Question

since men will have many wives in paradise and a woman will only have one husband it means that the man will always have someone to spend time with, while a woman will have to wait for her turn to spend some time with him. Will women have companions or friends to spend time with while their husbands are with their other wives? Or will they just be spending all that time alone? Just like men will have many women dedicating all their time to them and thus the man will always have a wife to spend time with, will women too have someone to spend time with while their husbands are spending time with their many wives?

Answer

The short answer to your question would be that the inner subtleties of Jannah (Heaven) are unknown to us. However, the time you and your husband spend will be managed in such a way that no individual will feel resentment, envy, or loneliness. Instead, they will always experience maximal pleasure and bliss as these ill feelings will not exist in Jannah.

To rationalise this difficulty, the first point to realise is that the inhabitants of Jannah will be maximally fulfilled, content and blissful for eternity. As such, Jannah is a place where one will never become sad, anxious, angry or jealous. These ill feelings will not exist therein. Allah tells us in Q. 35:33-6:

We gave the Scripture as a heritage to Our chosen servants: some of them wronged their own souls, some stayed between [right and wrong], and some, by Allah’s leave, were foremost in good deeds. That is the greatest favour. They will enter lasting Gardens where they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, where they will wear silk garments. They will say, ‘Praise be to Allah, who has separated us from all sorrow! Our Lord is truly most forgiving, most appreciative. He has, in His bounty, settled us in the everlasting Home where no toil or fatigue will touch us.’

The inhabitants will praise Allah for extinguishing all forms of sadness and sorrow to enter a world where there is no physical or emotional toll upon them.[1] So removed is repugnance of this world that the inhabitants of Jannah will not even use the bathroom! Sadness or loneliness will certainly not exist in Jannah.

Secondly, Allah decreed that Jannah would not be a place of equality. One’s abode in Jannah, and the associated benefits, would be determined by their good deeds in this world. Therefore, the pious servants of Allah who excelled and hasted in good deeds will receive more than those who did not excel at that level. According to a hadith in Sahih Bukhari, the last person to enter Jannah will receive an abode ten times larger than this world.[2] However, the abode of those who enter before this individual will be much greater.

Now, these two points interact with one another. In this world, individuals become jealous when they see differences and inequality. However, as a place of eternal bliss and contentment, Allah will create a world in which these ill feelings do not exist, as Heaven is necessarily unequal. Instead, Allah will make a world where every individual will be maximally content and fulfilled with their rewards. Allah will say:

[But] you, soul at peace: return to your Lord well-pleased[3] and well-pleasing; go in among My servants; and into My Garden. (Q. 89:27-30)

While this relates to inequality among individuals according to their deeds, a male inhabitant will have more than one wife in Jannah. This may be construed as a form of difference. Thus, while we do not know the inner workings of Jannah, we know as a matter of certainty that these differences will be managed in such a way that no party feels aggrieved or lonely, as these things will not exist in the Jannah.

I hope this clarifies the matter.

[1]              صفوة التفاسير (2/ 530) {وَقَالُواْ الحمد للَّهِ الذي أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا الحزن} أي وقالوا عند دخولهم الجنة الحمدُ لله الذي أذهب عنا جميع الهموم والأكدار والأحزان، قال المفسرون: عبَّر بالماضي {وَقَالُواْ} لتحقق وقوعه، والحزن يعمُّ كل ما يكدِّر صفو الإِنسان من خوف المرض، والفقر، والموت، وأهوال القيامة، وعذاب النار وغير ذلك

تفسير الرازي = مفاتيح الغيب أو التفسير الكبير-ط دار إحياء التراث العربي (26/ 241)  وَقالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا الْحَزَنَ إِنَّ رَبَّنا لَغَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ (34) في الحزن أقوال كثيرة والأولى أن يقال المراد إذهاب كل حزن والألف واللام للجنس واستغراقه

[2] صحيح البخاري (حديث 7511): حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، عَنْ إِسْرَائِيلَ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَبِيدَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ إِنَّ آخِرَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ دُخُولاً الْجَنَّةَ، وَآخِرَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ خُرُوجًا مِنَ النَّارِ رَجُلٌ يَخْرُجُ حَبْوًا فَيَقُولُ لَهُ رَبُّهُ ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّ الْجَنَّةُ مَلأَى‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ لَهُ ذَلِكَ ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ فَكُلُّ ذَلِكَ يُعِيدُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةُ مَلأَى‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ إِنَّ لَكَ مِثْلَ الدُّنْيَا عَشْرَ مِرَارٍ ‏”‏‏.‏

[3] Here, “well-pleased” means that the inhabitants of Jannah will be content with the abode Allah has prepared for them.

تفسير الزمخشري = الكشاف عن حقائق غوامض التنزيل (ن موقع التفاسير) (2907/) على معنى : ارجعي إلى موعد ربك { رَّاضِيَةٍ } بما أوتيت { مَّرْضِيَّةً } عند الله

Answered by:
Maulana Ikramul Hoque Miah

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel