What is the difference between "darajah" (degree/rank) and "manzilah" (status/station) in Paradise, which of them is higher, and what is the utmost a believer can achieve of them in our current era?

The texts indicate that Paradise has ranks and stations, the highest of which belongs to the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, known as "al-Wasilah," which is the closest of ranks to the Throne of the Most Merciful.

Prophetic hadiths have affirmed that Paradise has one hundred degrees, and that the distance between two degrees is like that between the heaven and the earth, and that Al-Firdaws is the middle and highest part of Paradise.

The Holy Quran indicates the varying degrees of people in the hereafter, and that every doer of good deeds will have degrees according to their deeds.

The hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri shows that the people of Paradise differ in their stations, and believers can reach high degrees in Paradise, even those resembling the stations of prophets, thanks to their faith and sincerity. Muslims are also encouraged to ask Allah for Al-Firdaws al-A'la (the highest Paradise).

Some scholars differentiate between "manzilah" (station) and "darajah" (degree), while others consider them synonymous, based on texts that describe Al-Wasilah as both a station and a degree simultaneously.