348 - Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Rizma narrated to us: al-Naḍr b. Shumayl narrated to us: Abū Bakr al-Hudhali informed us, he said: I heard Abū Tamīma al-Hujaymī say: I heard Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī upon this pulpit regarding His statement: {For those who do good is the finest reward and an addition}. He said: "The addition is looking at the Face of their Lord, Mighty and Majestic." And some of the wise men said in an admonition mentioning Paradise and its people: "How noble is a radiant, shining one! They have attained the blooming Paradise, and have proceeded to the repose of the steps of the pavilions of the Hereafter, and virgins as a price, thus he was given more than hopes and beyond desires. The fruits of its gardens hang low in tents of pearl, and the branches of its trees cascade down, towering over him from the lofty chambers. Its secluded virgins are adorned in the pavilions of Eden, and the meadows of its dunes are infused with the sweet scents of bliss. The palaces of silver tower high with the exquisite beauty of their construction, and its distinct dwellings overlook with their pure gold. The glories of His Face smiled upon the radiance of the faces of its inhabitants. For he is the joyous king, and the most delightful of pastimes is the delight of joy. Meadows of the Paradises whose youth never ages, and whose doors are never closed to the elite of God's friends. Illnesses do not assault their health, nor do calamities strike with changes. How excellent is their bliss! He has risen in the enduring kingdom, settling in the eternal abode of the dwelling of bliss. Is there anyone better than a blessed one who reclines in the Garden of Eden upon the beds of its lofty chambers, embracing a radiant one whose beautiful description exhausts the languages of improvisers? Comforted in eye, strutting in its garments and in the vast courtyards of its palaces, while the honor of looking at the Face of God, Mighty and Majestic, has provided him with its everlasting joy. By God, the neighbors of God have ascended in the degrees of sovereignty and joy, {And they will say: Praise be to God, who has removed from us all sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving, Appreciative}.

Living comfortably in abundance in a bliss that smiled ... at him therein with what he used to desire.

Upon him is a crown of majesty above his head ... blessed in the Gardens of Eternity is his resting place.

He has bracelets of pearl adorned with gold ... his hands smiling with them in beauty.

His garment therein is woven silk brocade ... and his drink is wine, and delights are his path.

Embracing a beloved in the center of her tent ... he never tires, as kissing her delights his mouth.

Glad tidings for him, and again glad tidings the day he settles in it ... his soul has been reminded of what he had wished for.

How noble is he as a king in a garden that is delighted ... with sovereignty and eternity, his neighbor being God.