Those Given the Glad Tidings of Jannah

We cannot say that anyone is guaranteed Jannah. That is going beyond the limits. You are taking the position of Allah by sending this person to hell or that person to hell.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “The good deeds of any person will not make him enter Paradise.” The sahabah said, “Not even you, O Apostle of Allah?” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Not even myself, unless Allah bestows His Favour and Mercy on me.” If the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that his deeds don’t qualify him for that – then who are we?

Of Men

In a hadith in at-Tirmidhi, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib says, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told him that the masters of the people of Jannah – throughout all of mankind, with the exception of the ambiya – will be Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that they are the noblest of the people of Jannah after the ambiya (prophets/messengers). Then RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told ‘Ali, “Do not tell them so.” So Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are the best of the creation of Allah after the ambiya of Allah.

Also in At-Tirmidhi, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The masters of the youth in Jannah will be Al Hasan and Al Hussain.” They are the grandchildren of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the children of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib.

Why does it say the elders and the youth? Won’t everyone be the same age in Jannah? Yes, but some people will be considered elders because they died at an older age. Some will be considered youth because they died at a younger age.

In another hadith in Ahmad, an angel came down to RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and RasulAllah said that this angel never came down to him. The angel came to tell the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam that Al-Hasan and Al-Hussain are going to be amongst the noblest of the youth in Jannah. This is amongst the men.

Of Women

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam drew four lines in the sand [with a stick]. He said, “Do you know why I drew these four lines?” The sahabah said, “No.” RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “The best amongst the women in Jannah are four – Maryam bint ‘Imraan, Khaadija bint Khuwaylid, Faatima bint Muhammad and Aasiya ibn Muzaahim.”

Why did the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam draw these four lines? It was an instructional method to get the attention of the Sahabah. Usually teachers would use this to get the attention of the students. He knew that they didn’t know the answer, but he wanted to get their attention. He sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did this frequently.

The best of all – the greatest woman that ever lived – is Maryam bint ‘Imran (the mother of Jesus). The next is Khaadija, the third is Faatima and the fourth is Aasiya.

Allah says about Maryam: “Behold, the angel said ‘Allah has chosen you and purified and chosen you above the women of all nations.’” So it was stated in Qur’an that she was the best of the creation of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala.

We mentioned the hadith of Jibreel, in which Jibreel ‘alayhis salaam said salaam from himself and Allah to Khaadija, and gave her the glad tidings of a palace for her in Jannah. The reward is according to the deed – Khaadija was living in a very small place in Makkah, so Allah will give her a palace in Jannah. And Khaadija was going through a lot of harm and suffering when supporting the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and it was very tiring, so Allah is telling her that she will rest in Jannah.

Of Aasiya, Allah says: “And Allah sets forth as an example to those who believe the wife of Pharaoh. Behold! She said, ‘O my Lord, build for me in your nearness to You, a mansion in the garden. And save me from Pharaoh and his doings and save me from those that do wrong.’” Aasiya bint Muzaahim was living in the most extravagant place on the face of the earth – the palace of the Pharaoh. She had all of the worldly things that a person of this world would desire, but she said, ‘O Allah, build for me a place in Jannah.’ SubhaanAllah, you have a woman that was given all of the material things; she said that she didn’t want any of this, but she wanted a place in Jannah and she wanted to be saved from Pharaoh and his doings.

These four women did not get to this high status by having a career in any particular profession or by what the feminist movement would want for their followers. Notice that there is something common between these four women – they are all associated with Prophets. Two of them raised Prophets, and these two are Maryam and Aasiya. Maryam raised ‘Eesa (Jesus) and Aasiya raised Musa (Moses). So it was through their effort of tarbiyah that they produced for the world, ‘Eesa and Musa, that they were granted this high level. Khaadija was granted this position because of her support of a nabiy – RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. She supported him with her wealth and comforted him psychologically. Because Faatima was raised in such a pure household and because she lived with all of the suffering of her father, Allah granted her this position.

This is also an honour for the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to have two of the greatest women related to him – his wife and his daughter.

It is very important for the women to take the position upon themselves which they do best. This Ummah cannot move forward until the sisters produce a generation that will move it ahead. The greatest need for this Ummah is that the women raise a generation that will take it ahead. 

Musa and ‘Eesa are products of the women who bought them up. In fact, if you look at the story of Musa, you will see that he was consistently supported by women who supported him and made him who he was. First it was his mother, then his sister, then third the wife of Pharaoh, then the two daughters of Shu’ayb, then the daughter (of Shu’ayb) who married him. Two people were the backbone for RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – his wife Khaadija and his uncle Abu Taalib. They passed away within weeks of each other, and that is why it was the most difficult year for Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

The Ten

In At-Tirmidhi, RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “Abu Bakr is in Jannah; ‘Umar is in Jannah; ‘Uthmaan is in Jannah; ‘Ali is in Jannah; Talha is in Jannah; AzZubayr is in Jannah; ‘AbdurRahman ibn ‘Auf is in Jannah; Sa’ad is in Jannah; Sa’eed is in Jannah; Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn AlJarrah is in Jannah.”

In another hadith in Bukhaari, Abu Musa Al Ash’ari narrates: I performed ablution in my house and then went out and said, “Today I shall stick to Allah’s Apostle and stay with him all this day of mine (in his service). I went to the masjid and asked about the Prophet. They said, “He had gone in this direction.” So I followed his way, asking about him till he entered a place called Bir ‘Arees [the well of ‘Arees]. I sat at its gate that was made of date-palm leaves till the Prophet finished answering the call of nature and performed ablution. Then I went up to him to see him sitting at the well of ‘Arees at the middle of its edge with his legs uncovered, hanging in the well. I greeted him and went back and sat at the gate.

I said, “Today I will be the gatekeeper of the Prophet.” Abu Bakr came and pushed the gate. I asked, “Who is it?” He said, “Abu Bakr.” I told him to wait, went in and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Abu Bakr asks for permission to enter.” He said, “Admit him and give him the glad tidings that he will be in Paradise.” So I went out and said to Abu Bakr, “Come in, and Allah’s Apostle gives you the glad tidings that you will be in Paradise.” Abu Bakr entered and sat on the right side of Allah’s Apostle on the built edge of the well and hung his legs in the well as the Prophet did and uncovered his legs.

I then returned and sat (at the gate). I had left my brother performing ablution and he intended to follow me. So I said (to myself). “If Allah wants good for so-and-so (i.e. my brother) He will bring him here.” Suddenly somebody moved the door. I asked, “Who is it?” He said, “’Umar bin Al-Khattab.” I asked him to wait, went to Allah’s Apostle, greeted him and said, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab asks the permission to enter.” He said, “Admit him, and give him the glad tidings that he will be in Paradise.” I went to ‘Umar and said, “Come in, and Allah’s Apostle, gives you the glad tidings that you will be in Paradise.” So he entered and sat beside Allah’s Apostle on the built edge of the well on the left side and hung his legs in the well.

I returned and sat (at the gate) and said, (to myself), “If Allah wants good for so-and-so, He will bring him here.” Somebody came and moved the door. I asked “Who is it?” He replied, “’Uthman bin Affan.” I asked him to wait and went to the Prophet and informed him. He said, “Admit him, and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that will befall him.” So I went up to him and said to him, “Come in; Allah’s Apostle gives you the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that will befall you.” ‘Uthman then came in and found that the built edge of the well was occupied, so he sat opposite to the Prophet on the other side.” [Bukhaari, 5/57/23]

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told ‘Uthmaan, “Allah subhaana wa ta’aala will give you a cloak (to wear). The people will try to fight you to take it away from you; don’t give it to them.” ‘Uthmaan didn’t know what this meant [at the time]. The cloak was khilafaa. ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan realized that the Prophet was talking about this; he refused to give up the khilafaa, but he said he didn’t want a drop of blood to be spilt for his sake. A lot of the youth amongst the sahabah were willing to defend him – including Al Hassan and Al Hussain – but he didn’t want blood to be spilt because of him. They broke into the house and killed ‘Uthmaan while he was reading Qur’an, and his blood spilt over the mushaf.

Abu Musa Al ‘Ashari said that he interpreted the arrangement of the way they were sitting to be their graves. There was RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sitting on the rim of the well, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar sat beside him. ‘Uthmaan had to sit further because there was no room. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are buried in the room of ‘Aa`isha, but ‘Uthmaan is buried in Baqiy.

Others Who were Given Glad Tidings

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that the master of the martyrs is Hamza. This obviously means that he is in the highest levels of Jannah.

In At-Tirmidhi, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “I have seen Ja’far ibn Abi Taalib fighting with two wings with the angels in Jannah.” Why was he flying with two wings? He was the leader of the army that went to fight the Romans. He was holding the banner in his hands, and both of his arms were chopped, so he hugged the banner with his chest, and that is how he died. Since he didn’t have arms when he died, Allah replaced them with wings.

In Musnad of Imam Ahmad, when Mu’aadh ibn Jabl was dying, one of his students said, “Give us an advice.” Mu’aadh ibn Jabl said, “Knowledge is in its place; if you want it, you’ll find it.” The first thing he is saying is that knowledge will not die or disappear. Then he said, “If you want to learn, go to four people: Abu Dardaa`, Salmaan Al-Farsi, ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood and ‘Abdullah ibn Salaam. And ‘Abdullah ibn Salaam was a Jew who became Muslim, and I heard RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam say that he is the tenth person in paradise.” We do not say that ‘Abdullah ibn Salaam will be the tenth to enter Jannah, but we say that this means he will be amongst the earliest to enter Paradise. ‘Abdullah ibn Salaam was the head rabbi of the Jews in Madinah. He knew the descriptions of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in their books, and as soon as RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam came, he recognized him and believed. Because of his background in knowledge, that helped him in Islam. The Jews who became Muslim were very few, but they tended to be very knowledgeable because of their background of being a literate nation. The Arabs were illiterate, but the Jews had the scripture which they studied.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “I entered into Jannah, and I was met by a young lady. I asked her ‘Who do you belong to?’ She said, ‘To Zaid ibn Haritha.’” Zaid ibn Haritha is another person granted Jannah.

‘Aa`isha says that RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “I entered into Paradise and saw that Zayd ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl had two levels in Jannah.” Zayd ibn ‘Amr ibn Nufayl was a man who died before the prophethood of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam met with him. Zayd used to follow the religion of Ibraheem ‘alayhis salaam. He was an amazing example of remaining steadfast on the truth. He never worshipped idols. He would preach to the people and tell them that these idols are not your gods; they are false; you should worship Allah. He would not eat the meat of the people of Makkah. He would say that Allah is the One Who feeds these sheep and brings down rain from the sky, but when you slaughter them, you slaughter them for these idols?! He would not eat from any meat that Allah’s Name was not pronounced on; he realized all of this from his fitra, subhaanAllah. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that he has two levels in Jannah.

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “I entered into Paradise and I heard some recitation. 

I said, ‘Who is this man reciting?’ They said, ‘Haritha ibn Nu’man.’”

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam says, “I entered into Paradise and heard some noise [he heard the sound of someone walking] and I asked, ‘Who is this?’ Jibreel ‘alayhis salaam said, ‘This is Bilaal, the mu`addhin.’” When RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam came back, he said, “Bilaal has succeeded.”

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam granted Abu Dahdaa` Jannah because of his generosity. He donated the best farm in Madinah.