Allah gives us many descriptions in the Quran of the people who will enter Jannah. He does not only tell us what Paradise is like; He also tells us what kind of people reach it. He describes their actions, their relationship with Him, and most importantly, the state of their hearts.
Towards the end of Surat az-Zumar, Allah gives us a powerful scene from the Day of Judgement:
وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
“And those who were mindful of their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups. When they arrive there, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be upon you! You have done well and become purified. So enter it, to remain forever.’”
(Surat az-Zumar, 39:73)
Imagine this moment. The eight gates of Jannah are wide open and the angels are waiting there to welcome the believers. Their first words are words of peace: سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ — “Peace be upon you.” Then they say: طِبْتُمْ — “You have become good and pure.”
The struggle of this life is now over. The temptations, the tests, the patience, the effort to avoid what Allah prohibited, the doubtful matters they stayed away from, and the sacrifices they made to remain obedient to Him have not been wasted. Everything has been recorded. Now they enter Jannah, never to leave.
And what will they say?
وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُ وَأَوْرَثَنَا الْأَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ
“They will say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the land, so that we may settle wherever we wish in Paradise.’ How excellent is the reward of those who worked.”
(Surat az-Zumar, 39:74)
Notice the final words: فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ — “How excellent is the reward of those who worked.” Jannah is not reached through wishful thinking alone. There is work behind it, there is patience, sacrifice and resistance. There is staying away from haram, avoiding doubtful matters and getting up again after falling. None of it is wasted.
You will be with those you love
The Prophet ﷺ said:
الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ
“A person will be with those whom he loves.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
If you love the people of goodness, you hope to be gathered with them. If you love the Prophet ﷺ and the righteous, you hope to be in their company. Allah describes people being gathered on the Day of Judgement in groups, and in the same surah He describes another group:
وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا
“Those who rejected the truth will be driven to Hell in groups.”
(Surat az-Zumar, 39:71)
People will be gathered first as nations and communities, and then they will be divided into groups. There will be the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, the people of Isa (peace be upon him), the people of Musa (peace be upon him), and others. Then within those communities there will be different groups.
Even the people of taqwa are not all at the same level. There are different degrees of taqwa, and people will be gathered with others who resemble them in their qualities. Those who observed taqwa in this world will be gathered with people of taqwa.
Look also at the contrast between how the two groups are received. The people of Jannah are greeted with: سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ — “Peace be upon you. You have become pure.” The people of Jahannam, however, are reprimanded. The angels will say to them:
أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ يَتْلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِ رَبِّكُمْ وَيُنْذِرُونَكُمْ لِقَاءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَٰذَا
“Did messengers from among yourselves not come to you, reciting to you the revelations of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day?”
(Surat az-Zumar, 39:71)
They will admit that the messengers did come, but by then it will be too late. So in the same passage, Allah shows us two groups, two receptions and two final destinations. Those who struggled in the dunya to avoid haram and doubtful matters may have suffered and found obedience difficult, but none of it was lost. They practised patience, and on that Day they will see the result: فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ — “How excellent is the reward of those who worked.”
Purified before entering Jannah
There is another beautiful meaning in the angels’ words: طِبْتُمْ — “You have become pure.”
It is reported from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that near the gate of Jannah there is a great tree, beneath which are two springs. Those entering Jannah will drink from them: one will purify them outwardly and the other will purify them inwardly. They will then be ready to enter Jannah in complete purity.
This helps us understand why the angels greet them by saying:
طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
“You have become pure, so enter it to remain forever.”
No impurity remains, no bitterness remains, no resentment remains and no pain remains. They are outwardly and inwardly purified, ready for the eternal home of purity.
But what qualities made them worthy of this welcome? Allah tells us in Surat Qaf.
Five qualities of the people of Jannah
Allah says:
وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ هَذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ حَفِيظٍ مَنْ خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُنِيبٍ ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ لَهُمْ مَا يَشَاءُونَ فِيهَا وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ
“Paradise will be brought near to the people of taqwa, no longer distant. ‘This is what you were promised—for every servant who constantly returned to Allah and carefully guarded His commands, who feared the Most Merciful in the unseen and came with a heart that continually turned to Him. Enter it in peace. This is the Day of Eternity. There they will have whatever they wish, and with Us is even more.’”
(Surat Qaf, 50:31–35)
Allah mentions five beautiful qualities of the people of Jannah.
1. Taqwa
The first is:
لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
“For the people of taqwa.”
Taqwa is to place a protection between yourself and the displeasure of Allah through faith, obedience and avoiding what He has forbidden. Sometimes that requires patience. Sometimes it means walking away from something you desperately want because you know Allah does not want it for you. Sometimes it means avoiding not only what is clearly haram, but doubtful matters because you do not want to jeopardise your relationship with Allah.
The people of taqwa may struggle in this dunya, but their struggle is not wasted. Allah sees it all.
2. Keep returning to Allah
The second quality is:
لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ
“For every awwab.”
An awwab is someone who repeatedly returns to Allah. They return through tawbah when they sin, through dhikr when they become heedless, and through obedience whenever they drift away. This does not mean that the people of Jannah never make mistakes. They do. The point is not that they never slip, but that they do not persist in turning away from Allah.
Whenever they fall, they come back. Whenever they sin, they repent. Whenever they become distracted, they remember Allah again.
Even the Prophet ﷺ, whose sins were forgiven, constantly sought Allah’s forgiveness. He said:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنِّي أَتُوبُ فِي الْيَوْمِ إِلَيْهِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ
“O people, repent to Allah, for indeed I repent to Him one hundred times a day.”
(Muslim)
This is what it means to be awwab. You keep returning. Never think, “I have failed again, so there is no point.” Return again, and again, and again.
3. Guard what Allah has entrusted to you
Allah then says:
حَفِيظٍ
“One who carefully guards.”
Who is the hafiz? It is the person who continuously observes the commands of Allah and asks, “What does Allah want from me here?” They guard Allah’s limits, their salah, their tongue, their eyes, their behaviour, their responsibilities and their covenant with Allah.
Imam al-Qushayri gives a beautiful spiritual interpretation of this quality. He describes the person as one who guards their time, watches over their senses for Allah, and even guards their breaths with Allah. Life is passing, and every day that disappears is a piece of our life that will never return. The believer therefore becomes careful with what Allah has entrusted to them.
4. Fear Allah when nobody can see you
The fourth quality is:
مَنْ خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ بِالْغَيْبِ
“Who feared the Most Merciful in the unseen.”
This is a very high quality. You fear Allah and observe His commands even when nobody is around you. It is easy to appear righteous when people are watching, but who are you when nobody knows? What do you look at when nobody can see your screen? How do you behave when there is no one there to praise or balme you? Do you still obey Allah when you receive no recognition, no likes and no approval from anybody?
This is where sincerity appears. You are not obeying Allah to gain people’s approval. You obey Him because your heart is connected to Him, because you love Allah and want to please Him.
Notice also something beautiful in the verse. Allah says: خَشِيَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ — “He feared the Most Merciful.” He uses the name ar-Rahman. Their fear is therefore not a fear devoid of hope; it is a fear connected to knowledge of Allah’s mercy. They fear displeasing the One they love.
5. Come to Allah with a heart that turns to Him
Finally Allah says:
وَجَاءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُنِيبٍ
“And came with a heart that continually turns to Him.”
At the end of everything, what do you bring to Allah? You bring your heart: a heart that turns to Him through love, repentance, regret and sincerity; a heart that wants Him even after repeatedly becoming distracted.
Allah does not say that this person comes with a soul that has never disobeyed. He says: بِقَلْبٍ مُنِيبٍ — “with a heart that turns back to Allah.” There is great hope in this for the sinner whose heart sincerely returns to Him.
Elsewhere Allah describes salvation on the Day of Judgement:
يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit anyone, except the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.”
(Surat ash-Shu’ara, 26:88–89)
A sound heart is a heart we are constantly trying to purify from grudges, hatred, jealousy, envy, greed and arrogance. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَىٰ صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَىٰ قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ
“Allah does not look at your appearance or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.”
(Muslim)
Think about what happens when you know an important guest is coming to your house. You clean the house, tidy everything and put things in order because you are afraid that your guest might see something you would rather they did not see. Allah is looking at our hearts all the time, so we need to keep our hearts in order. We need to clean them by removing resentment, jealousy, arrogance and hatred, and by continually returning to Allah until we come to Him with a heart that is sound and a heart that is munib.
A spiritual progression
There is a beautiful progression in these verses. It begins with taqwa: how you conduct yourself. Then comes awbah: whenever you slip, you return. Then comes hifz: you guard Allah’s commands and remain steadfast. Then comes khashyah bil-ghayb: your private life becomes sincere because you know Allah sees you even when nobody else does. Finally comes inabah: your whole heart turns towards Allah.
In other words, there is taqwa in your behaviour, returning to Allah after your shortcomings, guarding His commands in your actions, fearing Him in private, and finally a heart that belongs to Him.
Then comes the result. Allah says: وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ — “Paradise will be brought near”; ادْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَامٍ — “Enter it in peace”; ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ الْخُلُودِ — “This is the Day of Eternity”; and لَهُمْ مَا يَشَاءُونَ فِيهَا — “They will have whatever they wish.”
Then Allah says something astonishing:
وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ
“And with Us is even more.”
Something beyond anything you imagined
The people of Jannah will have whatever they wish. Think about that: anything you could want, with no limitations, no disappointment, no loss and no fear that the blessing will disappear. Yet after all of this, Allah says that He has something beyond even their wishes, something very special that they had never imagined.
وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ
“And with Us is even more.”
Many of the scholars of tafsir have explained al-mazid as referring to one of the greatest blessings of Jannah: seeing Allah.
Allah says:
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ
“On that Day there will be radiant faces, looking towards their Lord.”
(Surat al-Qiyamah, 75:22–23)
The believers will have Jannah, and then beyond Jannah they will be granted the greatest favour: to see Allah. At that moment you forget about Jannah and you forget about the bliss of Jannah, because seeing Allah is greater than everything else.
What could be greater than finally seeing the One you spent your life worshipping without seeing? The One you called upon in the darkness, the One you cried to, the One you trusted when things made no sense, and the One you asked to forgive you every time you fell.
This is one of the greatest encouragements Allah gives us to remain firm upon the path He has chosen for us.
Allah says:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way.”
(Surat al-Ma’idah, 5:3)
Allah has shown us the path. Our task is to remain firm upon it until we meet Him.
There are levels – so aim high
Imam al-Qushayri draws attention to something beautiful in these verses. He points to different levels.
In Surat az-Zumar, Allah says:
وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا
“Those who were mindful of their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups.”
They are travelling towards Jannah. This is one level.
Then in Surat Qaf Allah says:
وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ
“Paradise will be brought near to the people of taqwa, no longer distant.”
Look at the difference. At one level, the believers are taken towards Jannah. At a higher level, Jannah itself is brought near to them. Beyond that are the specially honoured servants of Allah, gathered in a special company and given the honour of closeness to Him.
Imam al-Qushayri said in his commentary on the verse: “And those who were mindful of their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups” (al-Zumar 39:73):
“In groups” meaning in companies. These are the ordinary people of Paradise. Above them are those concerning whom Allah says: “On the Day We shall gather the Al-Muttaqeen God-fearing before the Most Merciful as honoured delegation.” (Maryam 19:85)
And above them are those concerning whom He says: “And Paradise will be brought near to Al-Muttaqeen the God-fearing, no longer distant.” (Qaf 50:31)
What a difference there is between one who is led to Paradise and one to whom Paradise itself is brought near! The first are those who have wronged themselves; the next are those who follow a middle course; and the last are those who are foremost in good deeds.¹
¹ An allusion to the verse: “Among them are those who wrong themselves, those who follow a middle course, and those who are foremost in good deeds.” (Fatir 35:32)
There are ranks and there are degrees. Of course, most of us are probably thinking, “Let me just get into Jannah first, and then we can discuss the details!” Inshallah. But aim high. Why not?
When you ask Allah, ask Him for great things. Do not think, “That is too much.” There is no “too much” for Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
فَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُ اللَّهَ فَاسْأَلُوهُ الْفِرْدَوْسَ
“When you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaus.”
(Bukhari)
So ask Allah to make you among the companions of Rasulullah ﷺ in al-Firdaus al-A’la. We may look at ourselves and think, “I do not deserve that,” but Allah is generous. Why not ask? Make your ask big, but then work towards it.
It has been attributed to Imam al-Ghazali that the one who makes supplication without action is like someone mocking Allah. We do not want to ask for Jannah while making no effort to walk towards it. We ask, and we work.
We ask Allah to make us among the people of taqwa, and then we try to live with taqwa. We ask Him for forgiveness, and then we repent. We ask for a sound heart, and then we work on removing the diseases of our hearts. We ask for al-Firdaus, and then we try to live like people who genuinely want al-Firdaus.
So repent, guard your prayers, guard your tongue, guard your eyes and guard your heart. Obey Allah when nobody is watching. Forgive people, remove jealousy and resentment, return to Allah every time you drift away, and never stop asking Him to keep you firm.
Ask Allah for Jannah and everything that leads to it
Among the beautiful supplications taught by the Prophet ﷺ is:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ
“O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and for every word and deed that brings me closer to it, and I seek refuge in You from the Fire and from every word and deed that brings me closer to it.”
This is what we ask Allah for: not only Jannah, but everything that brings us closer to Jannah; and not only protection from Jahannam, but protection from everything that leads towards it.
May Allah make us among those to whom the angels say:
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
“Peace be upon you. You have become pure. So enter it, to remain forever.”
And may He not make us among those to whom the angels say:
أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ
“Did messengers not come to you from among yourselves?”
May Allah make us among the people of taqwa, among the awwabin who continually return to Him, among those who guard His commands, and among those who fear Him in private as well as in public. May He grant us hearts that continually turn towards Him and hearts that are sound and pure.
May Allah turn our hearts towards Him, and turn the hearts of our sons and daughters towards Him. May He rectify our condition and all our affairs, and never leave us to ourselves. And may Allah admit us, our parents, our families and those we love into al-Firdaus al-A’la, in the company of the Prophet ﷺ, and grant us the greatest blessing of all: to gaze upon Him. Ameen.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 2nd October 2028.