Two real homes

After the judgement, every person goes to one of two homes: Jannah (the Garden, Paradise) or Jahannam (the Fire, Hell). How we get there is in Resurrection and judgement.

• They are real, not only ideas or pictures for the mind.
• They already exist. Allah speaks of a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous¹.
• They never end. Nabi ﷺ said: after everyone has entered their home, death will be brought and killed between them, and it will be called out: people of Jannah, no more death².

As with everything unseen, we only say what the Quran and sahih hadith tell us. And what they tell us is more than enough to fill a heart with longing.

Jannah: what no eye has seen

Allah says in a hadith qudsi (Allah's words told by Nabi ﷺ): I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever imagined³. Allah also says: no soul knows what joy is kept hidden for them⁴.

So whatever you picture, Jannah is better. Still, Allah and His Messenger ﷺ told us a little, so our hearts can long for it:

• A tiny place there is better than the whole world. Nabi ﷺ said a space the size of a foot in Jannah is better than the world and all that is in it⁵.
• Rivers of pure water, of milk that never changes taste, and of clear honey⁶. Its drink causes no headache and no drunkenness⁷.
• Whatever you wish for, and what delights the eyes⁸. And We have more⁹.
• No getting old. Clothes never wear out and youth never ends¹⁰. No tiredness, and no one is ever sent out¹¹.
• No bad feelings. Allah removes all hatred and envy from the hearts. People sit as brothers, on couches, facing each other¹².
• No boredom. They will never want to move from it¹³.
• The first group to enter will shine like the full moon¹⁴.

The people of Jannah will say: praise be to Allah, who took all sadness away from us¹⁵.

The levels of Jannah

Jannah is not one level. Nabi ﷺ said: Jannah has a hundred levels, and between every two levels is like the distance between the heaven and the earth. When you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws. It is the best and highest part of Jannah¹⁷.

• When a grieving mother asked about her son who died at Badr, Nabi ﷺ said: there are many gardens, and he is in the highest, al-Firdaws¹⁸.
• The Quran describes three groups: the people of the right, the people of the left, and those who raced ahead, who are brought nearest¹⁹.
• Even the Quran lifts you. The one who memorized it will be told: recite and rise, and your level is at the last ayah you recite²⁰.

So aim high. Ask for al-Firdaws in your dua. Allah is generous.

Together again

One of the sweetest promises of Jannah is meeting the people we love.

• Believers enter Jannah with the righteous among their parents, their spouses and their children, and angels come in to greet them from every gate²¹.
• Allah joins believers with their children who followed them in faith, and takes nothing away from the parents' reward²².
• Nabi ﷺ said: a person will be with those they love²³.

The greatest gift: seeing Allah

The best thing in Jannah is not a palace or a river. It is seeing Allah.

Allah says: some faces on that Day will be bright, looking at their Lord²⁴.

• Nabi ﷺ looked at the full moon one night and said: you will see your Lord as you see this moon, and you will have no trouble seeing Him. Then he said: so if you can, do not miss the prayer before sunrise and the prayer before sunset, meaning Fajr and Asr²⁵.
• When the people of Jannah have entered, Allah asks: do you want anything more? They say: have You not made our faces bright, put us in Jannah, and saved us from the Fire? Then the veil is lifted, and nothing they were given is dearer to them than looking at their Lord²⁶.
• Allah will say: I give you My pleasure, and I will never be angry with you after this²⁷. Allah says: and the pleasure of Allah is greater²⁸.

The last person to enter Jannah

Nabi ﷺ told us about the very last person to come out of the Fire and enter Jannah. It shows how generous Allah is with even the lowest person there.

Jahannam is real

Jahannam is the home of punishment. It is real, and Allah warns about it again and again in the Quran. A warning is a mercy: a loving parent warns a child about fire before the child touches it.

Allah says: you who believe, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones. Over it are strong angels who never disobey Allah³⁰.

• Nabi ﷺ said: the fire of this world is one part of seventy parts of the fire of Jahannam³¹.
• He also said: Jannah is closer to you than the strap of your shoe, and so is the Fire³². One good deed can bring you near Jannah, and one bad habit can lead the other way.
• The Fire is surrounded by desires, and Jannah is surrounded by things the self dislikes³³. The path to Jannah takes effort. The path to the Fire often feels easy.

We do not read about the Fire to live in fear. We read about it so we turn away from it in time. When Nabi ﷺ spoke of it, he turned his face away and asked Allah for protection, then said: protect yourselves from the Fire, even with half a date. And if you cannot find that, then with a kind word³⁴.

Believers who sinned are taken out

This is one of the most hopeful truths in Islam: no believer stays in the Fire forever.

• Nabi ﷺ said: whoever said la ilaha illallah (there is no god but Allah) and has in his heart good the weight of a barley grain, then a wheat grain, then even an atom, will be taken out of the Fire³⁵.
• Nabi ﷺ intercedes again and again. Each time Allah says: go and take out anyone with faith the weight of a grain, then a mustard seed, then even less³⁶.
• Believers intercede for their brothers. They say: our Lord, they used to pray with us, fast with us, and do good with us. Allah lets them take out those they know³⁷.
• The marks of sujud are safe. Allah forbade the Fire to eat the places of the body that touched the ground in prostration. The angels know the believers by them³⁸.
• Then Allah Himself takes out more, by His own mercy. They are put in the river of life at the door of Jannah, and grow back fresh, like a seed by a stream³⁹.

Who stays forever?

• Allah says: Allah does not forgive that partners be set up with Him, but He forgives anything less than that to whom He wills⁴⁰. So any believer who died on tawhid has hope, whatever their sins.
• The Quran says those who disbelieve and turn away from Allah will stay in the Fire⁴¹. But we never say that a named person is in the Fire. We do not know how anyone's life ended, and Allah alone judges.
• Allah is perfectly just. He says: We never punish until We have sent a messenger⁴². He does not wrong anyone by an atom⁴³.

The way to Jannah

Nabi ﷺ said: none of you will be saved by his deeds alone. They asked: not even you? He said: not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy. So do good, stay balanced, and keep going steadily, and you will reach it⁴⁴.

Deeds are how we reach for Allah's mercy. Here is the path Nabi ﷺ showed:

A dua to keep

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanah, wa fil-akhirati hasanah, wa qina adhaban-nar. Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire⁵².

And keep hope. Nabi ﷺ said: if the disbeliever knew all of Allah's mercy, he would not lose hope of Jannah⁵³. How much more should a believer hope.

Common questions

What about women in Jannah? Most descriptions seem to be for men.

Jannah is for believing women exactly as for believing men. Whoever does good, male or female, and believes, will enter Jannah⁵⁴. Allah names Muslim men and women together and promises both a great reward⁵⁵. In Jannah a woman has whatever her soul desires⁵⁶, and no jealousy or sadness remains in any heart⁵⁷. She will be completely happy.

Will I be with my family in Jannah?

We hope so. Allah promises believers will enter with the righteous among their parents, spouses and children⁵⁸, and that He joins believers with their children⁵⁹. Make dua for your family, and help each other toward Allah.

A relative of mine died who was not Muslim. Are they in the Fire?

We do not say that any named person is in the Fire. We do not know what reached them, or how their life ended. Allah is perfectly just⁶⁰, and does not punish anyone before the message reaches them⁶¹. Leave them to Allah, and let yourself grieve. Your love for them is natural.

Is it wrong to worship Allah because I want Jannah?

No. Nabi ﷺ told us to ask Allah for al-Firdaws⁶², and Allah describes Jannah to make us long for it. Wanting Jannah, fearing the Fire, and loving Allah all go together. The highest hope is to see Him⁶³.

Will we get bored in Jannah, if it lasts forever?

No. Allah says the people of Jannah will never want to move from it⁶⁴, and no tiredness touches them there⁶⁵. Boredom is a weakness of this world. Jannah has none.

Will my pet be in Jannah?

No sahih text tells us. What we know is that in Jannah you will have whatever you wish for⁶⁶, and you will not feel any loss.

I keep falling into the same sin. Am I going to the Fire?

Do not give up. Keep repenting each time. Each time a servant sins and then sincerely asks forgiveness, Allah forgives him⁶⁷. And remember: anyone with even an atom of faith is taken out of the Fire in the end⁶⁸. Keep going.