Question:
As per Hadees (mentioned in the questioner’s given video), there were four types of rivers mentioned as though they are all flowing from the sacred letters of ‘Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem’, whether is it Authentic?
Answer:
It (the video given by the questioner) says that the Prophetﷺ (Peace and blessings be upon him) goes on Mi’raj and sees Paradise. When he sees Paradise, four rivers are flowing there. The Qur’an mentions this. One river flows with water, one river flows with wine, one river flows with milk, and one river flows with honey. Water river, milk river, honey river, wine river — four rivers flow. When it is said wine river, it does not cause intoxication. It is wine without intoxication, and Allahﷻ has placed a unique taste in it. May Allahﷻ grant us the blessing of drinking from those rivers. The Prophetﷺ (Peace be upon him) saw them, saw their beauty and taste, and asked where they originate from. He asked Jibreel (Alaihis Salam) how beautiful they are, how they flow, and how their surroundings are arranged. On both sides there are rubies and emeralds. On the banks, like the steps built along canals and rivers by governments, there are structures like steps leading down.
It says there are steps made of rubies and emeralds, and the ground below is not sand but musk. Such taste, such comfort, such fragrance. The Prophetﷺ asked what beauty, what wonder, what taste, what fragrance is this, and from where it originates? Jibreel (Alaihis Salam) replied, “O Messengerﷺ of Allahﷻ, I do not know. From the time I was created and from as long as I can remember, I have seen it flowing continuously, but I do not know where it comes from.” At that time, another angel came and said, “O Messengerﷺ of Allahﷻ, Allahﷻ has commanded that you be taken to the place where these originate.” The Prophetﷺ was taken specially by that angel.
He was taken to a place and shown from a distance. It says there was a large dome. Inside it, he was taken in, and there were four pillars in that building — four massive pillars. On one pillar it was written “Bismi”, on another “Allahﷻ”, on another “Ar-Rahman”, and on another “Ar-Raheem” — Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. From the “Meem” of “Bismi”, one river begins. From the “Ha” in “Allahﷻ”, another river begins. From the “Meem” in “Ar-Rahman”, another river begins. From the “Meem” in “Ar-Raheem”, another river begins. Allahﷻ is One. Then he says there are three Meems — one in Bismi, one in Rahman, and one in Raheem. There are also three Meems in the name Muhammad. He says one must think about that as well. He claims these are teachings explained by Sufis and that there are many secrets behind them. He says the rivers originate from these four letters.
This is what the video says. It claims that there are four wonderful rivers in Paradise, and when they went to see where these rivers originate, they found four pillars. On one pillar was written “Bismillah”, on another “Ar-Rahman”, on another “Ar-Raheem”, and from the name “Bismillah” a river flows. It says milk, honey, and wine rivers all flow from these. It says the water river flows from the Meem in Bismi, descending as a waterfall. Likewise, milk flows from the Ha in Allahﷻ, wine flows from the Meem in Rahman, and honey flows from the Meem in Raheem. He says that some books containing fabricated stories have written such things, and the speaker in the video has believed those and spoken about them.
First of all, if someone speaks about the Hereafter and religious matters, you must check whether the Prophetﷺ (peace be upon him) said it. No one can go and see Paradise personally. Unless the Messengerﷺ of Allahﷻ said something, even if some random book writes it, you cannot believe it. In Islam, if someone describes four rivers flowing and explains where they originate, we must ask which book contains it and what is its chain of narration. Did the Messengerﷺ of Allahﷻ say it, or did someone else say it? If someone else said it, how would they know? Did they go to Paradise and return?
If you speak about matters of Paradise, Hell, or the Hereafter, we learned about these only through the Messengerﷺ of Allahﷻ. Whose words did we believe? We believed the Prophetﷺ’s words. Therefore, only if the Prophetﷺ (peace be upon him) said this, can it be spoken as a sermon or lecture.
It may sound attractive, sweet, and entertaining like storytelling, and may fill time in a speech, but if you spread stories like this without proof, it becomes lying in religion and it is a grave sin.
If you portray it as if the Prophetﷺ said it, then if you narrate something related to the Prophetﷺ, he must have said it. To whom did he say it? Who reported it? During which scholarly period was it recorded? Only when these details exist can it be called religious teaching. If it is just historical storytelling, it can be ignored. But when it is linked to the Prophetﷺ, it becomes part of religion. Therefore, one cannot speak about it casually.
I even searched for it. I checked using artificial intelligence tools and asked whether such a narration exists. Even the AI response said, “Do not spread such fabricated stories and do not disgrace Islam.” That is how baseless this narration is. Bringing a false story, adding graphic designs and visuals, and spreading it — will Allahﷻ not question this?
If someone lies about the Prophetﷺ, the Prophetﷺ himself said, “Whoever fabricates a lie about me, let him reserve his seat in Hell.” Does this not fall under that warning? You are spreading lies to people, linking it to the Prophetﷺ and the Hereafter. What is the source? Show it from the Qur’an or Hadith. There is no source. Someone just speaks from imagination.
Some Arabic books have been written by people who asked religious questions in their times, just as people do today. But not everyone who wrote a book was a scholar. Many ignorant people wrote books. Someone may have written such nonsense in Arabic, and when people see it in Arabic, they assume it is authentic and beneficial. Just because it is in Arabic does not make it correct. Someone foolish may have written it, and others simply copy it. Those who speak about religion should not spread such fabricated stories.
If someone speaks like this, people should question them and demand the chain of narration and authentic sources. Only by questioning them will they stop spreading such stories. Otherwise, they think people will listen and leave without questioning. If people question religious claims, such fabrications will stop. Therefore, this narration is false. It is not a hadith.