Sidrat Al-Muntaha (the tree in the seventh heaven)

Abu Talib

Feeling low
In the Two Sahihs, Sidrat Al-Muntaha (the tree in the seventh heaven) is described as:
«فَإِذَا وَرَقُهَا كَآذَانِ الْفِيَلَةِ، وَنَبْقُهَا مِثْلُ قِلَالِ هَجَر»​
(...its leaves were like the ears of elephants and its Nabir fruits resembled the clay jugs of Hajar.) The Two Sahihs also collected a Hadith from Ibn `Abbas, who said, "The sun was eclipsed and Allah's Messenger led the people in the Eclipse prayer. They asked, `O Allah's Messenger, we saw you reach out for something while standing (in prayer), but then you stepped back.' He said,
«إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْجَنَّةَ فَتَنَاوَلْتُ مِنْهَا عُنْقُودًا، وَلَوْ أَخَذْتُهُ لَأَكَلْتُمْ مِنْهُ مَا بَقِيَتِ الدُّنْيَا»​
(I saw Paradise and reached out for a cluster of fruit from it. Had I done so, you would have kept eating from it for the remainder of the life of the world.)'' Imam Ahmad recorded that `Utbah bin `Abd As-Sulami said, "A bedouin man came to the Messenger of Allah and asked him about the Hawd and Paradise. The bedouin asked, `Does Paradise have fruits' The Prophet said,
«نَعَمْ، وَفِيهَا شَجَرَةٌ تُدْعَى طُوبَى»​
(Yes, and it also has a tree called Tuba.) ﴿(He ) said something more saying but I could not recall it﴾. The bedouin asked, `Does it look like any of the trees that grow in our area' The Prophet said,
«لَيْسَتْ تُشْبِهُ شَيْئًا مِنْ شَجَرِ أَرْضِك»​
(There is nothing resembling it among the trees in your land.) The Prophet then asked him,
«أَتَيْتَ الشَّامَ؟»​
(Have you traveled to Ash-Sham area) The bedouin said: `No.' The Prophet said,
«تُشْبِهُ شَجَرَةً بِالشَّامِ تُدْعَى الْجَوْزَةَ، تَنْبُتُ عَلَى سَاقٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، وَيَنْفَرِشُ أَعْلَاهَا»​
(It looks like a tree that grows in Ash-Sham area and is called Al-Jawzah, which stands on one stem but its branches grow all around to the fullest extent.) The bedouin asked, `How big is the cluster of its fruits' The Prophet said,
«مَسِيرَةُ شَهْرٍ لِلْغُرَابِ الْأَبْقَعِ وَلَا يَفْتُر»​
(The distance that the crow flies in one month without rest.) The bedouin asked, `How huge its trunk is' The Prophet said,
«لَوِ ارْتَحَلَتْ جَذَعَةٌ مِن إِبِلِ أَهْلِكَ مَا أَحَاطَتْ بِأَصْلِهَا، حَتْى تَنْكَسِرَ تَرْقُوَتُهَا هَرَمًا»​
(If a four-year old she-camel that your family owns travels it, it will not completely pass its trunk until its shoulders break from old age.) The man asked, `Does it bear grapes' The Prophet answered in yes. The bedouin asked, `How big are the grapes' The Prophet said,
«هَلْ ذَبَحَ أَبُوكَ تَيْسًا مِنْ غَنَمِهِ قَطُّ عَظِيمًا؟»​
(Has your father ever slaughtered a ram) The bedouin answered, `Yes,' and the Prophet asked him,
«فَسَلَخَ إِهَابَهُ فَأَعْطَاهُ أُمَّكَ فَقَالَ: اتَّخِذِي لَنَا مِنْهُ دَلْوًا؟»​
(And then he skinned it and gave the skin to your mother and asked her to make a hanging bucket out of it) The bedouin again said yes and said, `This grape would suffice for me and my family!' The Prophet agreed and said,
«نَعَمْ، وَعَامَّةَ عَشِيرَتِك»​
(Yes, and also for the rest of your clan.)''

Source: tafsir ibn kathir surah 56
 
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