Ahl al-Janna: The People of Paradise (Ramadan television programme)

'Ahl al-Janna' ('The People of Paradise') is a Ramadan television programme presented by Mustafa Hosny, dated by the Arabic Wikipedia to Ramadan 2013, of which the Assabile archive keeps twenty-eight video episodes of about twenty-three to thirty-three minutes. ^{1 2} In the first episode he says it is the first day of Ramadan, that the programme continues last year's journey, in which they learned to make the world a door to God and not a veil from Him, and that from the first of Ramadan they will walk together to visit the people of Paradise with imagination, mind and heart. ^{3 4 5} He speaks alone, and many episodes were filmed outdoors: on a high mountain among snow, clouds and lakes, by waterfalls, on a riverbank and among orchards, the beauty of the world taken as a pointer to the beauty of Paradise. ^{6 7} The episodes open and close with a song in which the singer asks God to gather him and the listeners in Paradise. ^{8 9}

He says the battle between man and Satan is a battle of morals, and that Satan founded a 'party' through which he wants to change man's nature (fitra) and character. ^{10 11} From the third episode on, each follows one plan, which he names: a visit to one trait of the people of Paradise and its neighbours there among the prophets and Companions; then the 'zone of conflict' with the trait Satan wants to make, the desire he exploits and the excuse he offers; then the signs, the 'harvest', and the cure through a principle, a supplication and a practical step. ^{12 13 14} In most episodes he refers viewers to his website, which carries a summary of the episode and a personality test. ¹⁵ Neither the archive nor the episodes give the year of broadcast. ²

Episode 1: the journey begins. He describes the procession of the righteous entering Paradise led by the prophets, then says Satan vowed to change God's creation, which he reads as corrupting nature and character, and cites the hadith of Uthman ibn Abi al-As (may God be pleased with him) on the devil of the prayer. ^{16 17 10 18 19}

Episode 2: the party of Satan. He divides people into three, the waverer, the pupil and the promoter, says the party of Satan is mentioned in Surat al-Mujadala in the twenty-eighth part of the Qur'an, and then speaks of Satan and the jinn. ^{20 21 22} The detail is in jinn.

Episode 3: the lover of good and the rancorous. He recalls that the Prophet ﷺ refused the angel's offer to bring the two mountains down on the people of Ta'if, hoping that from their descendants would come people who worship God, and makes Joseph the greatest lover of good after the Prophet. ^{23 24} He cites a hadith he attributes to al-Bukhari's 'al-Adab al-Mufrad' from Ibn Abbas on one who dies bearing no rancour towards his brother. ^{25 26}

Episode 4: the trustworthy and the cheat. The detail is in trustworthiness. He cites Abu Talib al-Makki's 'Qut al-Qulub' as saying that Satan makes false oaths and cheating attractive in the market. ²⁷

Episode 5: the guardian of the tongue and the backbiter. The detail is in the afflictions of the tongue.

Episode 6: the beautiful of tongue and the obscene. He says the obscene person enjoys bringing ugly words into his vocabulary, and that Satan's aim is to pollute a person's scale by polluting his tongue. ^{28 29} The detail is in the afflictions of the tongue.

Episode 7: the truthful and the liar. The detail is in truthfulness.

Episode 8: the chaste and the lustful. The detail is in chastity.

Episode 9: the humble and the arrogant. The detail is in arrogance. He recalls that Abu Bakr milked the neighbourhood's sheep before the caliphate and that the caliphate did not stop him. ³⁰

Episode 10: the merciful and the harsh. He defines the merciful as one who has chosen to deal gently and not harshly, and relates that al-Husayn asked Ali about the Prophet's character and was told he was cheerful, easy-natured and gentle. ^{31 32} The detail is in Bilal ibn Rabah.

Episode 11: the faithful and the traitor. The detail is in Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman and Abu Lubaba. He notes that Ishmael is praised in Surat Maryam as true to his promise before his prophethood is mentioned. ³³

Episode 12: the content and the greedy. The detail is in contentment.

Episode 13: the careful worker and the slapdash 'fahlawi'. The detail is in excellence in work and Mus'ab ibn Umayr.

Episode 14: the sound of heart and the envious. The detail is in envy and Sawda bint Zam'a.

Episode 15: the one who speaks with knowledge and the pretender. He defines the one who speaks with knowledge as one who keeps silent on what he does not understand, cites a hadith that God, His angels and all creatures bless the one who teaches people good, and says the Prophet spoke only with knowledge. ^{34 35 36}

Episode 16: the forbearing and the hot-tempered. The detail is in forbearance.

Episode 17: the forgiving and the vengeful. The detail is in pardon.

Episode 18: the brave and the coward. He defines the brave person as one who manages his fears rather than being stopped by them, certain that nothing befalls him but what God has written, and describes the market of Paradise. ^{37 38 39 40}

Episode 19: the content with God's decree and the resentful. The detail is in contentment with God's decree.

Episode 20: the clean-handed and the thief. He relates that after the afternoon prayer the Prophet hurried to his house because he remembered some gold of the charity left with him, and that when he found a date on his bed he left it lest it be from the charity. ^{41 42 43}

Episode 21: the fair-minded and the oppressor. He says the space of a whip in Paradise is better than the world and all it holds, and explains 'mudhammatan' in Surat al-Rahman as intensely green. ⁴⁴

Episode 22: the dutiful and the undutiful to parents. The detail is in the rights of parents.

Episode 23: the optimist and the pessimist. The detail is in tiyara.

Episode 24: the generous and the miser. He says Paradise is an abode of reward, not of work, and that charity is a proof. ⁴⁵

Episode 25: the Night of Decree. The detail is in Laylat al-Qadr.

Episode 26: the grateful and the ingrate. The detail is in gratitude and Abu al-Bakhtari ibn Hisham.

Episode 27: ten fortifications against Satan. He says it is not his habit to list many things, but sets out fortifications against Satan, the first being constant presence with God, recalls Satan's exception of God's sincere servants and cites Joseph's escape. ^{46 47 48}

Episode 28: protecting friendship. He closes the journey by saying that a person takes either God or Satan as his protecting friend (wali), and defines al-Wali as the One who manages His servants' affairs with full love, wisdom and care. ^{49 50}