The People of the Garden are Close to Allah

Besides all the other blessings we have mentioned, the greatest and most important will be the closeness of the people of the Garden to Allah. In many hadith, our Prophet gives believers this glad tidings:

When the believers enter the Garden, Allah will say: “Is there anything you wish Me to do in addition?” The believers will say: “Did you not make our faces white? Did you not save us from the Fire and place us in the Garden? [What could be more and better than this?]” At this the veil will be lifted and they will understand that there is nothing more delightful than seeing Allah their Lord. (Buyuk Hadis Kulliyati (Great Ahadith Collection), Cem’ul-Fevaid min Cami’il-usul and Mecma’iz-zevaid,
Imam Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman ar-Rudani, vol.5, p. 415/10130]

“Messenger of Allah! Will we see our Lord on the Day of Rising?” He said, “Would you doubt about seeing the moon on the night of the full moon with no screen in between you and it?” They said, “No, Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Would you doubt about seeing the sun when there are no clouds between you and it?” They said, “No.” He said, “In the same way, you will see Him.” (Sahih al- Bukhari; Sahih Muslim; at-Tirmidhi)

Abu Hurayra said, “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord?‘ He said, ‘Yes. Do you doubt seeing the sun, and the moon on the night when it is full?‘ We said, ‘No.‘ He said, ‘Similarly, you won’t doubt seeing your Lord, Mighty is He and Majestic.‘” (Sunan Ibn Majah, vol. 5, no.4336)

According to Abu Hurayra, the Prophet said the following about this:

The Messenger of Allah informed me that when the people of the Garden enter it, they will alight there according to the merit of their actions. They will be given permission for the measure of the day of Jumu’ah from among the days of the world, and so they will visit Allah, Mighty is He and Majestic. He will show them His throne and He will appear to them in one of the meadows of the Garden. Minbars of light will be placed there for them, and minbars of pearl, minbars of saphhire, minbars of chrysolite, minbars of gold and minbars of silver. The least of them will sit – and none of them will be low – on dunes of musk and camphor, without thinking that people who have thrones are better off than them in rank… (Narrated by Abu Hurayra, Ibn Majah, vol 5)

…there will be nothing between the people and looking at their Lord except the cloak of greatness over His face in the Garden of Eden. (Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 6, no. 402)

Reclining in it on couches, they will experience there neither burning sun nor bitter cold. (Surat al-Insan: 13)

They Have Won the Favour of Allah:

In the Garden, Allah offers limitless blessings to those of His slaves who have pleased Him, but above all other blessings, is the fact that they have won Allah’s favour. They have given their worldly goods to earn His pleasure and dedicated their lives to Him. In the Garden, they enjoy the pure happiness of having attained their lives’ goal. In the Qur’an, Allah tells us what a great blessing it is to earn His favour:

Allah has promised the men and women of the muminun Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever, and fine dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. And Allah’s good pleasure is even greater. That is the great victory. (Surat at-Tawba: 72)

Another verse reveals that believers will enjoy every type of happiness in the Garden:

O self at rest and at peace, return to your Lord, well-pleasing and well-pleased! Enter among My slaves! Enter My Garden. Surat al- Fajr: 27-30)

Their reward is with their Lord: Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever and ever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is for those who fear their Lord. (Surat al-Bayyina: 8)

In a hadith we are told that the people of the Garden are pleased in Allah’s Presence:

So they will say, “At Your service, and Your good pleasure, and all good is in Your hands.” He will say, “Are you pleased?” They will say, “Why should we not be pleased, Lord, when You have given us that which You have not any others of Your creatures?” He will say, “Should I not give you better than that?” They will say, “Lord, what could be better than that.” He will say, “I sanction for you My good pleasure...” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Allah has promised the men and women of the believers Gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever, and fine dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. And Allah's good pleasure is even greater. That is the great victory. (Surat at-Tawba: 72)

The Joy of Having Been Saved from the Fire:

Of course, all the blessings of the Garden are abundant and of great value. There is no place to go in the Hereafter other than the Garden or the Fire. A person who is not accepted into the Garden by Allah will go to the Fire. The existence of the Fire greatly increases the pleasure the people of the Garden derive from it, because not only are they admitted to the Garden but they are also rescued and saved from the Fire.

In this world, Allah alternately shows people good and evil, beauty and ugliness, positive and negative. This is so that people with deen can make a comparison and the joy they take in beauty may increase. Some verses of the Qur’an demonstrate that Allah shows the people of the Garden the state of those in the Fire, which may also increase their contentment in the Garden and their joy at being saved from the Fire, and Allah knows best.

The Qur’an reveals the joy that the people of the Garden experience:

… They will say, “Praise be to Allah Who has guided us to this! We would not have been guided, had Allah not guided us. The Messengers of our Lord came with the Truth.” It will be proclaimed to them: “This is your Garden which you have inherited for what you did.” (Surat al-A‘raf: 43)

The believers may see the situation of those in the Fire and the sort of reward they have received for what they have done in the world. In the Qur’an, Allah reveals that the people of the Garden speak with the people in the Fire:

In Gardens they will ask the evildoers: “What caused you to enter Saqar?” They will say, “We were not among those who did the prayer and we did not feed the poor. We plunged with those who plunged and denied the Day of Judgement until the Certain came to us.” (Surat al- Muddaththir: 40-47)

As for those who believed and did right actions, they will be made joyful in a verdant meadow. (Surat ar-Rum: 15)