Walking to Your Palace in Jannah

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says in the hadith that we talked about earlier that you will know your place in Jannah more than you knew your house in dunya. Instinctively, you will know where your residence is in Jannah.

So you get to this huge mansion that is yours. One brick is gold and one brick is silver; wonderful colours. Architecture is something that we don’t know of in this world. In Jannah, there is no limitation of gravity, the material of Jannah is not restricted as it is in dunya; there’s no concrete or tile in Jannah. The palaces are of gold and silver.

You’re getting closer and closer to your palace, and you see something that makes you freeze in your tracks. You become immobile and you cannot move any further, because of the stunning beauty of what you see – your wife in Jannah.

Before we talk about that, let’s talk about your palace in Jannah. Allah says in the Qur’an: “But those who fear Allah and keep their duty to their Lord (Allah), for them are built lofty rooms; one above another under which rivers flow (i.e. Paradise). (This is) the Promise of Allah: and Allah does not fail in (His) Promise.” (39:20) There’s a lot of emphasis in Jannah of things above each other. Things are in all directions; it is not like the surface of this earth. Only Allah knows if Jannah is limited to the three dimensions. This is just speculation, but Jannah is different. The rivers are flowing beneath them.

Everything that we have in dunya, there is something that resembles it in akhirah. But that is the only thing that is the same – the name. There is Fire in dunya and Fire in akhirah. But the fire in akhirah is different. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says that hell fire was burned for 1,000 years until it turned red. Then it was burned for 1,000 years more until it turned white. And then it was burned for 1,000 years more until it turned dark. Imagine black fire. There is fire in dunya in fire and akhirah, but they are different.

Similarly, there is water, milk and wine in Jannah. The only thing that they have in common with the things in this dunya is the name. The quality and quantity is completely different. Just as there are tents in this dunya, there are tents in Jannah. Allah says: “Companions restrained (as to their glances), in (goodly) pavilions.” (55:72) You have these huge pavilions.

The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that Gabriel said, “Here is Khadija coming to you with a dish of food or a tumbler containing something to drink. Convey to her a greeting from her Lord (Allah) and give her the glad tidings that she will have a palace in Paradise built of Qasab wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble).” [Bukhaari, 9/93/588] The imam said of Khadija’s palace: “One pearl that is hollowed from the inside.”

In another hadith in at-Tirmidhi RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that there are rooms in Jannah where you can see the outside from the inside and from the inside you can see the outside. How can that be possible? We don’t know. One Bedouin asked RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam who these rooms would belong to. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that they are for those who speak good words, feed the poor, they fast and they pray at night when people are sleep.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “A tent (in Paradise) is like a hollow pearl which is thirty miles in height and on every corner of the tent the believer will have a family that cannot be seen by the others.” [Bukhaari, 4/54/466].