Mention of the Soil of Paradise

It is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of al-Zuhri, from Anas ibn Malik, from Abu Dharr, concerning the narration of the Mi'raj (Ascension), that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

"I was admitted into Paradise, and behold, in it were domes of pearls, and behold, its soil was musk." And Imam Ahmad said: Ruh narrated to us, Hammad narrated to us, al-Jariri narrated to us, from Abu Nadrah, from Abu Sa'id, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked Ibn Sa'id about the soil of Paradise, and he replied:

"It is white sifted pure flour, pure musk." Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "He has spoken the truth."

Thus was it narrated by Imam Ahmad. Muslim also narrated it from the hadith of Abu Salamah, from Abu Nadrah in a similar manner. Muslim also narrated it from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, from Abu Usamah, from al-Jariri, from Abu Nadrah, from Abu Sa'id, that Ibn Sayyad asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the soil of Paradise, and he said: "It is white sifted pure flour, pure musk."

And Ahmad said: Ali ibn Abdillah narrated to us, Sufyan narrated to us, from Mujalid, from al-Sha'bi, from Jabir ibn Abdillah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said concerning the Jews:

"I am going to ask them about the soil of Paradise, which is white sifted flour." So he asked them, and they replied: "It is a loaf of bread, O Abu al-Qasim." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Bread is made from fine flour."

It has already preceded in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Umar, and others regarding the description of the construction of Paradise, that:

"Its mortar is musk, its pebbles are pearls and rubies, and its soil is saffron."

The word al-Milat (mortar) in linguistic usage denotes the clay placed between the courses of masonry with which the wall is plastered. Thus, perhaps some of its regions have musk for soil, while others have saffron for soil, and Allah knows best.

Despite this magnificence and vastness, it has previously been cited in the Sahih from Anas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

"And the span of a bow of one of you, or the space of his whip, is better than the world and all that is in it."

Ahmad said: Abdur-Razzaq narrated to us, Ma'mar narrated to us, from Thumam, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

"The space occupied by the whip of one of you in Paradise is better than the heaven and the earth." It meets the condition of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim).