Explanation of the hadith of Abu Ibrahīm, also known as Abu Muḥammad, and also known as Abu Mu‘āwiyah, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the recommendation of giving glad tidings and congratulating one another with good: “From Abu Ibrahīm, and it is said: Abu Muḥammad, and it is said: Abu Mu‘āwiyah, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā (may Allah be pleased with them both):

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave glad tidings to Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her) about a palace of hollowed pearls in Jannah, free from noise and toil.

أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بشر خديجة رضي الله عنها ببيت في الجنة من قصب لا صخب فيه ولا نصب

Riyad as-Salihin 707

It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And from Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī (may Allah be pleased with him) that he performed ablution in his house, then he went out and said:

One day, I performed my Wudu' in my house and then set forth with the determination that I would stick to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and spend the whole day with him. I came to the mosque and asked about him. The Companions told that he (ﷺ) had gone in a certain direction. Abu Musa added: I followed him inquiring until I came to Bi'r Aris (a well in the suburb of Al-Madinah). (There) I sat down at the door till he (ﷺ) had relieved himself and performed Wudu'. Then I went to him and saw him sitting on the platform of the well with his shanks uncovered and his legs dangling in the well. I greeted him and returned to the door of the garden, saying to myself, "I will be the doorkeeper of the Messenger of Allah today." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) came and knocked at the door. I said; "Who is that?" He said: "Abu Bakr." I said, "Wait a moment." Then I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Abu Bakr is at the door seeking permission to enter." He said, "Admit him and give him the glad tidings of Jannah." I returned and said to Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him): "You may enter and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has given you the glad tidings of (entering) Jannah." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) came in and sat down on the right side of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and suspended his legs into the well and uncovered his shanks, as the Messenger of Allah had done. I returned to the door and sat down. I had left my brother at home while he was performing Wudu' and intending to join me. I said to myself: "If Allah intends good for him (i.e., to be blessed to come at this time and receive the glad tidings of entering Jannah), He will bring him here." Someone knocked at the door and I said, "Who is it?" He said, "Umar bin Al-Khattab." I said, "Wait a moment." Then I proceeded towards Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I greeted him and said, "Umar is at the door, seeking permission to enter. He said, "Let him in and give him the glad tidings of entering Jannah." I went back to 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) and said to him, "Messenger of Allah has given you permission as well as glad tidings of entering Jannah." He entered and sat down with Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on his left side and dangled his feet into the well. I returned to the door and sat down and said to myself: "If Allah intends good for my brother, He will bring him here." Someone knocked at the door and I said, "Who is it?" He said, "Uthman bin 'Affan." I said, "Wait a moment." I went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and informed him about his arrival. He said, "Let him in and give him glad tidings of entering Jannah together with a tribulation which he will have to face." I came back to him and said, "You may enter; and Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gives you the glad tidings of entering Jannah together with a tribulation that will afflict you." He got in and saw that the elevated platform round the well was fully occupied. So he sat on opposite side.

لألزمن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ولأكونن معه يومي هذا، فجاء المسجد فسأل عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالوا: وجه هاهنا، قال: فخرجت على أثره أسأل عنه حتى دخل بئر أريس فجلست عند الباب حتى قضى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حاجته وتوضأ فقمت إليه فإذا هو قد جلس على بئر أريس وتوسط قفها وكشف عن ساقيه ودلاهما في البئر، فسلمت عليه ثم انصرفت فجلست عند الباب فقلت: لأكونن بواب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم اليوم، فجاء أبو بكر رضي الله عنه فدفع الباب، فقلت: من هذا؟ فقال: أبو بكر، فقلت: على رسلك ثم ذهبت، فقلت: يا رسول الله هذا أبو بكر يستأذن، فقال: ائذن له وبشره بالجنة ، فأقبلت حتى قلت لأبي بكر ادخل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يبشرك بالجنة،ـ فدخل أبو بكر حتى جلس عن يمين النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم معه في القف ودلى رجليه في البئر كما صنع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وكشف عن ساقيه، ثم رجعت وجلست وقد تركت أخي يتوضأ ويلحقني فقلت: إن يرد الله بفلان خيرا يأت به يريد أخاه، فإذا إنسان يحرك الباب فقلت: من هذا؟ فقال: عمر بن الخطاب فقلت: على رسلك، ثم جئت إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فسلمت عليه وقلت هذا عمر يستأذن فقال: ائذن له وبشره بالجنة ، فجئت عمر فقلت أذن ويبشرك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالجنة، فدخل فجلس مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في القف عن يساره ودلى رجليه في البئر، ثم رجعت فجلست فقلت إن يرد الله بفلان خيرًا يأت به يعني أخاه، فجاء إنسان فحرك الباب فقلت: من هذا؟ فقال: عثمان بن عفان فقلت: على رسلك، وجئت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبرته فقال: ائذن له وبشره بالجنة مع بلوى تصيبه ، فجئت فقلت ادخل ويبشرك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالجنة مع بلوى تصيبك، فدخل فوجد القف قد مليء فجلس وجاههم من الشق الآخر

Riyad as-Salihin 708

Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib said: So I interpreted it as their graves. It is agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. And it was added in a narration:

The Prophet (ﷺ) ordered me to guard the door.

وأمرني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بحفظ الباب

Riyad as-Salihin 708

, and in it is that when Uthmān was given the glad tidings, he praised Allah the Exalted and then said: “Allah is the One to be sought for help.”

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in the chapter on the recommendation of giving glad tidings with good and congratulating one another with it verses that have been discussed previously, and we clarified that the glad tidings may be with good in this world or with good in the Hereafter. Then he mentioned two hadiths: the hadith of Abu Ibrahīm, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Awfā (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) gave Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) the glad tidings of a house in Paradise, and likewise the hadith of Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī, which will come if Allah wills. He says: “A house in Paradise made of reeds, in which there is no noise or fatigue”. But the reeds from which Khadijah’s palace in Paradise is built are not like the reeds in this world. The name is the name, but the reality is not the reality. Just as in Paradise there are dates, pomegranates, fruits, meat of birds, and other things, but the name is the name and the reality is not the reality. This is a chapter in which a person must be alert to the fact that matters of the unseen that have a counterpart in this world do not resemble their counterpart in this world. For example, in the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has a Noble Face described with majesty and honor. Do you think it is like our faces? No, it is different, as He the Exalted said: A Face befitting His majesty and greatness, which cannot be comprehended, neither described nor imagined in the mind, nor spoken with the tongue, and it is too great and exalted to be encompassed by descriptions. And so it is with the rest of His attributes (Mighty and Majestic): their names correspond to the names by which we are described, but the reality is not the reality. Likewise, in Paradise, as I said, there is honey, water, wine, meat, women, fruits, pomegranates, and other things, but they are not like those in this world, because Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said in the Noble Qur’an: If it were like what is in this world, we would know it, but it is not like it, nor close to it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) also said, in what he narrated from Allah, that He said: We ask Allah to make us and you among those for whom He has prepared that. So Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was given the glad tidings by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) through Jibrīl; he was the one who informed the Messenger of the glad tidings of a house in Paradise made of reeds. But the reeds in Paradise are not like the reeds in this world, and the reeds in this world are not like the reeds in Paradise. Then he said: “In which there is no noise or fatigue”. The noise is the severe, disturbing sounds; there is no noise in it. The people of Paradise, none of them have noise or fatigue or idle talk. Their speech is good because they are the neighbors of the Good One (Exalted and Majestic is He). So they are good in the Gardens of Eden, abodes of goodness with the Good One (Exalted and Majestic is He). They are all good, just as their hearts in this world are good and their actions are good, because Allah does not accept except what is good, and their actions are accepted, so they are likewise in the Hereafter. So Khadijah’s palace has no noise and no fatigue; there is no exhaustion in it, no need to sweep away garbage or anything else. It is all good. And this is a glad tidings for the Mother of the Believers, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her). The Mother of the Believers, Khadijah, was the first woman the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) married. He married her when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was twenty-five years old, and she was forty years old, having had a previous husband before him. She bore him his four daughters and his three sons, or two. And he did not marry anyone else over her until she died (may Allah be pleased with her). She was a woman of intellect, intelligence, and wisdom, with known noble deeds that one finds by reviewing her biography in history. She was equal to ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), meaning that she and ‘Ā’ishah were the best of the women of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the most beloved of his women to him. The scholars differed on which of them is better. It was said: ‘Ā’ishah. It was said: Khadijah. And the correct view is that each of them has a distinction that the other does not share. ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), at the end of the message and after the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), has in spreading the message, knowledge, and the Shari’ah what Khadijah does not have. And Khadijah has in the beginning of the message, in supporting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and assisting him, what ‘Ā’ishah does not have. Each of them has a distinction. As for excellence, it is sufficient for them as a source of pride that they are the most beloved of the women of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to him; this is enough. And as for virtues, each of them has a virtue. So ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) has the distinctions we mentioned before, and Khadijah has the distinctions we mentioned before. And as for excellence with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), it is sufficient, as I said, that they are the most beloved of the women of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to him. It is mentioned that a man from the people of the Sunnah and a man from the Rafidah disputed. The Rafidah hate ‘Ā’ishah with intense hatred, and refuge is sought in Allah from that. And the people of the Sunnah love ‘Ā’ishah, and the Rafidah exaggerate in their praise of Khadijah with severe exaggeration that goes beyond the Shari’ah. They hate this one, meaning ‘Ā’ishah, with intense hatred, and they exaggerate in Khadijah with severe exaggeration. And the people of the Sunnah and the community love them both and acknowledge the excellence of both, of ‘Ā’ishah and Khadijah. A Rafidi and a Sunni disputed. The Rafidi said: Khadijah is better. And the Sunni said: ‘Ā’ishah is better, according to the saying of some scholars. Some scholars of the Sunnah say that ‘Ā’ishah is better and state the opinion that ‘Ā’ishah is better. And the correct view is what I indicated first, that each of them has a distinction. So the two men went to Ibn al-Jawzī (may Allah have mercy on him), the author of the well-known al-Tabṣarah. They said: We have chosen you as a judge; which is better, Khadijah or ‘Ā’ishah? He said: The better of the two is the one whose daughter is under him. I mean, I made a mistake regarding ‘Alī and Abū Bakr. The comparison is between ‘Alī and Abū Bakr. I said ‘Ā’ishah and Khadijah, and the correct one is ‘Alī and Abū Bakr. They went up to Ibn al-Jawzī (may Allah have mercy on him), and he said: The better of the two is the one whose daughter is under him. Who is better now? The statement is ambiguous. If he meant the daughter of the one being compared is under the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then the better is Abū Bakr. And if he meant the daughter of the Messenger is under him, then the better is ‘Alī. So the two men left, each saying: He ruled in my favor. And this one saying: He ruled in my favor. Because the pronoun is ambiguous, returning to this one and to this one. And this is from the intelligence of Ibn al-Jawzī and his escape from the situation. And the summary is that this story is famous and known: a Rafidi and a Sunni disputed about Abū Bakr. The Rafidi said: ‘Alī is better. And the Sunni said: Abū Bakr is better. And there is no doubt that Abū Bakr is better by the consensus of the people of the Sunnah, until ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib said on the pulpit of Kufa: The best of this Ummah after its Prophet is Abū Bakr, then ‘Umar. He announced this publicly in his caliphate, fearing no one. But the Rafidah distort the words from their places, so they went to Ibn al-Jawzī, and he said: “The better of the two is the one whose daughter is under him”. The daughter of whom? If the intended meaning is the daughter of the one being compared, or the one preferred, under the Messenger, then it is Abū Bakr. If it is the daughter of the Messenger under him, then it is ‘Alī. And Ibn al-Jawzī (may Allah have mercy on him) is from the people of the Sunnah; there is no doubt that he prefers Abū Bakr. But he came with this ambiguous statement to be safe from the harm of this Rafidi. And Allah knows best.