سورة الواقعة

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): An old woman of the Ashja' tribe was in the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). His Eminence (peace be upon him) said: "Old women do not enter Paradise." Her tears began to flow. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah says in the Qur'an: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْناهُنَّ إِنْشاءً فَجَعَلْناهُنَّ أَبْکاراً عُرُباً أَتْراباً [Surely We have made them to grow into a (new) growth, then We have made them virgins, loving, of equal age]."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّا أَنشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنشَاء [Surely We have made them to grow into a (new) growth] — what is meant by the women is the hur al-'in (wide-eyed maidens) in Paradise.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّا أَنْشَأْناهُنَّ إِنْشاءً [Surely We have made them to grow into a (new) growth] — what is meant is the human women, old ones whose hair has turned grey and white. He says: 'We created them, after their old age and decrepitude in this world, in another creation [so that they are ever young maidens of the same age].'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The people of Paradise are without hair and without beards or moustaches; they have applied kohl, placed crowns upon their heads, and wear necklaces, bracelets and rings on their hands. Their skin is delicate, they are beautiful and honoured. Each of them has been given the strength and power of a hundred men in eating, drinking, appetite and sexual intercourse. The pleasure he derives from a single lunch equals forty years, and the pleasure he derives from eating supper likewise equals forty years. Allah has clothed their faces in light and their bodies in silk. Their colours are white, their ornaments are yellow (gold) in colour, and their garments are green.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Know that the people of Paradise are ever alive and never die; they are awake and never sleep; they are ever self-sufficient and never fall into poverty. They rejoice and are never sad, they laugh and never weep, and they are ever honoured, so they are never disgraced or humiliated. They are given to jest and pleasantry and are never angered, and are ever glad and joyful. They eat and are never hungry, and they drink continuously and are never thirsty, and they are clothed, so they are never naked. They are ever mounted and continuously visit one another, and boys who are eternal and everlasting continuously salute them, and in their hands are always pitchers of silver and vessels of gold, and they are continuously reclining upon couches. And they are ever seated upon adorned couches of Paradise, gazing [upon their ill-fated ones]! (Mutaffifin/35). And ever from Allah salutations and blessings are sent upon them. By Allah's grace and mercy we ask Him for Paradise, and He is Powerful over all things.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The marble stones of the ground of Paradise are of silver, its soil is of wars (a plant resembling saffron), its sweepings are of musk, and its pebbles are of pearls and rubies.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The rivers of Paradise flow in places where there is no channel dug for them. They are whiter than snow, sweeter than honey, and softer than butter. The clay of the river is highly fragrant musk, and its pebbles are pearls and rubies. Its springs and rivers flow in whatever part of Paradise the friend of Allah loves and wills. If all who are in the world, from jinn to humans, were to be guests there, it would encompass their food, drink, garments and ornaments, and nothing of it would decrease or diminish.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hisham ibn al-Hakam said: The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked by a heretic who said, "On what basis do they say that when one of the people of Paradise goes to a fruit and plucks and eats it, once he has eaten it that fruit returns to its original form?" He replied: "Yes! Its likeness is the lamp. Whoever is seeking light takes light from it, yet nothing of the light of that lamp is diminished, and its light fills the whole world." That person said: "Is it not the case that from eating and drinking so much they no longer have need?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Because their food is fluid, it does not come out from below them; rather it leaves their bodies along with sweat." That person asked: "How is it that whenever a man lies with his wife, she again becomes a virgin?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Because she was created from sweet fragrance and perfume, she is not afflicted with defect or deficiency, no harm afflicts her body, nothing flows in her opening, and menstruation does not defile her. Therefore, the womb is joined and full of flesh, and in it there exists only the urinary passage." That person asked: "Does the houri of Paradise wear seventy garments, and does her husband see the marrow of her shin-bone through those garments and her body?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Yes! Just as any of you can see a coin inside water, even if the depth of that water is the length of a spear." He asked: "Then how do the people of Paradise enjoy the blessings of Paradise, while none of them is found who has not lost his son, or father, or friend, or mother? When they are not with him in Paradise, and they have no doubt that they have gone to Hell — of what use is Paradise to one who knows that one of his loved ones is being tormented in Hell?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The people of knowledge say: they are made to forget any mention of them; and others have said: they wait expecting them to arrive, and they hope that they are between Paradise and Hell, among the Companions of al-A'raf."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): O Abu Dharr! If a woman from Paradise were to look out from the sky of this world on a dark night, she would light up the earth better than the full moon of the fourteenth night lights it, and her fragrance would reach the noses of all the people of the earth. Likewise, if a garment from Paradise were to come into this world, all who saw it would lose their hearts at the sight of it, and their eyes would be dazzled by it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ya'qub ibn Shu'ayb narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) who said: "When the Day of Resurrection arrives, one of the coverings of Paradise is lifted, and every being possessing a soul, if he is within a distance of five hundred years from Paradise, smells its fragrance — except for one group." I said: "Who are they?" He said: "Those who are undutiful to their parents."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): I warn you against being undutiful to your parents. The fragrance of Paradise can be smelled from a distance of a thousand years, but one who is undutiful to his parents, one who severs ties of kinship, an aged person who commits fornication, and an arrogant person are all deprived of smelling it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever says "salla Allahu 'ala Muhammad wa alihi" [may Allah's blessings be upon Muhammad and his family], Allah says: "salla Allahu 'alayk" [may Allah's blessings be upon you]. So he should say this salawat abundantly. And whoever says "salla Allahu 'ala Muhammad" [may Allah's blessings be upon Muhammad] and does not send blessings upon the family of Muhammad, will not smell the fragrance of Paradise; and the fragrance of Paradise can be smelled from a distance of five hundred years.