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* * *Those Who Will Enter Paradise Without Being Called to Account* ** The first group of this ummah who will enter Paradise will be those who were pre-eminent in their imaan, taqwaa, righteous deeds and adherence to the true religion. They will enter Paradise in one rank: the first of them will not enter until the last of them enters, and they will be as beautiful as the full moon. Al-Bukhaari reports from Abu Hurayrah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "The first group to enter Paradise will be as beautiful as the full moon. They will not spit, blow their noses or excrete. Their vessels will be fo gold, their combs of gold and silver, their incense o aloe, and their sweat of musk. Each of them will have two wives, the marrow of whose leg-bones will be visible through their flesh because of their extreme beauty. There will be no differences or hatred among them (the people of Paradise); their hearts will be as one, and they will glorify Allah (swt) morning and evening". *(Kitaab Bid' al-Khalq, Baab Ma Jaa' fi Sifaat al-Jannah, Fath al-Baari, 6/318; Muslim, at-Tirmidhi)* al-Bukhaari reports from Sahl ibn Sa'd (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Seventy thousand - or seven hundred thousand - of my ummah will enter Paradise; the first of them will not enter until the last of them does so, and their faces will look like the full moon". *(Fath al-Baari, 6/319)* It is true that with each one of these seventy, Allah (swt) will give His Prophet seventy thousand. Ahmad reports with a saheeh isnaad from Abu Bakr (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "I have been given seventy thousand of my ummah, who will enter Paradise without being called to account. Their faces will be like the full moon, and their hearts will be as one. I asked my Rabb, may He be glorified, for more, and He gave me, along with each of them, seventy thousand more". *(Saheeh al-Jaami', 1/350, no. 1068)* Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hibbaan report with a saheeh isnaad from Abu Umaamah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "My Rabb promised me that seventy thousand of my ummah would enter Paradise without being called to account and without being punished, and with each one will be seventy thousand, and three handfuls of people picked up by my Rabb [i.e. it will be a great number]". *(Saheeh al-Jaami' 6/108, no. 2988).* The Prophet (saw) described the characteristics of these seventy thousand. al-Bukhaari reports from Ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet (saw) said, "I was shown the nations, and I saw a Prophet pass by with a group of his people, and another with a band of his people, another with only ten, another with five, and another on his own (with no followers). Then I looked and saw a large crowd of people. I asked, "O Jibreel, are these my ummah?" He said, "No, but look at the horizon." So I looked, and saw a huge multitude of people. Jibreel said, "These are your ummah, and those seventy thousand in front will not be called to account or punished." I asked, "Why?" He said, "They did not treat themselves with branding (cauterisation) or with ruqyaa (charms) and they did not see evil omens in things (i.e they were not superstitious): they put their trust only in their Rabb"". 'Ukaasha ibn Mihsan stood up and said, "Pray to Allah (swt) to make me one of them". The Prophet (saw) said, "O Allah (swt) make him one of them". Then another man stood up and said, "Ask Allah (swt) to make me one of them". The Prophet (saw) said, 'Ukaasha has preceded you". *(Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab ar-Riqaaq, Baab Yadhkul al-Jannah Sab'un Alfan bi Ghayri Hisaab, Fath al-Baari, 11/405)* These may be the ones whom Allah (swt) has called al-Muqarraboon (those nearest to Allah swt): "And those foremost [in faith] will be foremost [in the Hereafter]. These will be those nearest to Allah [al-Muqarraboon], in the Gardens of Bliss". * (56:10-12)* More of them will come from the early generations than from the later generations: "A multitude of those [foremost] will be from the first generations [who embraced Islaam], and a few of those [foremost] will be from the later generations". *(56:13-14)* Compiled from various sources. * Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications. * ** *Note that an English translation of the Qur'an is an interpretation of the Qur'an, and does not have the perfect status as the Qur'an in its original Arabic form.*
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