Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Tonight two (visitors) came to me (in my dream) and took me to a town built
with gold bricks and silver bricks. There we met men who, half of their bodies, look like the mosthandsome
human beings you have ever seen, and the other half, the ugliest human beings you have
ever seen. Those two visitors said to those men, 'Go and dip yourselves in that river. So they dipped
themselves therein and then came to us, their ugliness having disappeared and they were in the mosthandsome
shape. The visitors said, 'The first is the Garden of Eden and that is your dwelling place.'
Then they added, 'As for those people who were half ugly and half handsome, they were those who
mixed good deeds and bad deeds, but Allah forgave them."
Narrated by Narrated Samura bin Jundab:
Context
In this hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) describes a vision of the Garden of Eden and the transformation of individuals who had mixed good and bad deeds. This narrative illustrates the mercy of Allah and the potential for redemption, emphasizing that even those who have sinned can be forgiven and transformed through sincere repentance.
Modern Application
This hadith serves as a reminder of the possibility of redemption in our lives. It encourages individuals to strive for good deeds while recognizing that mistakes can be overcome through sincere efforts to improve.
Topics
This hadith is tagged with Paradise and Afterlife because it discusses the concepts of divine mercy and the transformative power of repentance in the context of the afterlife.
Indeed, Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk.
And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before." And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally.
Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence; but approval from Allah is greater. It is that which is the great attainment.
Those will have gardens of perpetual residence; beneath them rivers will flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining therein on adorned couches. Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place.
And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment, [while] flowing beneath them are rivers. And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us. Certainly the messengers of our Lord had come with the truth." And they will be called, "This is Paradise, which you have been made to inherit for what you used to do."
This hadith is #4468 from Sahih al-Bukhari, in the Book of Prophetic Commentary on the Qur'an (Tafseer of the Prophet (pbuh)). It is graded Sahih and narrated by Narrated Samura bin Jundab:.