How delightful Jannah is going to be for the deserving inmates, no genius worth his salt, can imagine! It can only be described by its Creator! One sample of such a description is given in Surah Muhammad, Chapter 47 of the glorious Qur’an. And, Subhanallaah, this one description is enough to motivate people to yearn for it. “Is the description of Paradise, which the righteous are promised, wherein are rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk the taste of which never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of purified honey, in which they will have from all [kinds of] fruits and forgiveness from their Lord, like [that of] those who abide eternally in the Fire and are given to drink scalding water that will sever their intestines?” (Surah Muhammad 47: 15) What an attention-grabbing description of Jannah, Subhanallaah! Four different types of rivers running in Paradise is mentioned in this ayah: 1. أَنْهَارٌ مِّن مَّاءٍ غَيْرِ آسِنٍ – Rivers of unchanging water: About the water, it means the water of this river will never change, be it in smell, colour or taste. 2. وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّن لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُ – Rivers of Milk, the taste of which never changes: About the milk, it means that the milk of this river is of utmost whiteness, sweetness, and richness. It has been mentioned in a Hadeeth: “Their milk did not come out of the udders of cattle.” 3. وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشَّارِبِينَ – Rivers of Wine Delicious to those who drink: About the wine, it means that the wine of this river does not have a bad taste or foul smell like that of the wine of the world. Rather, it is good in its appearance, taste, smell, and effect. Only then it can be delicious. “From which (the wine) they will have no headache, nor will they be intoxicated.” (Surah al Waaqi’ah 56: 19) It has been mentioned in a Hadeeth: “Their wine was not pressed under men’s feet.” 4. وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ عَسَلٍ مُّصَفًّى – Rivers of Purified Honey: About the honey, it means that the honey of this river is of utmost purity and pleasant color, taste, and smell. It has been mentioned in a Hadeeth: “Their honey did not come out of the bellies of bees.” According to another hadeeth, the Messenger of Allah sal-lal-laahu-alaihi-wa-sallam said: “Verily, there is in Paradise a lake of milk, a lake of water, a lake of honey, and a lake of wine. The rivers then gush out of them.” The Prophet sal-lal-laahu-alaihi-wa-sallam has advised us thus: “When you ask Allah, ask Him for Al-Firdaws, because it is the central and highest part of Paradise, and from it gush the rivers of the Paradise and above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful”. Dear brothers and sisters, it goes without saying that in order to enjoy the unlimited delight and never-ending bliss of the Gardens of Paradise, every human being needs to strive hard and work for it. Otherwise one’s yearning will just remain a taman’na, a wishful thinking! “The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete.” (Surah al Mutaf’fifeen 83: 26) May Allah accept our ibadah, forgive our sins, save us from Hellfire and grant us the highest place in Jannah. Aameen. Sal-lal-laahu ‘Ala Muhammad, Sal-lal-laahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam. Jazakallaahu Khayra for reading this post. Note: I took references from Tafseer Ibn Kathir