The way to al-Firdaws al-A‘la

Praise
be to Allah.

Firstly: 

At-Tirmidhi narrated (2450) – and classed it as saheeh – that Abu Hurayrah
(may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever is concerned should set out when
it is still night and whoever sets out when it is still night will reach the
destination. Verily the merchandise of Allah is expensive, verily the
merchandise of Allah is Paradise.”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi and elsewhere. 

Paradise is expensive merchandise, and al-Firdaws al-A‘la is the highest and
best part of Paradise. No one reaches it except those whom Allah has singled
out for more of His grace. 

At-Tirmidhi narrated (3174) – and classed it as saheeh – from Anas ibn
Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: “al-Firdaws is the highest part of Paradise, and
the centre and the best of it.”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. 

It
was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: 
“Paradise is surrounded with difficulties and Hell is surrounded with
desires.” Agreed upon. 

If
Paradise is surrounded with difficulties and different kinds of hardships,
then how about the highest of its degrees and the most sublime of its
statuses? 

This indicates that the matter is not something easy. 

Ibn al-Qayyim said: 

The purest of all created things, and the most sublime, luminous, noblest
and highest in both literal and metaphorical terms is the Throne of the Most
Gracious, may He be glorified and exalted. Hence it was fit for Him to rise
above it. Therefore the closer anything is to the Throne, the more luminous,
pure and noble it is than that which is further away from it. Hence Jannat
al-Firdaws is the highest, noblest, most luminous and best part of Paradise,
because it is close to the Throne, for the Throne is its roof, and the
further away anything is from it, the darker and more constricted it is.
Hence the lowest of the low is the worst of places and the most constricted
and furthest from all that is good. End quote. 

Al-Fawaa’id
(p. 27). 

The people of al-Firdaws al-A‘la are the ones who hasten to do good as they
are commanded. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“And those foremost ((in Islamic Faith of Monotheism and in
performing righteous deeds) in the life of this world on the very first call
for to embrace Islam,) will be foremost (in Paradise).

These will be those nearest to Allah.

In the Gardens of delight (Paradise)”

[al-Waaqi‘ah 56:10-12]. 

As-Sa‘di said: 

Those who are nearest to Allah are the elite of mankind. 

End quote. Tafseer as-Sa‘di (p. 833) 

Ibn Katheer said: 

Whoever competes in doing righteous deeds in this world and wins the
contest, in the hereafter he will be among the first to attain reward and
honour, for the recompense matches the nature of the deed and as you do, so
you will be requited. End quote. 

Tafseer Ibn Katheer
(7/517) 

Secondly: 

It
should be noted that one of the best means of attaining what you want and
being saved from what you fear is supplication (du‘aa’), for supplication is
worship, as it was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) in a saheeh hadith. As it is an act of worship that is beloved
to Allah, it is a means of attaining one’s goal. When Allah wills good for a
person, He causes him to take the measures that lead to it and He makes it
easy to do the deeds that will qualify him to attain that. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“As for him
who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him,

And believes in Al-Husna,

We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness).

But he who is a greedy miser and thinks himself
self-sufficient,

And gives the lie to Al-Husna,

We will make smooth for him the path for evil”

[al-Layl 92:5-10]. 

Al-Bukhaari (2790) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “In Paradise there are one hundred levels that Allah has prepared for
those who strive in jihad for the sake of Allah. The distance between each
two levels is like the distance between heaven and earth. So if you ask of
Allah, then ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the middle of Paradise and the
highest part of Paradise. I think above it is the Throne of the Most
Gracious, and from it spring the rivers of Paradise.” 

Al-Haafiz said: 

This indicates that al-Firdaws is above all of Paradise. Hence the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, teaching the ummah and
motivating them: “If you ask of Allah, then ask Him for al-Firdaws.” End
quote. 

Thirdly: 

It
should be noted that attaining high status in this world and the hereafter
cannot be done by means of wishful thinking and dreaming; rather it can only
be by taking the measures that lead to that. Otherwise there would be no
difference between one who is honest and one who is a liar. This is by the
wisdom of Allah, may He be exalted, that He has made His slaves accountable
and enjoined certain things upon them. 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“It will not
be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those of the people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works evil, will have the
recompense thereof, and he will not find any protector or helper besides
Allah.

And whoever does righteous good deeds, male or female, and is
a true believer in the Oneness of Allah (Muslim), such will enter Paradise
and not the least injustice, even to the size of a Naqeera (speck on the
back of a datestone), will be done to them”

[an-Nisa’ 4:123-124]. 

Shaykh Ibn Sa‘di said:

“It”
that is, the matter of your salvation and purification “will not be in
accordance with your wishes nor those of the people of the Scripture (Jews
and Christians)”. “Wishes” refers to self-talk that is not based in
actions, and which is accompanied by mere claims; if one wished the
opposite, it would be all the same. This is general in meaning and applies
to all matters, so how about if it applies to the issues of faith and
eternal happiness?… His deeds either confirm that claim or demonstrate
that it is false.

End quote from Tafseer as-Sa‘di (205) 

Fourthly: 

Among the most important deeds that will help the Muslim attain high status,
and may help him to attain al-Firdaws al-A‘la, by Allah’s mercy, are the
following: 

·       
Jihad for the sake
of Allah 

We
have quoted above the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)
which speaks of that. 

Muslim narrated in his Saheeh (1884) from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may
Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: “O Abu Sa‘eed, whoever is content with Allah as
his Lord, Islam as his religion and Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) as his Prophet, Paradise is guaranteed for him.” Abu Sa‘eed
wondered at that and said: Say it to me again, O Messenger of Allah. He did
that, then he said: “And there is something else by means of which a person
will be raised one hundred levels in Paradise, and the distance between each
two levels is like the distance between heaven and earth.” He said: What is
it, O Messenger of Allah? He said: “Jihad for the sake of Allah, jihad for
the sake of Allah.” 

·       
Sincerity towards
Allah 

Muslim (1909) narrated from Sahl ibn Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever
sincerely asks Allah for martyrdom, Allah will cause him to attain the
status of the martyrs, even if he dies in his bed.” 

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

This indicates that it is mustahabb to ask Allah for martyrdom and it is
mustahabb to have good intentions. End quote. 

·       
Belief in Allah
and in His Messengers 

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily! Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic
Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, shall have the Gardens of Al-Firdaws
(the Paradise) for their entertainment”

[al-Kahf 18:107]. 

As-Sa‘di said: 

It
may be that what is meant by the Gardens of al-Firdaws is the highest part
of Paradise, the middle and the best thereof, and that this reward is for
the one who perfected his faith and righteous deeds, and for the Prophets
and those who are nearest to Allah. 

Or
it may be that what is meant is all the levels of Paradise, so this reward
includes all levels of people of faith, including those who are nearest to
Allah, the righteous, and ordinary believers, each according to his
condition. This is more likely to be the meaning, because of its general
nature.

End quote from Tafseer as-Sa‘di (488). 

It
was narrated from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The people of
Paradise will see the people of the chambers above them as they see a
brilliant star far away on the horizon in the east or in the west, because
of the difference in status between them.” They said: O Messenger of Allah,
will those be the chambers of the Prophets that will be attained by no one
else? He said: “No, by the One in Whose hand is my soul; they will be men
who believed in Allah and believed in the Messengers.”

Agreed upon. 

Al-Haafiz said: 

The words “and believed in the Messengers” mean in the true sense of the
word, otherwise everyone who believed in Allah and believed in His
Messengers would reach that level, and that is not the case. 

·       
Doing wudoo’ when
it is difficult, taking many steps to the mosque, and waiting for prayer
after prayer 

It
was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Shall I
not tell you something by means of which Allah erases sins and raises people
in status?” They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: “Doing wudoo’
properly at times when it is difficult to do so, taking many steps to the
mosque, and waiting for prayer after prayer. That is constant readiness.” 

Narrated by Muslim (251) 

·       
The acts of
obedience that are mentioned in saheeh reports as means of being with the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Paradise 

Muslim (489) narrated that Rabee‘ah ibn Ka‘b al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased
with him) said: I used to stay overnight with the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and bring him water for wudoo’
and whatever he needed. He said to me: “Ask.” I said: I ask to be with you
in Paradise. He said: “Is there anything else?” I said: That is all, He
said: “Help me to do that for you by prostrating a great deal.” 

Muslim also narrated (2983) that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The one who sponsors an
orphan, whether it is a relative of his or not, he and I will be like these
two in Paradise,” and Maalik pointed with his forefinger and middle finger. 

And he narrated (2631) that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: : “Whoever takes care of
two girls until they reach puberty, he and I will come like this on the Day
of Resurrection” – and he held his two fingers together. 

Imam Ahmad narrated (12089) that Anas or someone else said: The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes care
of two or three daughters, or two or three sisters, until they die before
him or he dies before them, he and I will be like these two,” and he
gestured with his forefinger and middle finger.

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah (296) 

To
sum up: striving hard in doing righteous deeds, hastening to do good deeds,
persisting in righteous deeds and acts of kindness, and competing in doing
good and righteous deeds form the basis for reaching what one most hopes for
in this world and the hereafter, even if that ultimate goal is al-Firdaws
al-A‘la. 

See also the answer to question no. 27075

And Allah knows best.