Praise be to Allah, and thereafter...
Imagine with me for a moment that today the two most prominent figures in Arab thought came together. Or imagine the two most influential political leaders in our Arab world convening. Or, to make the scenario more flexible, let’s suppose a meeting took place today between the two most important figures in the Islamic world. In your view, what topic do you think would be placed on the table?
Would it be freedom? Or perhaps the topic would be revival, civilization, and development? Maybe unemployment and housing? Or the evolution of media? The economic crisis? What, in your opinion, would be the grandest issue worthy of such a high-profile meeting?
This imagined question lingered in my mind as I read a reliable report about a meeting between the two most important individuals in human history — and I was deeply astonished by the topic of their conversation. Perhaps the reason for my surprise lies in the agenda style we’ve grown accustomed to in modern high-level meetings. Or maybe it's the mental framework we use to categorize public matters, where certain issues have become hierarchically prioritized in our minds and thus dominate elite agendas.
Regardless, I’m confident that the mindset of the contemporary reader likely differs from the level reached by these two greats in human history — particularly in how they perceived the truly decisive and existential issues worth dedicating meetings and time to.
Anyway, I sense that my dear reader is now eager to learn about the story of this meeting between the greatest two men to ever walk this Earth. Very well, allow me to relay to you this historical event — a high-ranking meeting between the most distinguished individuals in all of humanity’s archives. Oh, and let me add that the location of the meeting was also extraordinary — a place unlike any other, fitting for the majesty of these two men: a location accessible not to most people, but to a special class of leaders and the truly influential.
As for the two persons at the center of the meeting, it’s obvious: the greatest and most honorable individuals created by Allah — Prophet Abraham the son of Azar the son of Nahor, and Prophet Muhammad the son of Abdullah the son of Abdul-Muttalib, peace be upon them and their families. The fact that they are the best of all men is a well-established truth among Muslims. Ibn Taymiyyah said:
“The best of creation is Muhammad (peace be upon him), then Abraham (peace be upon him).”
— Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Iqtidaa’, 2/833
He also said:
“The best of prophets after Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Abraham the Friend of God.”
— Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Fataawa, 4/317
Now that we’ve established Muhammad and Abraham (peace be upon them both) as the greatest two men in human history, let’s get to the core: When did they meet? Where was the meeting held? And what was the topic of discussion?
The Prophet Muhammad met Abraham (peace be upon them) during the night journey (Isra and Mi’raj), specifically in the seventh heaven. In Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet said:
“Then I passed by Abraham who said: ‘Welcome, righteous Prophet and righteous son.’”
— Bukhari, 3342
Some narrations mention that Abraham was resting his back against Al-Bayt Al-Ma’mur (the frequently visited house), and Allah knows best.
As for the topic of their meeting — the issue raised in that extraordinary gathering and the message that Abraham wanted conveyed to the Ummah of Muhammad — it was reported by four companions: Ibn Mas’ud, Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, Abdullah ibn Umar, and Ibn Abbas.
Listen to this narration about that meeting and its central message. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“I met Abraham the night I was taken up to the heavens, and he said: ‘O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah and inform them that Paradise has good soil and sweet water, and it is a flat plain; and that its plants are: Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah), Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah), and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest).’”
— Reported by Al-Tirmidhi (3462), Ahmad (23552), and others.
The hadith was graded good by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hajar, and quoted by many scholars like Ibn Rajab, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Al-Qayyim.
It’s hard for any reader to pass by this extraordinary encounter between Muhammad and Abraham (peace be upon them) without being struck by the topic Abraham chose to emphasize and asked Prophet Muhammad to deliver to us.
As soon as a Muslim hears Abraham saying, “O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah,” he feels a deep sense of belonging — that Abraham, our spiritual father, is concerned about us and is sending us his peace through our beloved Prophet. He is our father, as the Qur'an says:
“...the religion of your father Abraham...”
— [Al-Hajj: 78]
Now imagine the gravity of a message sent from someone who has already departed this world — from someone who knows what truly matters in the eternal life to come. Abraham, one of the most knowledgeable about Allah after our Prophet, sends us this will — a message from the eternal future we are all headed toward.
And what was this will?
A message about how to cultivate your place in Paradise:
“Tell them that Paradise is good soil, sweet water, and is a flat land. And its plants are: Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illa Allah, and Allahu Akbar.”
Abraham is describing Paradise as someone who has already entered the next life — describing its rich soil and its sweet water. He says it's a flat plain, waiting for you to plant your trees in it with these four phrases.
Imagine now that by simply saying Subhan Allah, a tree is planted for you in Paradise!
Imagine you teach a friend or family member to say these phrases, and every time they say them, a tree is planted for them and another for you — as the Prophet said in Sahih Muslim:
“Whoever guides to something good has a reward like the one who does it.”
— Muslim, 1893
You could be asleep, eating, or busy at work, and trees are being planted for you in Paradise because of people you reminded about dhikr.
Ibn Al-Qayyim even dedicated a chapter in his poem Al-Kaafiyah Ash-Shaafiyah to this hadith, calling it:
“A chapter: Paradise is a plain, and its plants are righteous words and good deeds.”
He wrote:
Haven’t you heard that it is a plain, so plant there what you wish during this fleeting time.
Its plants are glorifying, praising, exalting, and affirming the Oneness of the Merciful.
Woe to the one who neglects this planting — what has he missed from this opportunity?
O you who acknowledge this and yet do not act — tell me, how can the two coexist?
If you left your land unplanted, what would you harvest from your orchard?
—Ibn Al-Qayyim, Al-Kaafiyah Ash-Shaafiyah, p.395
He also mentioned this hadith as one of the great benefits of dhikr in his book Al-Waabil As-Sayyib, calling it:
“The thirty-second benefit: Dhikr is the planting of Paradise.”
Among the most insightful reflections on this hadith is one by Imam Al-Nawawi, who noted that people of hadith now have a connected chain of narration to Prophet Abraham himself. Since they narrate it from the companions, who narrate it from the Prophet, who narrates it from Abraham, this hadith gives them a direct chain to the Friend of Allah!
He said:
“Allah has blessed us with a connected narration and a direct link to His Friend Abraham, just as He blessed us with such a link to His Beloved, His Chosen One Muhammad (peace be upon him).”
— Tahdhib Al-Asma’, 1/100
This unique awareness of the source of the message — a message directly from Abraham to us — was also emphasized by Imam Ibn Rajab:
“A message has reached you, O Ummah, from your father Abraham, delivered by your Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them)...”
— Ibn Rajab, Lata’if al-Ma’arif, p. 120
So you see — both Al-Nawawi and Ibn Rajab brought our attention to the fact that this message and this will have come to us from our father Abraham through our Prophet Muhammad, and that we are their intended audience. What care and concern they showed for us!
So, let me ask you this: Do you expect that if two modern Arab intellectuals were to meet today, they would choose as their meeting topic the remembrance of Allah — just as the two greatest men in human history did during their meeting in the seventh heaven?
I don’t think so. And I would be delighted to be wrong.
The meaning of progress and advancement in the scale of the prophets is very different from today’s materialistic measurements.
And may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family.
