Description of Jannah

by Samreen Fatima Mohammed

It is the Day of Judgment.  More like, it was the Day of Judgment.  Now, everyone has been assigned their places—some in Jahannam, some in Jannah, and some in Jahannam for a while and then Jannah. You, Alhamdulillah are among the lucky ones who are allowed to go to Jannah. On the way, you stop at Hawdul Kawther. Rasulullah (S), the mercy to mankind, is standing there giving drinks to everyone. Your heart lurches. This is the man whose sayings you’ve listened to your whole life. This is the man whose ways you’ve followed. This is the man whose grave you’ve visited every time you went to Madinah. And you are filled with a sensation of happiness to have finally seen your role model.

The angels standing guard in front of the door say salam and pull open the doors for you and your fellow jannatis. It will be like how Allah says in the Qur’an:

In the world, you have imagined how it would be entering one of those really fancy and posh hotels, having the guy dressed in red ask you, “How do you do, ma’am?” while he holds the door open for you, and having the bellboys push your luggage into your suite, and then stand there, hoping for a tip. But here, in Jannah, you realize that that was nothing at all compared to this. Plus nobody is asking for a tip here.

You stare in awe around you. You remember Imam Ahmad’s saying to his son, “Oh son! You will get complete comfort and happiness when you take your first step into Jannah.” And you realize how true that is.

Then you hear a voice call out, “Oh people of Jannah! Verily you have a promise with Allah, and He wishes to fulfill it.” You and the other jannatis ask, “What is His promise?” You are confused. After all, hasn’t Allah made your balance heavy with good deeds, put noor on your faces, and delivered you from hell? But then, the screen or veil which separates you from Allah is removed. And you realize, that Allah has not given you anything more comforting or beloved to you than the sight of Himself.

Then there’s another voice that says, “You have a promise from Allah that you will live in here and you will never die; you will stay healthy in here and you will never fall ill; you will stay young and you will never become old; you will be under a constant delight and you will never feel miserable.”

You are dressed in silk clothes and you can change to over 70 dresses per day. You wish for something in your mind—you don’t even voice it—and there it is for you. You are reclining on raised thrones that are weaved with gold and precious stones. There is no excessive heat or cold. There is shade on you, and there are bunches of fruits above you which you can pick.

There are young boys there, who serve you. Kind of like a “your wish is my command.”

“And round about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. If you see them, you would think them scattered pearls.” [76:19]

They serve you wine—but it’s the wine that doesn’t cause any intoxication or headaches. There will be music, but it won’t be like the music of this world.

You pause before taking a bite of the delicious dish before you and look around—not for the first time. Jannah is as big as the heavens and earth. The walls are made up of bricks of gold and silver. The ground is made up of saffron and rubies and gems. The soil is made up of sweet smelling amber. There are four rivers which lead to every house—milk, honey, water, and wine.

As you sit, talk, and laugh with the people around you, stopping only for your glass to be refilled, you realize that there is not vain talk going around. Your remember how it was in the world—as soon as the people got together, a juicy topic would be brought up for discussion, in which everybody put their two cents in. And that juicy topic always ended up in backbiting, talking about others, or who-married-who-and-how-they-split-up, or who-someone-saw-with-so-and-so-at-the-tulip-festival-buying-the-someone-a-bouquet-of-flowers. But here, in Jannah, there is only pure clean talk. Also there is not jealousy and hasad. You don’t even mind the hur-ul-ayns your husband has.

Now, it is Jumuah. You go to a market. The northern wind blows and showers fragrance on your face and clothes, increasing you in your beauty. When you return, your family remarks on your beauty saying, “By Allah, you have increased in your beauty since we last saw you.”

There are lush gardens around you. You remember your fear of bugs in the world, but you have no fear now. Neither do you feel tired at all. You remember how you used to be exhausted by Thursday in the world. You were usually ready to crash. But here, you only feel happiness and contentment, knowing that this will go on for eternity.

[author ]Samreen Fatima Mohammed is 13 years old and lives in Bellevue, WA. Her favorite things to do are reading and writing. She loves to read anything to do with history-both Islamic and American/European/French/Russian etc. She writes random things, depending on what she’s in the mood for. Someday, she hopes to write for a journal or magazine. Her favorite subject in class is Tafseer Jalalain. She loves to travel, and one day, insha Allah, hopes to take an around-the-world trip.[/author]

(Attention, writers!  Muslim Kids Matter is a regular feature at Muslim Matters.  New articles for kids are posted every other Sunday.  You’re welcome to send in your entries to muslimkidsmatter@muslimmatters.org.)

Don’t forget to participate in MKM’s Ramadan competition for kids of ages 4-15!  You can begin submitting entries on Monday, July 1st.  The first two kids who submit their entries in the competition will get a free copy of a book from the STAIRS series, signed by the author.