It's Not a Man's World.

Assalamalaikum wa rahmatullahi wa baraqa tu hu!
Hello, little aunties, I just happened to perchance an article about the description of heaven. Like other articles I have read, it pertains to things that would be enticing to men. So what is in heaven for women? And what is a woman's status in heaven? And is it a sin to wonder these things? I feel bad about wondering these things, but I also feel sad that there seems to be nothing for women. I am not trying to start a riot, I was just wondering is all...

Waa’lykum as salam wa rahmatullah wa baratkoo, Dearest Sister!

Aww, sis, I’m sure many Muslimahs (me included) have had that same thought cross our minds. I’m not entitled to say what is a sin and what is not, but your question reminded me of what one of our Mother’s radiya Allah Anha asked the Prophet sallah Allaho layhee wa salam :)  :

Imam Ahmad recorded that Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet said, "I said to the Prophet , `Why is it that we are not mentioned in the Qur'an as men are?."  Then one day without my realizing it, he was calling from the Minbar and I was combing my hair, so I tied my hair back then I went out to my chamber in my house, and I started listening out, and he was saying from the Minbar:

Verily, the Muslims: men and women, the believers: men and women, the Qanit: men and the women, the men and women who are truthful, the men and the women who are patient, the Khashi`: men and the women, the men and the women who give Sadaqat, the men and the women who fast, the men and the women who guard their chastity and the men and the women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward. (33:35)

The truth is jannah was not created by a man and it was not created only for men. It was created as an eternal abode for the righteous and it was created by He who knows His creation’s deepest desires. It was created by the Most Merciful, ArRahan Ar Raheem.

So...what do we have in store for us?

We cannot even IMAGINE what is in store for us.

Allah said: "And when you look there [in Paradise] you will see a delight [that cannot be imagined]. and a great dominion" [76:20]

Abu Hurayrah Radiya Allah Anhoo narrated hat the Prophet Sallah Allahoo alyhee wa salam said that Allah (swt) said, "I have prepared for My slaves what no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human heart can imagine". Recite if you wish, "No person know what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." (32:17).

Imam Ahmad recorded from Suhayb ibn Sinan ar-Rumi: The Messenger of Allah recited, (the words meaning), “For those who have done good is the best and even more.” [Sura Yunus, 26]

Think about the thing you want most from this world. Seriously. And now X that by 10, no 100, no 1,000 times. Jannah is the place where Al Kareem- the most Generous- rewards His servants. :D

“Therein will be a running spring.
Therein will be thrones raised high.
And cups set at hand.
And cushions set in rows.
And rich carpets (all) spread out”
[al-Ghaashiyah 88:12-16]

And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith - We will join with them their descendants, and We will not deprive them of anything of their deeds. Every person, for what he earned, is retained. (52: 21)

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions. (4: 69)

Not only will we have our family with us (inshaAllah,ya Rubb), and the prophets, martyrs as our companions, we will never hear a single ‘rude word’. Nobody calling you ugly, stupid, or anything hurtful. Just peace and bliss :D

"Where they shall hear neither harmful speech nor falsehood" [88:11]

"And We shall remove from their breasts any lurking sense of injury: [they will be] brothers [joyfully] facing each other on thrones [of dignity]" [15:47]

Let's take a look also at Ibn Al Qayyim's description of Paradise..

“And if you ask about its ground and its soil, then it is of musk and saffron.
And if you ask about its roof, then it is the Throne of the Most Merciful.
And if you ask about its rocks, then they are pearls and jewels.
And if you ask about its buildings, then they are made of bricks of gold and silver.And if you ask about its trees, then it does not contain a single tree except that its trunk is made of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its fruits, then they are softer than butter and sweeter than honey.
And if you ask about its leaves, then they are softer than the softest cloth.
And if you ask about its rivers, then there are rivers of milk who’s taste does not change, and rivers of wine that is delicious to those who drink it, and rivers of honey that is pure, and rivers of water that is fresh.
And if you ask about their food, then it is fruits from whatever they will choose, and the meat of whatever birds they desire.
And if you ask about their drink, then it is Tasneem, ginger, and Kaafoor.
And if you ask about their drinking cups, then they are crystal-clear and made of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its shade, then a fast rider would ride in the shade of one of its trees for a hundred years and not escape it.
.....

He goes on to say:

And if you ask about the Day of Increase (in reward) and the visit of the all-Mighty, all-Wise, and the sight of His Face – free from any resemblance or likeness to anything – as you see the Sun in the middle of the day and the full Moon on a cloudless night, then listen on the day that the caller will call: ‘O People of Paradise! Your Lord – Blessed and Exalted – requests you to visit Him, so come to visit Him!’ So they will say: ‘We hear and obey!’

Until, when they finally reach the wide valley where they will all meet – and none of them will turn down the request of the caller – the Lord – Blessed and Exalted – will order His Chair to be brought there. Then, pulpits of light will emerge, as well as pulpits of pearls, gemstone, gold, and silver. The lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk, and will not see what those who are on the chairs above them are given. When they are comfortable where they are sitting and are secure in their places, and the caller calls: ‘O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allaah in which He wishes to reward you!’ So they will say: ‘And what is that reward? Has He not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?’


And when they are like that, all of a sudden a light shines that encompasses all of Paradise. So, they raise their heads, and, behold: the Compeller – Exalted is He, and Holy are His Names – has come to them from above them and majestified them and said: ‘O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!’ So, this greeting will not be responded to with anything better than: ‘O Allaah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty and Honor!’ So the Lord – Blessed and Exalted – will laugh to them and say: ‘O People of Paradise! Where are those who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? This is the Day of Increase!’


So, they will all give the same response: ‘We are pleased, so be pleased with us!’ So, He will say: ‘O People of Paradise! If I were not pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabitants of My Paradise! So, ask of Me!’ So, they will all give the same response: ‘Show us your Face so that we may look at it!’ So, the Lord – Mighty and Majestic – will remove his covering and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allaah – the Exalted – had not Willed not to burn them, would have burned them.

And there will not remain a single person in this gathering except that his Lord – the Exalted – will speak to him and say: ‘Do you remember the day that you did this and that?’ and He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the Worldy life, so he will say: ‘O Lord! Will you not forgive me?’ So, He will say:‘Of course! You have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.’

So, how sweet is this speech to the ears, and how cooled are the righteous eyes by the glance at His Noble Face in the Afterlife…

{Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, looking at their Lord…} (al-Qiyaamah:22-3) (Quoted from: here)

Well, what about women specifically? 

This is a nice short clip for us:

But this was a longer note that I thought was relevant;

Now some people, mostly non-muslims still ask a question that: there will be multiple wives or houris (hoor al-Ayn/hur ul-Ayn/hoors/hurs) in Islamic Paradise for Muslim men then what is for Muslim women?

The situation of the believing woman in Paradise will be better than the situation of the houris (hoor al-Ayn); she will be higher in status and more beautiful. If a righteous woman from among the people of this world enters Paradise, then she will do so as a reward for her righteous deeds and as an honour from Allah to her for her religious commitment and righteousness. As for the houri who is one of the delights of Paradise, is an immortal woman, who does not age. She speaks softly and does not raise voice at her man; she is always reconciled with him. Having been brought up in luxury, she is a luxury herself, she has only been created in Paradise for the sake of someone else, and has been made the reward for the believing man for his righteous deeds. There is a great difference between one who enters Paradise as a reward for her righteous deeds and the one who was created as a reward for one who did righteous deeds. The former is a queen and a princess, and the latter, no matter how beautiful she is, is undoubtedly lower in status than a queen, and she (houri) is subject to the command of her believing master (man) for whom Allah created her as a reward.

The main reason why the Qur’an and Hadiths are stressing the fact that men will get Houris (Hoor al-Ayn) is because it is more appealing to men than promising virgin men to women. Men are more sexually active and therefore are facing a lot of difficulty (especially in the teenage years) to remain chaste. There are a lot of temptations in this world. That is why that Allah keeps promising these virgin girls to those that remain patient and steadfast. That way, this motivates the unmarried men to remain chaste and be patient because they know they have something better waiting for them in the next life.

Now with all these proofs you can easily invalidate the argument made by some non-Muslims that women will not get any benefits out of the Islamic Paradise. The men and women are equal in the sight of Allah (SWT) except for those whom are more pious. Just because they're equal doesn’t mean they're exactly the same. They have physical, mental and emotional differences. Men have superiority over women in certain aspects such as physical strength, while women have more superiority over men from a caring and nurturing perspective. In the same manner, like our differences, they may have rewards that are different from one another, but that in no way suggest inequality. For instance, if you want to reward your son for something, perhaps you'll let him play a video game for example, whereas if you want to reward your daughter, perhaps you'll let her invite her friend over, or buy her something nice.

Therefore, men and women have different needs and wants so obviously rewards would differ. But overall, the rewards for both men and women will be equal (but not same) as Allah (SWT) says in the following verses of the Holy Quran:

They and their wives shall be in shades, reclining on raised couches. [Qur'an, Surah 36:56]

They will have with their Lord whatever they desire; that is the reward of those who good. [Qur'an, Surah, 39:34]

Enter the garden, you and your wives; you shall be made happy. [Qur'an, Surah 43:70]

So their Lord accepted their prayer: That I will not waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female... [Qur'an, Surah 3:195]

(If you want to read more, click on the link above to read the rest of the note).


I hope, inshaAllah, this satisfies your dear sister....and remember, Allah subhanoo Wa' Tala is the Most Merciful and Generous.