Bible Compared to Quran

 

The
Ten Who Were Given Glad Tidings of Paradise

Dr. 'Umar Al-Ashqar

Paradise
and Hell in the Light of the Qur'an and Sunnah

© 1999 IIPH



The Messenger, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, clearly stated that ten
of his Companions would be in Paradise. Ahmad reports from Sa'id ibn
Zayd, and Tirmidhi reports from 'Abdul-Rahman ibn 'Awf, that the Prophet,
sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:

"Abu
Bakr will be in Paradise, 'Umar will be
in Paradise, 'Uthman will be in Paradise, 'Ali
will be in Paradise, Talhah will be in Paradise,
Al-Zubayr will be in Paradise, 'Abdul-Rahman
ibn 'Awf will be in Paradise, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
will be in Paradise, Sa'id ibn Zayd will be in Paradise
and Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah will be in Paradise."

Its isnad is sahih. [Sahih al-Jami' as-Saghir, 1/70, no. 50]

Imam
Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah and Al-Diya' reported a slightly different
version from Sa'id ibn Zayd:

"Ten
will be in Paradise: the Prophet will be in Paradise,
Abu Bakr will be in Paradise, 'Umar will
be in Paradise, 'Uthman will be in Paradise, 'Ali
will be in Paradise, Talhah will be in Paradise,
al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam will be in Paradise, Sa'd
ibn Malik will be in Paradise, 'Abdul-Rahman ibn
'Awf will be in Paradise and Sa'id ibn Zayd
will be in Paradise.

Its isnad is sahih. [Sahih al-Jami' as-Saghir, 4/34, no. 3905]

The
books of the Sunnah tell us that one day the Prophet, sallallahu
'alayhi wa sallam, was sitting at the well of 'Ariis, with Abu Musa
al-Ash'ari acting as his gatekeeper.

Abu
Bakr al-Siddiq came and asked permission to see him, and the Messenger,
sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said, "Let him in, and give him
the glad tidings of Paradise." Then 'Umar came, and he said,
"Let him in and give him the glad tidings of Paradise."
Then 'Uthman came and he said, "Let him in, and give him the
glad tidings of Paradise because of an affliction that will befall
him."

[Reported by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmidhi. See Jami al-Usul, 8/562,
no. 6372. The hadith is lengthy, so we have shortened it here and
quoted only that which is relevant to the current discussion.]

Ibn
'Asakir reported with a sahih isnad from Ibn Mas'ud that the Prophet,
sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:

"My successor will be in Paradise, his
successor will be in Paradise, and the third and fourth will be in
Paradise." [Sahih al-Jami' as-Saghir, 4/149, no. 4311.] The "successor"
refers to the one who would take over the reins of leadership after
his death. These four are Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman and 'Ali, may Allah
be pleased with them all.

Tirmidhi
and al-Hakim reported with a sahih isnad from 'A'ishah, radhiallahu
'anha, that the Messenger, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said to Abu
Bakr:

"You are free from the Fire."

[Sahih al-Jami' as-Saghir, 2/24, no. 1494]