Ashra Mubashra

There are also narrations in regard to Hazrat Ali (ra) being amongst those 10 fortunate companions, who in this very world were given the glad-tidings of Paradise through the blessed words of the Holy Prophet (sa) [ashra mubashara].

Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid relates:

“I can testify regarding nine people that they shall enter paradise and if I were to say the same about the 10th individual, I would not be committing a sin.” Upon being asked how he knew, he stated, “We were standing on Mount Hira with the Holy Prophet (sa) when it began shaking. The Holy Prophet (sa) then said, ‘Remain still, O Hira, for there is none upon this mount except for a prophet, siddiq [truthful] and a shaheed [a martyr].’”

Someone then asked who those 10 individuals were who were given the glad-tiding of entering Paradise. Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (ra) replied, “The Holy Prophet (sa), Abu Bakr (ra), Umar (ra), Uthman (ra), Ali (ra), Talha (ra), Zubair (ra), Saad (ra) and Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf.” When asked who the 10th individual was, Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (ra) replied, “It is me.”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abwab Al-Manaqib, Hadith 3757)

Hazrat Umar (ra) was among those to whom the Holy Prophet (sa) gave the glad tidings of Paradise. Hazrat Abu Musa (ra) relates:

“I was with the Holy Prophet (sa) in one of the orchards in Medina. During this time, an individual approached and asked for the gate to be opened. The Holy Prophet (sa) told me to open the gate for him and to give him the glad tidings of Paradise. I opened the gate for this individual and saw that it was Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra). I gave him the glad tidings, which the Holy Prophet (sa) told me to convey to him. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)said ‘Alhamdulillah’ [All praise belongs to Allah] in reply.

“Then, another individual approached and asked for the gate to be opened. The Holy Prophet (sa) again told me to open the gate for him and to give him the glad tidings of Paradise. I opened the gate for this individual and saw that it was Hazrat Umar (ra). I conveyed to him what the Holy Prophet (sa) had said and he replied, ‘Alhamdulillah.’

“Following this, another individual came and asked for the gate to be opened. The Holy Prophet (sa) told me to open the gate for him and to give him the glad tidings of Paradise as well, despite the hardship that would befall him. [I opened the gate for him] and saw that it was Hazrat Uthman (ra). I conveyed to him what the Holy Prophet (sa) had said and he too said ‘Alhamdulillah’ in response and added, ‘We can only seek help from Allah in order to be safeguarded from the hardships.’”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fada‘il Ashab al-Nabi (sa), Bab Manaqib Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab, Hadith 3693)

Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “Abu Bakr shall enter Paradise, Umar shall enter Paradise, Uthman shall enter Paradise” – the Holy Prophet (sa) said this in relation to ten individuals – “Ali shall enter Paradise, Talha shall enter Paradise, Zubair shall enter Paradise, Abdur Rahman bin Auf shall enter Paradise, Saad bin Abi Waqas shall enter Paradise, Saeed bin Zaid shall enter Paradise and Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah shall enter Paradise.”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Manaqib, Manaqib Abd al-Rahman bin Auf, Hadith 3747)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) has related that they were once in the company of the Holy Prophet (sa) and the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “I was asleep and saw myself in Paradise. There, I saw a lady performing ablution near a palace. I asked who this palace belonged to. People replied that it belonged to Umar bin al-Khattab. I was considerate of his feelings and thus returned.” Hazrat Umar (ra) was sitting there as well and when he heard this, he started to cry and submitted, “O Prophet (sa) of Allah! Would I ever feel jealousy towards you in any way? Why did you return from there, you should have granted me your blessings.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Bad‘ al-Khalq, Bab ma Ja‘a fi Sifat al-Jannah wa annaha Makhluq, Hadith 3242)

Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said:

“If anyone from among the illiyyeen [those who dwell in the highest ranks of Paradise] would cast their glance upon the people of Paradise, then Paradise would become illumined owing to their countenance, as if it were a glowing star. Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar are among them as well and how excellent are both these individuals!”

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Huruf al-Qira‘at, Hadith 3987)

Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said:

“One of the dwellers of Paradise is approaching you.” And we saw that it was Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)that was coming. The Holy Prophet (sa) again said, “One of the dwellers of Paradise is approaching you.” And we saw that Hazrat Umar (ra) was coming.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Manaqib, Bab Akhbaruh ‘an Rajul min Ahl al-Jannah fa Atla’a Umar (ra), Hadith 3694)

Similarly, it is related by Hazrat Anasra that the Hoy Prophet (sa) once stated in relation to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)and Hazrat Umar (ra), “Abu Bakr and Umar are the chiefs of the first ones and the last ones amongst the chiefs of the elders of Paradise, with the exception of the Prophets and Messengers.”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Manaqib, bab Iqtadu bi alladhina min Ba’di, Hadith 3664)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “Umar bin al-Khattab is like a lamp for the people of Paradise.”

(Imam Isfahani, Hulyat al-Awliya, Vol. 6, Riwayah 8950 [Maktabat al-Iman al-Mansurah, 2007], p. 309)

Hazrat Anas (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said with regard to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra), “These two are the chiefs of all the elders of paradise, from among its first and its last people, except for the prophets and messengers.”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Manaqib, Bab Iqtadu bi alladhina min ba’di, Hadith 3664)

Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) was among the ten companions whom the Messenger (sa) of Allah gave glad tidings of paradise during his lifetime, who are known as the Asharah Mubasharah.

(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Amir bin Abd-Allah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr, 2003], 22.)

Hazrat Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) was among the ten companions whom the Holy Prophet (sa) gave glad tidings of paradise during their lifetime. These ten companions are known as the Ashrah Mubashrah and Hazrat Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) was the last among them to pass away.

(Al-Isabah fi Tamyeez al-Sahabah, Vol. 2, p. 324, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2001)

Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid was among the Asharah Mubasharah, i.e. the ten fortunate companions who were given the glad tidings of paradise by the Holy Prophet (sa) during his lifetime.

Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) mentioned each of the following names of those given the glad tidings of paradise: Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Uthman (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra), Hazrat Talha (ra), Hazrat Zubair (ra), Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf, Hazrat Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra), Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid and Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (ra).

(Roshan Sitarey az Ghulam Bari Saif Sahib, Vol. 2, p. 155)

Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid narrates:

“I bear testimony that nine individuals are paradise-bound, but if I give the same testimony about the tenth, it would not be a sin on my part to do so.” Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid was asked how exactly, to which he replied, “We were on mount Hira with the Holy Prophet(sa) and it began shaking. The Holy Prophet (sa) then said, ‘Remain still O Hira for a prophet or siddeeq [truthful one] or a shaheed [martyr] stands upon you.’” A person then asked, “Who are the ten paradise-bound?” Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid answered, “The Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Uthman (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra), Hazrat Talha (ra), Hazrat Zubair (ra), Hazrat Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra) and Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf (ra).” They asked, “Who is the tenth?” Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid replied, “Me.”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abwab Manaqib Abi al-A‘war wa asma, Saeed bin Zaid, Hadith 3757) (Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, p. 478, Saeed bin Zaid, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)

Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Jubair relates that Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Uthman (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra), Hazrat Talha (ra), Hazrat Zubair (ra), Hazrat Sa‘d bin Abi Waqas (ra), Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf (ra) and Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (ra) would always be in front of the Holy Prophet (sa) in the battlefield, in other words, they would be keeping guard and during prayer, they would stand behind him.

(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, p. 478, Saeed bin Zaid, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)

Hakeem bin Muhammad relates from his father that he saw Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid wearing a ring with a verse of the Holy Quran inscribed in it.

(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, pp. 294, Saeed bin Zaid wa min Bani Adiyy bin Ka‘b bin Lu‘ayy, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas‘ud participated in both migrations – the migration to Abyssinia and also to Medina. He accompanied the Holy Prophet (sa) in the Battle of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Bai‘at-e-Rizwan and many other occasions. After the demise of the Holy Prophet (sa), he participated in the Battle of Yarmuk. He was amongst those companions who were given the glad tiding of paradise by the Holy Prophet (sa) in their lifetimes.

(Usdul Ghaba, Vol. 3, p. 383, Dar-ul-Kutub al-ilmiyyah, Beirut)

Hazrat Ali (ra) narrates, “I have heard the Holy Prophet (sa) himself say, ‘Talha (ra) and Zubair (ra) will be granted my company in Paradise.’”

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Manaqib, Bab Manaqib Abi Muhammad Talhah, Hadith 3740)

Hazrat Saeed bin Jubair (ra) narrates that the status of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Uthman (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra), Hazrat Talha (ra), Hazrat Zubair (ra), Hazrat Sa‘d (ra), Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) and Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (ra) was such that they used to fight ahead of the Holy Prophet (sa) on the battlefield and would stand [immediately] behind him in prayer.

(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Atiyyah bin Nuwairah (ra) [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2003], p. 45)

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Akhnas (ra) relates that he was in the mosque, when an individual spoke about Hazrat Ali (ra) in a very disrespectful manner. Upon this, Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (ra) stood up and said, “I bear witness that I have most certainly heard the Holy Prophet (sa) say that 10 individuals will certainly enter paradise. The Holy Prophet (sa) himself will enter paradise, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) will enter paradise, Hazrat Umar (ra) will enter paradise, Hazrat Uthman (ra) will enter paradise, Hazrat Ali (ra) will enter paradise, and so too will Hazrat Talha (ra), Hazrat Zubair bin al-Awwam (ra), Hazrat Sa‘d bin Malik (ra) and Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf (ra) and if I wish, I could name the tenth individual as well.” The narrator states that the people enquired about the identity of the tenth individual. Hazrat Saeed bin Zaid (ra) remained silent for a short while. The narrator states that some people enquired again as to who the tenth individual was, upon this, he said, “Saeed bin Zaid”, i.e., himself.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Sunnah fi al-Khulafa, Hadith 4649)

Hazrat Uthman (ra) was part of the Asharah Mubasharah [10 companions given the tidings of Paradise by the Holy Prophet (sa)]. Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Akhnas relates that he was in the mosque, when an individual spoke about Hazrat Ali (ra) in a very disrespectful manner. Upon this, Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid stood up and said, “I bear witness that I have most certainly heard the Holy Prophet (sa) say that 10 individuals would certainly enter Paradise. The Holy Prophet (sa) himself will enter Paradise, Abu Bakr (ra) will enter Paradise, Umar (ra) will enter Paradise, Uthman (ra) will enter Paradise, Ali (ra) will enter Paradise, Talha (ra) will enter Paradise, Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf will enter Paradise, Zubair (ra) bin Awam will enter Paradise, Saad (ra) bin Malik will enter Paradise and if I wish, I could name the tenth individual as well.” The narrator states that the people enquired about the identity of the tenth individual. Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid remained silent for a short while. The narrator states that some people enquired again as to who the tenth individual was, upon which he said, “Saeed bin Zaid”, i.e. he himself.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Sunnah, Bab fi al-Khulafa’, Hadith 4649)

I have mentioned this narration before in regard to Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid.

Hazrat Zubair (ra) was among those 10 fortunate companions whom the Holy Prophet (sa) gave the glad tiding of paradise in their lifetime. He is also among the al-Sahab al-Shura – the six men who formed the consultative body and whom Hazrat Umar (ra) nominated to be chosen as the next Khalifa before his demise.

(Usdul Ghaba, Vol. 2, p. 307, Zubair bin al-Awwam (ra), Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez al-Sahaba, Vol. 2, p. 457, Zubair bin al-Awwam (ra), Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1995) (Siyar al-Sahaba, Vol. 2, p. 67, Zubair bin al-Awwam (ra), Darul Ishaat, Karachi, 2004)

Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid states, “I can bear witness regarding nine people who were given glad tidings of paradise, and even if I mention the tenth person, I would not be wrong to do so.” He was asked how this was possible, to which he replied, “We were in the company of the Holy Prophet (sa) on mount Hira when all of a sudden it began to shake. Upon this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘O Hira! Steady yourself! For there is none upon this mount except for a Prophet, Siddiq [truthful] and Shaheed [a martyr].’” Hazrat Saeed (ra) was asked who those people were, to which he replied, “The Holy Prophet (sa), Abu Bakr (ra), Umar (ra), Uthman (ra), Ali (ra), Talha (ra), Zubair (ra), Sa‘d (ra) and Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf.” These were the nine men [who were given tidings of paradise] When he was asked about who was the tenth person, Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid paused for a while and then said: “It is I”.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abwab al-Manaqib, Bab Manaqib Abi al-A‘war…, Hadith 3757)

Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf was amongst those ten companions who were given the glad tiding of paradise during their lifetime.

Hazrat Jabir (ra) narrates, “One day, we visited the house of an Ansari woman with the Holy Prophet (sa). She had prepared a meal and had invited the Holy Prophet (sa). The Holy Prophet (sa) stated that a person was about to arrive, who was destined to enter Paradise. Soon after, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) entered and everyone congratulated him. The Holy Prophet (sa) then again stated that soon, a person would come who was destined to enter Paradise. Soon after, Hazrat Umar (ra) entered and again everyone congratulated him. The Holy Prophet (sa), for a third time, stated that the person who was about to arrive would also be destined to enter Paradise. The narrator states that he saw that at the time, the Holy Prophet (sa) had hidden his head behind a small date palm plant and was saying, ‘O Allah, if You permit then allow Ali to be the next person to enter.’ Soon after, Hazrat Ali (ra) entered and everyone congratulated him as well.”

(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 5, p. 107, Hadith 14604, Alamul Kutub, Beirut, 1998)

Hazrat Anas (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “Paradise is awaiting three individuals; they are Ali, Ammar and Salman.”

(Hakim al-Nishapuri, Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihain, Vol. 3, [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr], p. 348)

Abu Uthman Nahdi relates that Hazrat Ali (ra) stated, “On one occasion, the Messenger (sa) of Allah was holding my hand and we passed through one of the streets of Medina and approached an orchard. I submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah, how beautiful is this orchard.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) stated, ‘There is an even more beautiful orchard prepared for you in Paradise.’”

(Hakim al-Nishapuri, Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihain, Vol. 3, [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Fikr 2002], pp. 349-350)

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“The Holy Prophet (sa) stated, ‘Hazrat Ali (ra) and Hazrat Fatimah (ra) will be in the same station in Paradise as me.’”

(Barkaat-e-Khilafat, Anwar-ul-Ulum. Vol. 2, p. 254)

Hazrat Ali (ra) relates that he clearly recalls that he heard the Holy Prophet (sa) say that Talha (ra) and Zubair (ra) will be his neighbours in paradise.

(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 3, p. 86, Talha bin Ubaidillah Quraishi, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)

Regarding the excellence of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra), Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “From among the ‘illiyyin’ [the loftiest people], one will gaze at the dwellers of Paradise, and due to his countenance, the whole of Paradise will glow and radiate as though it were a shining star, and Abu Bakr and Umar are among those people – both are such excellent people.”

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Huruf wa al-Qira‘at, Hadith 3987)