Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever is concerned should set out when it is still night and whoever sets out when it is still night will reach the destination. Verily the merchandise of Allah is expensive, verily the merchandise of Allah is Paradise." At-Tirmidhi narrated (2450)
Paradise is expensive merchandise, and al-Firdaws al-A'la is the highest and best part of Paradise. No one reaches it except those whom Allah has singled out for more of His grace.
from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "al-Firdaws is the highest part of Paradise, and the centre and the best of it."
At-Tirmidhi narrated (3174)
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Paradise is surrounded with difficulties and Hell is surrounded with desires." Agreed upon.
If Paradise is surrounded with difficulties and different kinds of hardships, then how about the highest of its degrees and the most sublime of its statuses?
This indicates that the matter is not something easy.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
The purest of all created things, and the most sublime, luminous, noblest and highest in both literal and metaphorical terms is the Throne of the Most Gracious, may He be glorified and exalted. Hence it was fit for Him to rise above it. Therefore the closer anything is to the Throne, the more luminous, pure and noble it is than that which is further away from it. Hence Jannat al-Firdaws is the highest, noblest, most luminous and best part of Paradise, because it is close to the Throne, for the Throne is its roof, and the further away anything is from it, the darker and more constricted it is. Hence the lowest of the low is the worst of places and the most constricted and furthest from all that is good.
The people of al-Firdaws al-A'la are the ones who hasten to do good as they are commanded. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And those foremost ((in Islamic Faith of Monotheism and in performing righteous deeds) in the life of this world on the very first call for to embrace Islam,) will be foremost (in Paradise).
These will be those nearest to Allah.
In the Gardens of delight (Paradise)"
[al-Waaqi'ah 56:10-12].
As-Sa'di said:
Those who are nearest to Allah are the elite of mankind.
Ibn Katheer said:
Whoever competes in doing righteous deeds in this world and wins the contest, in the hereafter he will be among the first to attain reward and honour, for the recompense matches the nature of the deed and as you do, so you will be requited.
It should be noted that one of the best means of attaining what you want and being saved from what you fear is supplication (du'aa'), for supplication is worship, as it was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in a saheeh hadith. As it is an act of worship that is beloved to Allah, it is a means of attaining one's goal. When Allah wills good for a person, He causes him to take the measures that lead to it and He makes it easy to do the deeds that will qualify him to attain that. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
YOU ARE READING
Be A GOOD MUSLIM
Spiritual"Be a Good Muslim" is a book dedicated to spreading knowledge about Islam and exploring a multitude of topics within the faith. The author's aim is to offer readers a comprehensive overview of various aspects of Islam while sharing their understandi...
