Jannah in Islam: 6 Authentic Hadith About Paradise
Everything we know of beauty in this life has an end: the meal finishes, the clothes fade, youth goes. The Prophet ﷺ described a place where none of that happens. This article gathers six authentic hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim on Jannah in Islam: what Allah has prepared there, who its people are, and what it is like to live in it forever.
In this article:
- What Allah has prepared for His righteous slaves, beyond imagination
- Its people, its shade, and its weekly market
- Why a small place in it is worth more than this world, and what it takes to reach it
At a glance
- Hadith: 6 authentic narrations, plus 1 Quran verse
- Collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
- Grade: Sahih (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
- Topic: Paradise (Jannah) and its people
- Do one thing today: Ask Allah for Paradise, and do one deed for it today
1. What no eye has seen
قَالَ اللَّهُ أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِي الصَّالِحِينَ مَا لاَ عَيْنَ رَأَتْ، وَلاَ أُذُنَ سَمِعَتْ، وَلاَ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ، فَاقْرَءُوا إِنْ شِئْتُمْ {فَلاَ تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ }
“Allah said, ‘I have prepared for My pious slaves things which have never been seen by an eye, or heard by an ear, or imagined by a human being.’ If you wish, you can recite this verse from the Holy Qur’an: ‘No soul knows what is kept hidden for them, of joy as a reward for what they used to do.’ (32:17)”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3244 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this hadith qudsi, which is also in Sahih Muslim 2824a. The Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths notes that Allah has not told us everything that is in Paradise, and that what we do not know is greater than what we have been told (HadeethEnc 10404). The verse he recites is this:
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّآ أُخْفِىَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e., satisfaction] as reward for what they used to do.”
Surah As-Sajdah 32:17 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com
Try this: whenever you read a description of Paradise, remember that it is only a glimpse. The reality is greater.
2. Its first people, and their one heart
أَوَّلُ زُمْرَةٍ تَلِجُ الْجَنَّةَ صُورَتُهُمْ عَلَى صُورَةِ الْقَمَرِ لَيْلَةَ الْبَدْرِ، لاَ يَبْصُقُونَ فِيهَا وَلاَ يَمْتَخِطُونَ وَلاَ يَتَغَوَّطُونَ، آنِيَتُهُمْ فِيهَا الذَّهَبُ، أَمْشَاطُهُمْ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ، وَمَجَامِرُهُمُ الأَلُوَّةُ، وَرَشْحُهُمُ الْمِسْكُ، وَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمْ زَوْجَتَانِ، يُرَى مُخُّ سُوقِهِمَا مِنْ وَرَاءِ اللَّحْمِ، مِنَ الْحُسْنِ، لاَ اخْتِلاَفَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَلاَ تَبَاغُضَ، قُلُوبُهُمْ قَلْبٌ وَاحِدٌ، يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّهَ بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
“The first group (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like the moon when it is full. They will not spit or blow their noses or relieve nature. Their utensils will be of gold and their combs of gold and silver; in their centers the aloe wood will be used, and their sweat will smell like musk. Everyone of them will have two wives; the marrow of the bones of the wives’ legs will be seen through the flesh out of excessive beauty. They (i.e. the people of Paradise) will neither have differences nor hatred amongst themselves; their hearts will be as if one heart and they will be glorifying Allah in the morning and in the evening.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3245 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation from Sunnah.com
Notice how the hadith ends. After the gold, the musk and the beauty, the Prophet ﷺ describes their hearts: no differences, no hatred, one heart, glorifying Allah morning and evening. The peace between people is part of the reward.
Try this: clear one grudge from your heart today. A heart free of hatred is how the people of Paradise are described.
3. A tree with a hundred years of shade
إِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ لَشَجَرَةً يَسِيرُ الرَّاكِبُ فِي ظِلِّهَا مِائَةَ عَامٍ لاَ يَقْطَعُهَا
“There is a tree in Paradise (which is so big and huge that) if a rider travels in its shade for one hundred years, he would not be able to cross it.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 3251 · Narrated by Anas ibn Malik · Translation from Sunnah.com
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this. One tree, and a rider could travel in its shade for a century without crossing it. The size of Paradise is beyond anything we measure here.
Try this: the next time you rest in the shade on a hot day, let it remind you of this tree and say a short dua for Paradise.
4. A small place in it, better than the world
لَرَوْحَةٌ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَوْ غَدْوَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا، وَلَقَابُ قَوْسِ أَحَدِكُمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ أَوْ مَوْضِعُ قِيدٍ ـ يَعْنِي سَوْطَهُ ـ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا، وَلَوْ أَنَّ امْرَأَةً مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ اطَّلَعَتْ إِلَى أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ لأَضَاءَتْ مَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَلَمَلأَتْهُ رِيحًا، وَلَنَصِيفُهَا عَلَى رَأْسِهَا خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا
“A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah’s Cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than all the world and whatever is in it. A place in Paradise as small as the bow or lash of one of you is better than all the world and whatever is in it. And if a houri from Paradise appeared to the people of the earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better than the world and whatever is in it.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2796 · Narrated by Anas ibn Malik · Translation from Sunnah.com
A space the length of a bow or a whip, the smallest place a traveler would claim, is worth more than the whole world and everything in it. Whatever we chase in this life, the smallest share of Paradise is greater.
Try this: when you feel you are missing out on something in this world, weigh it against a whip’s length of Paradise.
5. The market of Paradise
إِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ لَسُوقًا يَأْتُونَهَا كُلَّ جُمُعَةٍ فَتَهُبُّ رِيحُ الشَّمَالِ فَتَحْثُو فِي وُجُوهِهِمْ وَثِيَابِهِمْ فَيَزْدَادُونَ حُسْنًا وَجَمَالاً فَيَرْجِعُونَ إِلَى أَهْلِيهِمْ وَقَدِ ازْدَادُوا حُسْنًا وَجَمَالاً فَيَقُولُ لَهُمْ أَهْلُوهُمْ وَاللَّهِ لَقَدِ ازْدَدْتُمْ بَعْدَنَا حُسْنًا وَجَمَالاً. فَيَقُولُونَ وَأَنْتُمْ وَاللَّهِ لَقَدِ ازْدَدْتُمْ بَعْدَنَا حُسْنًا وَجَمَالاً
“In Paradise there is a street to which they would come every Friday. The north wind will blow and would scatter fragrance on their faces and on their clothes and would add to their beauty and loveliness, and then they would go back to their family after having an added lustre to their beauty and loveliness, and their family would say to them: By Allah, you have been increased in beauty and loveliness after leaving us, and they would say: By Allah, you have also increased in beauty and loveliness after us.”
Sahih Muslim 2833 · Narrated by Anas ibn Malik · Translation from Sunnah.com
In Paradise, nothing goes stale. Each week the people of Paradise grow in beauty, and so do their families waiting at home. Even Friday, the best day of our week, has its place there.
Try this: give Friday its due this week. The Sunnahs of the day are in The Blessings of Friday in Islam.
6. No one grows poor, worn out or old
مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ يَنْعَمُ لاَ يَبْأَسُ لاَ تَبْلَى ثِيَابُهُ وَلاَ يَفْنَى شَبَابُهُ
“He who would get into Paradise (would be made to enjoy such an everlasting) bliss that he would neither become destitute, nor would his clothes wear out, nor his youth would decline.”
Sahih Muslim 2836 · Narrated by Abu Hurairah · Translation from Sunnah.com
This is the answer to everything that hurts in this world: losing what we have, things wearing out, growing old. In Paradise, none of it happens.
Try this: the next time something you love wears out or ends, remind yourself that this is the nature of this world, not the next.
What it takes to reach it
The first hadith says Paradise is prepared for Allah’s righteous slaves, and the verse calls it a reward for what they used to do. It is not reached by wishing. The Prophet ﷺ also taught that Paradise is surrounded by hardships, which we cover in Paradise Is Surrounded by Hardships, and he named the deeds that lead to it: see Deeds That Lead to Jannah.
Reflection: these hadith are not only meant to be enjoyed. They give a reason to keep going: every prayer on time, every hard choice and every patient day is a step toward what no eye has seen.
Questions people ask
What is Jannah in Islam?
Jannah is Paradise, the eternal home Allah has prepared for His righteous slaves. In a hadith qudsi in Sahih al-Bukhari 3244, Allah says He has prepared for them what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human heart has imagined.
What is Jannah like, according to authentic hadith?
The authentic hadith describe its first people shining like the full moon with no hatred between them (Bukhari 3245), a tree whose shade a rider cannot cross in 100 years (Bukhari 3251), a weekly market (Muslim 2833), and a life with no poverty, worn clothes or old age (Muslim 2836).
How do you get to Jannah?
The hadith call it a reward for the righteous. The Prophet ﷺ taught faith, salah, fasting and good deeds as the path to it, and said that Paradise is surrounded by hardships. For personal guidance, ask a qualified scholar.
Key lessons
- What Allah has prepared in Paradise is beyond anything we can see, hear or imagine.
- Its people will have one heart, with no differences and no hatred.
- A tree there has shade a rider cannot cross in a hundred years.
- The smallest place in Paradise is better than the whole world.
- There, no one grows poor, their clothes do not wear out, and youth does not fade.
Six hadith, and still only a glimpse. May Allah make us among His righteous slaves and grant us what no eye has seen.
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