Who Will Sit With You in Jannah?

In this second episode of Journey Through the Quran, Season 2, Dr. Amir Abdelzaher takes us deep into Surah As-Saffat (ayat 50–61), where Allah ﷻ unveils a powerful scene from Jannah: companions sitting together, remembering their life in dunya, and recalling a friend who tried to pull one of them away from faith and belief in the Hereafter.

We reflect on:

• The conversation of the people of Jannah and how they remember their time in this world
• The story of two companions: one chasing dunya, the other investing for Akhirah through sadaqah
• How a friend’s ridicule and doubt (shakk) nearly ruined a believer — and how Allah’s ni’mah (grace) saved him
• Modern forms of doubt: materialism, denial of the Hereafter, and even confusion around the most basic truths
• The unseen world: angels, the hereafter, and the reality that we don’t need to see something for it to be real
• The meaning of true success (al-fawz al-‘azim): never leaving Jannah, never tasting punishment again
• The Qur’anic command: “For the like of this, let the workers work” (لِمِثْلِ هَذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَامِلُونَ) — what is really worth our effort in this life

Dr. Amir reminds us that everyone is already struggling and working for something in dunya; the only question is: what are we working for? Are we striving for a success that dies with this world, or for the everlasting victory of Jannah?

Use this episode as a chance to:

• Reassess your companionship (suhba) and the influences shaping your heart

• Renew your focus on death, resurrection, and accountability

• Recommit to surrounding yourself and your family with gatherings of dhikr, knowledge, and righteous company

Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction, opening praises, and salawat
1:30 – Surah As-Saffat overview: death, Jannah and Nar – no third path
3:06 – Scenes of the Hereafter: conversations of the people of Jannah and Jahannam
4:40 – “I had a companion…” The qareen who mocked belief in resurrection
7:41 – Story of two business partners: dunya palaces vs. sadaqah for Jannah
10:24 – The power of suhba: how companions plant doubt or strengthen iman
12:01 – Modern shakk: confusion about basic truths and the reality of death
14:28 – Technology, AI, cryogenics & the illusion of escaping mortality
17:02 – Unseen realities: microbes, angels, Jannah and Nar beyond our senses
19:59 – Dreams of the deceased & how Allah shows us the consequences of our deeds
23:17 – A window from Jannah into Jahannam: seeing the fate we were saved from
25:06 – “You almost ruined me”: how harmful friends can drag a believer to ruin
29:00 – Protecting our hearts and children from doubt and Dajjalic culture
32:47 – “If not for the ni’mah of my Lord…” Salvation as pure divine grace
34:57 – The man whose eyesight outweighed all his deeds – justice vs. mercy
35:24 – Eternal security: no more death, no more punishment, no more fear
38:51 – Al-fawz al-‘azim: the real meaning of victory and success
40:11 – “For the likes of this, let the workers work”: what is worth striving for
42:09 – Everyone struggles in dunya – how believers struggle with purpose
43:46 – Bringing these lessons home: family, dhikr, and living for Akhirah
45:07 – Transition to Qur’an recitation & dhikr