The Ultimate Pleasure

It was narrated from Suhayb ar-Roomi (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah – may He be blessed and exalted – will say: ‘Do you want anything more?’ They will say: Have You not made our faces bright? Have You not admitted us to Paradise and saved us from Hell?’ Then the veil will be removed and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.” Narrated by Muslim. According to this hadeeth, will the believers’ seeing Allah after entering Paradise happen only once, or will the people of Paradise see Allah all the time and at any time, or will it be once every Friday, as I have heard before?
Praise be to Allah
Part of the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is that the believers will see their Lord, may He be glorified, on the Day of Resurrection and in Paradise, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah (shining and radiant).

Looking at their Lord (Allah).”

[al-Qiyaamah :22-23].

And there is other evidence to that effect.

This is the greatest blessing that He, may He be glorified, will bestow upon them.

See also the answers to questions no. 14525 and 116644.

Secondly:

The people of Paradise will have a gathering with their Lord every Friday on which they will have the blessing of gazing upon His noble Countenance.

At-Tabaraani narrated in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (6717) that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Jibreel came to me with something like a white mirror in his hand, on which there was a black spot. I said: ‘What is this, O Jibreel?’ He said: ‘This is Jumu‘ah (Friday); it is the master of days and we call it Yawm al-Mazeed (the day of more – cf. “There they will have all that they desire, and We have more (for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic)” [Qaaf 50:35]).’ I said: ‘O Jibreel, what does “more” mean?’ He said: ‘That is because your Lord has allocated a valley in Paradise that is more fragrant than white musk. When Friday comes, among the days in the hereafter, the Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, will descend from His Throne (‘Arsh) to His Kursiy, and the Kursiy will be surrounded with seats of light on which the Prophets will sit. These seats will be surrounded with footstools of gold on which the martyrs will sit. The people of the chambers will come down from the chambers and sit on sand hills of musk, and those who sit on the sand hills will not think that those who sit on the footstools and seats are any better off than them. Then the Owner of Majesty and Honour will appear and say: ‘Ask of Me.’ They will say: ‘We ask for Your good pleasure, O Lord.’ He will say: ‘It is because I am pleased with you that you are in My Paradise, and you are honoured.’ Then He will say (again): ‘Ask of Me.’ They will say all together: ‘We ask for Your good pleasure.’ He will ask them to testify that He is pleased with them. Then He will say (once more): ‘Ask of Me,’ and they will ask of Him until each one of them is finished. Then He will grant them that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and it has not crossed the mind of any human.”

It was also narrated by Ibn Abi’d-Dunya in Sifat al-Jannah (88) via another isnaad; he added: “… there is nothing that they are more eager for than Friday; the more they gaze more upon their Lord, the more they will increase in honour.”

Al-Mundhiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

It was narrated by Ibn Abi’d-Dunya and by at-Tabaraani in al-Awsat with two isnaads, one of which is jayyid qawiy. A shorter version was also narrated by Abu Ya‘la; the men of its isnaad are the men of as-Saheeh. And it was also narrated by al-Bazzaar.

End quote from at-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb, 4/311; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb, 3761

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Ad-Daaraqutni narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn al-Mubaarak: al-Mas‘oodi told us, from al-Minhaal ibn ‘Amr, from Abu ‘Ubaydah, from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, who said: “Hasten to Jumu‘ah, for verily Allah will appear to the people of Paradise every Friday when they gather at a sand hill of camphor, and their closeness to Him will be commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world.” Then he listed a number of isnaads for it, then he said:

This that Ibn Mas‘ood told us is something that he could only know from a Prophet or from someone who took it from a Prophet. Thus it is known that Ibn Mas‘ood took it from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and it is not possible for him to have taken it from the People of the Book, for several reasons:

i. The Sahaabah were forbidden to believe the People of the Book in what they told them. Hence it is impossible for Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) to have narrated for the purpose of teaching, or as the basis for a ruling, something that the Jews told him.

ii. Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) in particular was one of the strictest of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) in denouncing those who took things from the teachings of the People of the Book.

iii. Jumu‘ah (Friday) was enjoined only for us, and coming early to Jumu‘ah is only prescribed in our religion. Hence it is unlikely that such a report could have been taken from the earlier Prophets, and it is unlikely that the Jews would speak of such a virtue to this ummah, when they characteristically concealed knowledge and were miserly with it, and they were envious of this ummah.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/403-405

Muslim (2833) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “In Paradise there is a market to which they will come every Friday. Then the north wind will blow and will blow on their faces and garments, and increase them in beauty. Then they will return to their families having increased in beauty and their families will say to them: By Allah, you have increased in beauty, and they will say: By Allah, you too have increased in beauty.”

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said:

It may be that this hadeeth is shorter than other hadeeths. The reason for the increase in beauty is “seeing Allah, may He be exalted”, and all the joy that results from that. Based on that, it may be that the believing women will see Allah in their homes in Paradise in such a way that their beauty increases, if the reason for that is seeing Allah, as is explained in other hadeeths…

… Once that is clear, then we say: In some of the other hadeeths that give more details than this hadeeth it mentions seeing Allah on Fridays, but there is nothing to connect it to Jumu‘ah prayer in this world. In the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah it mentions the Friday marketplace of Paradise, and in some of the hadeeths it says that on Fridays in the hereafter they will sit with Allah, with the degree of closeness to Him commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world. There is no mention of seeing Him – as mentioned above in the marfoo‘ hadeeth of Ibn Mas‘ood. And in some reports there is mention of both things [seeing and sitting] together; these are the majority of the hadeeths.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/408-409

He also said:

Seeing Allah in the Hereafter in general is connected to the congregational prayers. If it was prescribed for people in this world to gather to remember Allah, converse with Him, and find joy in meeting Him in prayer every Friday, then in the Hereafter they will be allocated a meeting every Friday to converse with Him, see Him and find joy in meeting Him.

If the Sunnah stated that the women should be enjoined to go out on ‘Eid, even those who remained in seclusion and those who were menstruating, and at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) most of the women went out on the Eid, their Eid in the Hereafter will include seeing Him, commensurate with their Eid in this world.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/420

Thirdly:

The idea that the people of Paradise will see their Lord, may He be glorified, every Friday does not mean that they will not see Him at other times. The people of Paradise will enjoy various delights, and the greatest bliss is to see the Lord, may He be exalted, in Paradise. Just as they will vary in terms of the physical delights of Paradise, they will also vary in terms of intangible bliss.

But affirming or denying the idea of seeing Him every day depends on a sound report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to that effect, and no such report has reached us as far as we know.

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The believers will see their Lord every Friday; as for every hour or every moment, we have no knowledge concerning that.

End quote from Duroos Mufraghah li’sh-Shaykh al-Albaani (43/3)

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A

It was narrated from Suhayb ar-Roomi (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah – may He be blessed and exalted – will say: ‘Do you want anything more?’ They will say: Have You not made our faces bright? Have You not admitted us to Paradise and saved us from Hell?’ Then the veil will be removed and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.” Narrated by Muslim. According to this hadeeth, will the believers’ seeing Allah after entering Paradise happen only once, or will the people of Paradise see Allah all the time and at any time, or will it be once every Friday, as I have heard before?
Praise be to Allah
Part of the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is that the believers will see their Lord, may He be glorified, on the Day of Resurrection and in Paradise, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah (shining and radiant).

Looking at their Lord (Allah).”

[al-Qiyaamah :22-23].

And there is other evidence to that effect.

This is the greatest blessing that He, may He be glorified, will bestow upon them.

See also the answers to questions no. 14525 and 116644.

Secondly:

The people of Paradise will have a gathering with their Lord every Friday on which they will have the blessing of gazing upon His noble Countenance.

At-Tabaraani narrated in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (6717) that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Jibreel came to me with something like a white mirror in his hand, on which there was a black spot. I said: ‘What is this, O Jibreel?’ He said: ‘This is Jumu‘ah (Friday); it is the master of days and we call it Yawm al-Mazeed (the day of more – cf. “There they will have all that they desire, and We have more (for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic)” [Qaaf 50:35]).’ I said: ‘O Jibreel, what does “more” mean?’ He said: ‘That is because your Lord has allocated a valley in Paradise that is more fragrant than white musk. When Friday comes, among the days in the hereafter, the Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, will descend from His Throne (‘Arsh) to His Kursiy, and the Kursiy will be surrounded with seats of light on which the Prophets will sit. These seats will be surrounded with footstools of gold on which the martyrs will sit. The people of the chambers will come down from the chambers and sit on sand hills of musk, and those who sit on the sand hills will not think that those who sit on the footstools and seats are any better off than them. Then the Owner of Majesty and Honour will appear and say: ‘Ask of Me.’ They will say: ‘We ask for Your good pleasure, O Lord.’ He will say: ‘It is because I am pleased with you that you are in My Paradise, and you are honoured.’ Then He will say (again): ‘Ask of Me.’ They will say all together: ‘We ask for Your good pleasure.’ He will ask them to testify that He is pleased with them. Then He will say (once more): ‘Ask of Me,’ and they will ask of Him until each one of them is finished. Then He will grant them that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and it has not crossed the mind of any human.”

It was also narrated by Ibn Abi’d-Dunya in Sifat al-Jannah (88) via another isnaad; he added: “… there is nothing that they are more eager for than Friday; the more they gaze more upon their Lord, the more they will increase in honour.”

Al-Mundhiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

It was narrated by Ibn Abi’d-Dunya and by at-Tabaraani in al-Awsat with two isnaads, one of which is jayyid qawiy. A shorter version was also narrated by Abu Ya‘la; the men of its isnaad are the men of as-Saheeh. And it was also narrated by al-Bazzaar.

End quote from at-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb, 4/311; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Targheeb, 3761

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Ad-Daaraqutni narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn al-Mubaarak: al-Mas‘oodi told us, from al-Minhaal ibn ‘Amr, from Abu ‘Ubaydah, from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, who said: “Hasten to Jumu‘ah, for verily Allah will appear to the people of Paradise every Friday when they gather at a sand hill of camphor, and their closeness to Him will be commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world.” Then he listed a number of isnaads for it, then he said:

This that Ibn Mas‘ood told us is something that he could only know from a Prophet or from someone who took it from a Prophet. Thus it is known that Ibn Mas‘ood took it from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and it is not possible for him to have taken it from the People of the Book, for several reasons:

i. The Sahaabah were forbidden to believe the People of the Book in what they told them. Hence it is impossible for Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) to have narrated for the purpose of teaching, or as the basis for a ruling, something that the Jews told him.

ii. Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) in particular was one of the strictest of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) in denouncing those who took things from the teachings of the People of the Book.

iii. Jumu‘ah (Friday) was enjoined only for us, and coming early to Jumu‘ah is only prescribed in our religion. Hence it is unlikely that such a report could have been taken from the earlier Prophets, and it is unlikely that the Jews would speak of such a virtue to this ummah, when they characteristically concealed knowledge and were miserly with it, and they were envious of this ummah.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/403-405

Muslim (2833) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “In Paradise there is a market to which they will come every Friday. Then the north wind will blow and will blow on their faces and garments, and increase them in beauty. Then they will return to their families having increased in beauty and their families will say to them: By Allah, you have increased in beauty, and they will say: By Allah, you too have increased in beauty.”

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said:

It may be that this hadeeth is shorter than other hadeeths. The reason for the increase in beauty is “seeing Allah, may He be exalted”, and all the joy that results from that. Based on that, it may be that the believing women will see Allah in their homes in Paradise in such a way that their beauty increases, if the reason for that is seeing Allah, as is explained in other hadeeths…

… Once that is clear, then we say: In some of the other hadeeths that give more details than this hadeeth it mentions seeing Allah on Fridays, but there is nothing to connect it to Jumu‘ah prayer in this world. In the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah it mentions the Friday marketplace of Paradise, and in some of the hadeeths it says that on Fridays in the hereafter they will sit with Allah, with the degree of closeness to Him commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world. There is no mention of seeing Him – as mentioned above in the marfoo‘ hadeeth of Ibn Mas‘ood. And in some reports there is mention of both things [seeing and sitting] together; these are the majority of the hadeeths.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/408-409

He also said:

Seeing Allah in the Hereafter in general is connected to the congregational prayers. If it was prescribed for people in this world to gather to remember Allah, converse with Him, and find joy in meeting Him in prayer every Friday, then in the Hereafter they will be allocated a meeting every Friday to converse with Him, see Him and find joy in meeting Him.

If the Sunnah stated that the women should be enjoined to go out on ‘Eid, even those who remained in seclusion and those who were menstruating, and at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) most of the women went out on the Eid, their Eid in the Hereafter will include seeing Him, commensurate with their Eid in this world.

End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/420

Thirdly:

The idea that the people of Paradise will see their Lord, may He be glorified, every Friday does not mean that they will not see Him at other times. The people of Paradise will enjoy various delights, and the greatest bliss is to see the Lord, may He be exalted, in Paradise. Just as they will vary in terms of the physical delights of Paradise, they will also vary in terms of intangible bliss.

But affirming or denying the idea of seeing Him every day depends on a sound report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to that effect, and no such report has reached us as far as we know.

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The believers will see their Lord every Friday; as for every hour or every moment, we have no knowledge concerning that.

End quote from Duroos Mufraghah li’sh-Shaykh al-Albaani (43/3)

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A