What does the garden means in islam? What is the garden in islam?
Allah the Almighty states in the Qur’an: “Allah has bought from the believers their selves and their wealth in return for the Garden.” (At-Tawba, 9:111)
Hadrat Ali (may Allah ennoble his faces) said: “Nothing is enough reward for your life and wealth except The Garden. Therefore, sell you lives and wealth only in return for the Garden.”
The Garden had been created as the everlasting abode of reward and mercy as a pure gift from Allah the almighty and is in existence right now.[1] This world is a test for us and after living a life in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunna (the Prophetic example) establishing our life on Taqwa (fearful awareness of Allah), we have been promised the reward of the Garden, which has a beauty far beyond our imagination and perception.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) informs us that death will be killed and those who enter both The Garden and hell will stay there forever in the following authentic narration.
“Death will be brought on the Day of Resurrection in the form of a white ram. Abu Kuraib narrated this addition: Then it would be made to stand between The Garden and Hell. So far as the rest of the hadith is concerned there is perfect agreement between the two narrators that it will be said to the inhabitants of the Garden:
“Do you recognise this?”
They will raise up their necks and look towards it and say: “
Yes, ‘ it is death.”
Then it will be said to the inhabitants of the Fire…
“Do you recognise this? And they will raise up their necks and look and say:
Yes, it is death. Then the command will be given for slaughtering it and then it will be said:
“O inhabitants of the Garden, there is an everlasting life for you and no death and to the people in the Fire, it will be said:
“O inhabitants of the Hellfire, there is an everlasting life for you and no death. Allah’s Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then recited this verse pointing with his hand to this material world:” Warn them, this Day of dismay and when their affairs will be decided and they will be unmindful and they believe not” (xix. 39). (Muslim, Jannah, 40)
The people of the Garden will be overjoyed when they hear that there is an everlasting life for them as the people of hell be utterly devastated to hear that:
“… If it were not that Allah had decreed the inhabitants of the Garden would remain, then they would die of joy and if it were not that Allah had decreed that the inhabitants of the Fire would remain, then they would die of grief.'” (Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 19/3156)
This attitude of these two groups are understandable since the first group are so happy that they will enjoy the beauty of The Garden forever, whereas the second group will have no hope of saving themselves from their terrible state. If they had a little bit of hope their grief would be slightly relieved.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and have good news because one’s good deeds will not make him enter the Garden.” They asked, “Even you, O Allah’s Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)?” He said, “Even me, unless Allah covers me in His Mercy.” (Bukhari, Rikak, 18; Muslim, Munafikun, 71-72)[2]
This hadith shows that we should do all kinds of good deeds to try to earn the pleasure of Allah, however we should not depend on them as if they are a ticket to the Garden, we should only take refuge in Mercy of Allah, this is the necessary courtesy of the slave in his relationship with his Lord. Another point is that people of the Garden will all have different ranks in it according to the strength of the certainty and the sincerity of their good actions.
Those who arrogantly followed the vain desires of their lower selves and wasted away their lives in disobedience as well as all kinds of evil activities, will be in a devastating predicament in the hereafter when they are called to the scales for the weighing of their deeds. However, those who feared Allah’s punishment in this life, spending their lives in obedience, following the straight path of Islam will be saved from all kinds of fears and calamities and will obtain eternal bliss. The Holy Qur’an states:
“But as for him who feared the station of his Lord and forbade the lower self its appetites, the Garden will be his refuge.” (An-Nazi’at, 79: 40)
“For those who fear the station of their Lord there are two Gardens.” (Ar-Rahman, 55: 46)
“They will say, ‘Beforehand we used to live in fear among our families. But Allah was gracious to us and safeguarded us from the punishment of the searing wind. Beforehand we certainly used to call on Him because He is the All-Good, the Most Merciful” (At-Tur, 52:26-28)
As stated in the Qur’an, Allah will give the people of the Garden such a vast reward that they will no longer feel any boredom or tiredness:
“They will say: ‘Praise be to Allah, who has removed all sadness from us. Truly our Lord is Ever-Forgiving, Ever-Thankful: He who has lodged us, out of His favour, in the Abode of Permanence where no weariness or fatigue affects us.” (Fatir, 35:34-35)
The Garden will be the final destination for those believers who hoped for divine contentment and feared the divine anger, those who were very careful not to hurt others and those who trusted in Allah almighty.
“There will enter the Garden people whose hearts are like the hearts of birds (in terms of their reliance on Allah) (Muslim, Jannah, 27)
The vastness and beauty of the the Garden:
Allah the Almighty in the Holy Qur’an describes the vastness of the Garden in the following way:
“Race each other to forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the people who have taqwa (fearful awareness of God).” (Al’Imran, 3:133)[3]
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in one of his sayings explained the levels of the Garden in the following way:
“”In the Garden, there are a hundred levels, between every two levels is a hundred years.” (Tirmidhi, Jannah, 4/2529)
It is related from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: “Indeed the people of the higher levels, will be seen by those who are beneath them like the stars which appear far away in the sky. And indeed Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are among them and they have done well.” (Tirmidhi, Menakib, 14/3658; Ibn Majah, Mukaddima, 11; Ahmad, III, 26, 98)[4]
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said, “The people of the Garden will look at the dwellers of the lofty mansions (i.e. a superior place in the Garden) in the same one looks at a brilliant star far away in the East or in the West on the horizon; all that is because of their superiority over one another.” On that the people said, “O Allah’s Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)! Are these lofty mansions for the Prophet s which nobody else can reach? The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied,” No! “By Allah in whose Hands is my life, these are for the men who believed in Allah and the Messengers.” (Bukhari, Bedul-Khalq 8, Rikak 51; Muslim, Jannah, 11)
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) described the beauty of one of the Gardens of the Garden in the following hadith:
The companions asked the Prophet: ‘The Garden, what is it made of?’ The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“Bricks of silver and bricks of gold. Its mortar is musk of a strong fragrance and its pebbles are pearls and rubies and its earth is saffron. Whoever enters it shall live and shall not suffer and shall feel joy and shall not die, nor shall their clothes wear out, nor shall their youth come to an end.’”[5]
“Indeed, in the Garden, there are two gardens, their vessels and all that are in them are made of silver, and there are two gardens, their vessels and all that are in them are made of gold…[6]
The rewards that will be given to the believers in the the Garden:
Allah the Almighty describes the beauty of the Garden in the following verse:
“Give good news to those who have iman (belief) and do right actions that they will have Gardens with rivers flowing under them. When they are given fruit there as provision, they will say, ‘This is what we were given before.’ But they were only given a simulation of it. They will have spouses of perfect purity and will remain there timelessly, for ever.” (Al-Baqara, 2:25)
“Those who have taqwa (fearful awareness of God) will be amid Gardens and Springs: ‘Enter them in peace, in complete security!’ We will strip away any rancour in their hearts – brothers, resting on couches face-to-face. They will not be affected by any tiredness there and they will never be made to leave.” (Al-Hijr, 15:45-48)
“They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold and wear green garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on couches under canopies. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful repose!” (Al-Kahf, 18:31)
When the Muslims enter the Garden, they will forget all their fear and anxiety, they will never again any of these negative emotions. Furthermore, Allah gives them rewards and gifts far beyond their imagination. The following verse describes this as follows:
“My slaves, you will feel no fear today; you will know no sorrow.’as for those who had iman (belief) in Our Signs and became Muslims: ‘Enter the Garden, you and your wives, delighting in your joy.’ Platters and cups of gold will be passed around among them and they will have there all that their hearts desire and their eyes find delight in. You will remain in it timelessly, for ever. That is the Garden you will inherit for what you did. There will be many fruits in it for you to eat.” (Az-Zukhruf, 43:68-73)
“So Allah has safeguarded them from evil on that Day and has made them meet with radiance and pure joy and will reward them for their steadfastness with a Garden and with silk. Reclining on couches, they will experience there neither burning sun nor bitter cold. Its shading branches will droop down over them, its ripe fruit hanging ready to be plucked. Vassals of silver and goblets of pure crystal will be passed round among them, crystalline silver – they have measure them very exactly. They will be given there a cup to drink mixed with the warmth of ginger. In it there is a flowing spring called Salsabil. Ageless youths will circulate among them, serving them. Seeing them, you would think them scattered pearls. Seeing them, you see delight and a great kingdom.They will wear green garments of silk and rich brocade. They will be adorned with silver bracelets. And their Lord will give them a pure draft to drink.” Man (Al-Insan, 76:11-21)
“Indeed in The Garden there are chambers whose outside can be seen from their inside, and whose inside can be seen from their outside.” A Bedouin stood up and said: “Who are they for O Prophet of Allah?” he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “For those who speak well, feed others, fast regularly and perform Salat (the prayer) for Allah during the night while the people sleep” (Tirmidhi, Jannah 3/2527, Birr 53/1984)
The bounties of the Gardens of the Garden will never give any kind of hardship, as narrated in the following hadith:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying that the inhabitants of the Garden will eat and drink but will neither spit, nor pass water or excrement, nor suffer catarrah.”[7]
The companions asked in surprise:
Then, what will happen with the food? Thereupon he said: They will belch and sweat and their sweat will be that of musk and they will glorify and praise Allah as easily as you breathe. (Muslim, Jannah, 18)[8]
The people of the Garden will enjoy the blessings of the Garden forever, without any difficulty and suffering. They will have bright eyes full of pleasure, their bodies without hair, they will be very beautiful and handsome. Their age will be 30 or 33 no older. ([9] )
In the Garden there will be no tiredness, no dirt, and no bodily fluids from the ears or nose which are normally considered unpleasant. No one will have any evil characteristics as we see in this world. There will be no useless idol talk and no words of evil. Everyone will love each other like brothers and sisters and always want to see each other.
“Allah’s Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“The first group of people who will enter The Garden, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. They will not urinate or defecate or spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their combs will be of gold and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloAs-wood will be used in their centres. Their wives will be houris. All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in stature), sixty cubits tall” (Bukhari, Anbiya 1, Badul-Khalq 8; Muslim, Jannah, 14-19)[10]
The hadith mentions that the people of the Garden will resemble Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). People have been decreasing in stature ever since Adam. But in the Garden all of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam in stature, “sixty cubits tall.”[11]
The food and drink given to the people of the Garden is not to relieve their hunger or cure them from any disease, just as the musk incense given is not to mask any foul odours but they are all purely for their enjoyment. Allah the Almightystates:
“You will not go hungry in it or suffer any nakedness. You will not go thirsty in it or burn from the sun.” (Taha, 20:118-119)[12]
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“He who will get in the Garden bliss that he will neither become destitute, nor will his clothes wear out, nor his youth decline.” (Muslim, Jannah, 22)
There will be an announcer who will make this announcement:
“Verily there is in store for you health and that you should never fall ill and that you live and do not ever die. And that you will remain young and never grow old. And that you will always live in affluent circumstances and never become destitute, as in the words of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, ” It will be proclaimed to them: ‘this is your Garden you have inherited because of what you did.” (Al-Araf, 7:43)” (Muslim, Jannah, 22)[13]
The rivers of the Garden
Allah the Almightysays in the holy Qur’an :
“An image of the Garden which is promised to those who have taqwa (fearful awareness of Allah): in it there are rivers of water which will never spoil and rivers of milk whose taste will never change and rivers of wine, delightful to all who drink it, and rivers of honey of undiluted purity; in it they will have fruit of every kind and forgiveness from their Lord. Is that like those who will be in the Fire timelessly, for ever, with boiling water to drink which lacerates their bolwes?” (Muhammad, 47:15)
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) explained the nature of the rivers in the Garden in the following hadith:
“Indeed in the Garden there is a sea of water and a sea of honey and a sea of milk and a sea of wine, then the rivers shall split off afterwards.” (Tirmidhi, Jannah, 27/2571)
The wine of the Garden does not resemble to the wine of this world. Allah the exalted describes it in His precise Book:
“A cup from a flowing spring passing round among them, as white as driven snow, delicious to those who drink, which has no headache in it and does not leave them stupefied. There will be dark-eyed maidens with them, with eyes reserved for them alone, just like closely guarded pearls.” (As-Saffat, 37:45-49)
One day the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked:
“What is Al-Kawthar?”
He said: “It is a river that Allah has given me”- in the Garden- ‘whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. In it are birds whose necks are like the necks of camels.”
Hadrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Indeed this is plump and luxurious then.”
So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Those who consume it are more plumb than it.” (Tirmidhi, Jannah, 10/2542)
[1] Bkz. Bukhari, Bed’ü’l-Khalq, 8.[2] Ayrica bkz. İbn Majar, Zuhd, 20; Darimi, Rikak, 24.[3] Krş. al-Hadid, 21.
[4] Krş. Bukhari, Rikak, 51; Muslim, Jannah, 10.[5] Bkz. Bukhari, Rikak 51, Bed’ü’l-Halk 8, Tefsir 56/1; Müslim, Jannah, 6-8; Tirmidhi, Jannah, 1/2524.[6] Bkz. Tirmidhi, Jannah, 2/2528.[7] Bkz. al-Baqara, 25; al’Imran, 15; an-Nisa, 57.[8] Ayrica bkz. Bukhari, Badul-Khalq 8, Anbiya 1. 9] Bkz. Tirmidhi, Jannah, 12/2545.[10] Ayrica bkz. Tirmidhi, Qiyama 60, Jannah 5; Ibn Majah, Zuhd, 39.[11] Bkz. Bukhari, Anbiya 1, Isti’zan 1; Muslim, Jannah, 28.[12] Qurtubi, Tadhkira, s. 984. [13] Ayrica bkz. Tirmidhi, Tafsirul Qur’an, 41.
Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş , Journey To Eternity, Erkam Publications
