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After we enter Paradise – O Allah, make us among its people – will we be able to exit from it and travel about in the heavens, and see creations of which we do not know now, and the angels in their real forms? I know that my question is strange, but in fact I am fond of astronomy, and I know that science at present only knows a little about the nearest heaven, so I wonder: how do the gates of the heavens look? Where are ‘Eesa and the other Prophets now? What are the worlds that we do not know? If we will have everything that we desire in Paradise, the greatest of which is to see our Creator, will we be able to see His creations and fly in the heavens, and see the stars and planets, and see what we do not know of now in the heavens, and sit with the angels and other creatures, and spend time with them?
Praise be to Allah.
When a person enters Paradise, he will never exit from it, and he will never want to do so, no matter how much time is left – and he will abide therein for eternity, as is well known – as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{ Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging
Wherein they abide eternally. They will not desire from it any transfer} [al-Kahf 18:107-108].
Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer (5/203):
Here Allah, may He be exalted, tells us of His blessed and fortunate slaves, who are the ones who believed in Allah and His Messenger, and believed the message that the Messengers brought, which is that they will have the gardens of paradise as a lodging.
The words {Wherein they abide eternally} mean that they will reside and dwell there, and will never leave it.
{They will not desire from it any transfer} means that they will not choose anything else or desire anything else.
The phrase {They will not desire from it any transfer} highlights how much they will love it and love to stay there, even though it may be imagined that a person who stays in one place all the time might tire of it or grow bored with it. But here Allah tells us that even though they will abide therein for all eternity, without end, they will not choose to move on from the place where they reside, and will not seek any change or alternative. End quote.
But Allah will give the people of Paradise whatever they desire, as He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
{[You] who believed in Our verses and were Muslims,
Enter Paradise, you and your kinds, delighted.
Circulated among them will be plates and vessels of gold. And therein is whatever the souls desire and [what] delights the eyes, and you will abide therein eternally} [az-Zukhruf 43:69-71].
Hence the one who wants a child will be given a child – according to one scholarly view – and whoever wants to cultivate crops will be able to do so.
At-Tirmidhi narrated in his Sunan (2563) that Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “If the believer wants a child in Paradise, it will be conceived, born and grow up within a short period, however he wants it to be.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘ (6649).
That is, the child will be born and grow up to the perfect age, which is thirty years, “however he wants it to be,” male or female, and so on.
See also the answer to question no. 111777 .
Al-Bukhaari (2348) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was speaking one day, and with him there was a man from the desert people. [The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)] was saying that a man among the people of Paradise will ask his Lord for permission to cultivate the land, and He will say to him: Do you not have what you want? The man will say: Yes indeed, but I love to cultivate the land. So he will sow the seeds, and the plants will grow tall and he will harvest them, and they will be like mountains. Allah will say: Here you are, O son of Adam, nothing satisfies you! The Bedouin said: By Allah, you will not find him to be anything but a Qurashi or Ansaari, for they are the ones who grow crops; as for us, we do not grow crops.
And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) smiled.
Based on that, it may be said that if someone desires to see the gates of the heavens or the angels, he will be granted that.
As for the stars and planets, what are they worth in comparison to Paradise, such that one would think of seeing them?
With regard to the Prophets, there is the hope that the believer will see the Prophets of Allah, may He be exalted, and will be with them, as at-Tabaraani narrated in al-Awsat (477) that ‘Aa’ishah said: A man came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, indeed you are dearer to me than my own self, and you are dearer to me than my family, and dearer to me than my child, and when I am at home, and I remember you, I cannot wait to come to you and look at you. When I think of my death and your death, I realise that when you enter Paradise, you will be taken up with the Prophets, and if I enter Paradise I am afraid that I will not see you.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not respond to him before Jibreel came down to him with this verse (interpretation of the meaning):
{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} [an-Nisa’ 4:69].
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in as-Silsilah as-Saheehah (2933).
To sum up, the delights of paradise are immense, and in it there is that which has never crossed the mind of any human. The believer should not focus on anything except entering it, and when he enters it, let him be of good cheer, for he will never miss out on anything and will never regret missing out on any other joys.
And Allah knows best.