have handles and they're shiny
but you can still see the content on the inside
of them and it's already measured to exactly
how much you would want.
Not a sip more or a sip less.
So what would you like to have to drink
with your food in Jannah?
Now imagine a menu of these mixed cocktails
and drinks from the rivers and springs of Jannah.
Now remember, there is no filter needed for these
but the mixes are even better and in some places
Allah mentions drinks that are flavored with camphor.
Other drinks from the Spring of Salsabil,
flavored with ginger.
And as we said, Tasnim is the drink
of the "muqarrabun", those who are closest to Allah
Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la.
But Allah says, "Yus'qawna min rahiqin makhtum."
That, "A bottle of pure wine, sealed with musk,
with your name on it, is presented to you."
How old is the wine?
It's been stored in the cellars of Jannah this whole time.
"Khitamuhu misk,"
"The last sip is flavored with musk."
And Allah Subh'anahu Wa Ta-A'la says,
"Wa fi dhalika falyatanafas-il-mutanafisun."
"So let that be what you compete over."
Forget about the wine and wealth of this world.
This is the party you want to work for.
What you'll notice is that some
of these things are not even drinkable in this world.
Like drinking musk.
And the things that are drinkable have issues
and harms in this world, like wine.
Wine makes you sick and wine makes you sinful in this world.
But the wine of Jannah is different
and the people who drink that wine are different as well.
Pay attention to how the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Do not drink in the vessels of gold
and silver and do not eat in their plates.
It is for them, meaning the disbelievers
in this world, and it is for you in the hereafter."
And in the same way the Prophet
SallAllahu 'Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Whoever drinks wine in this world
will not drink it in the hereafter."
Here we only consume what is halal.
In the next life, we consume whatever we want.
The mindset that brings it all together is to,
"Serve others now and be served by Allah later.
Restrain yourself for Allah now
and be rewarded by Allah later."
"Kulu wa-shrabu hani-an bima aslaftum fi al-ayyami
al-khaliyat."
"Eat and drink at ease
for that which you used to do in days past."
"Ya ayyatuha-nafsul
mutma-innah.
Irji'i ila rabbiki
radiyatan mardiyya.
Fadkhuli fi 'ibadi wadkhuli
jannati."
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)