Why Will I Be Stuck in a Tent in Paradise Instead of Having My Own House?

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “A tent (in Paradise) is like a hollow pearl which is thirty miles in height and on every corner of the tent the believer will have a family that cannot be seen by the others.” I have heard that this means a woman won’t get her own palace, and she will be in her husband’s tents with his other wives, but the only thing she gets is that she won’t see them. Isn’t this too harsh?

Not only does she have to share him, but she does not get her own palace, and rather she will be in one of his tents with his other wives. I know she won’t see the other wives even though they are in the same place, but that is still very harsh. Why can’t she get her own palace just like a man? I feel heartbroken by Islam. I hate my gender.

Answer

Thank you for your question. I am sorry that you hate your gender; it will benefit you more if you hate your evil deeds, seek to purify yourself, and trust Allah.

Hadith

Regarding the hollowed pearl in the hadith, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also said, “In Paradise, there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them. And there are two gardens, the utensils and contents of which are made of silver; and two other gardens, the utensils and contents of which are made of so-and-so (i.e. gold), and nothing will prevent the people staying in the Garden of Eden from seeing their Lord except the curtain of Majesty over His Face.” [Muslim]

And he said, (Allah bless him and give him peace), “In Paradise, there would be for a believer a tent of a single hollowed pearl the breadth of which would be sixty miles. It would be meant for a believer, and the believers would go around it, and none would be able to see the others.” [Muslim]

A Home in Paradise

Why do you feel that you cannot earn a home in Paradise? Take these few hadiths as proof that you can. I ask Allah to help us all strive for this:

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “I guarantee a house in Jannah for one who gives up arguing, even if he is in the right; and I guarantee a home in the middle of Jannah for one who abandons lying even for the sake of fun, and I guarantee a house in the highest part of Jannah for one who has good manners.” [Abu Dawud].

In addition, he said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “Whoever prays twelve rak’ahs during the night and day apart from the prescribed prayers, a house will be built for him in Paradise.” [Nasa’i]

And he said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “Whoever prays twenty rak’at between Maghrib and ‘Isha, Allah will build a house in Paradise for him.” [Ibn Maja]

The Least Reward

And here is the reward for the person with the lowest rank in Paradise. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The least of the people of Paradise in position is the one with eighty thousand servants and seventy-two wives. He shall have a tent of pearl, peridot, and corundum set up for him (the size of which is) like that between al-Jabiyyah and Sana’a.” And with this chain, it is narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Whoever of the people of (destined to enter) Paradise dies, young or old, they shall be brought back in Paradise thirty years old, they will not increase in that ever, and likewise the people of the Fire.” And with this chain, it is narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “There are upon them crowns, the least of its pearls would illuminate what is between the East and the West.” [Tirmidhi]

Have faith, don’t fear, trust in Allah and strive your utmost to receive Allah’s bounty and mercy.

Please see these links as well:
Reader on Women’s Ranks in the Hereafter

May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.