An A’rab(a nomadic Arab) came to the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) and said: People suffering distress, the children are hungry, the crops are withered, and the animals are perished, so ask Allah to grant us rain, for we seek you as our intercessor with Allah, and Allah as intercessor with you. The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said: Woe to you: Do you know what you are saying? Then the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) declared Allah’s glory and he continued declaring His glory till the effect of that was apparent in the faces of his Companions. He then said: Woe to you: Allah is not to be sought as intercessor with anyone. Allah’s state is greater than that. Woe to you! Do you know how great Allah is? His throne is above the heavens thus(indicating with his fingers like a dome over him), and it groans on account of Him as a saddle does because of the rider.
Ibn Bashshar said in his version: Allah is above the throne, and the throne is above the heavens. He then mentioned the rest of the tradition. ‘Abd al-A’la, Ibn al- Muthana and Ibn Bashshar transmitted it from Ya’qub b. ‘Utbah and Jubair b. Muhammad b. Jubair from his father on the authority of his grandfather.
Abu Dawud said: This tradition with the chain of Ahmad b. Sa’ad is sound. It has been approved by the body (of traditionists) , which includes Yahya b. Ma’in and ‘Ali b. al-Madani, and a group has transmitted it from Ibn Ishaq, as Ahmad also said. And so far as I have been informed ‘Abd al-A’la, Ibn al-Muthanna, and Ibn Bashshar had heard from the same copy(of the collection of tradition).
I have been permitted to tell about one of Allah’s angels who bears the throne that the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years.
I heard Abu Hurairah recite this verse : “Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due” up to “For Allah is he who heareth and seeth all things”. He said : I saw the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) putting his thumb on his ear and finger on his eye.
Abu Hurairah said : I saw the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) reciting this verse and putting his fingers. Ibn Yunus said that al-Muqri said. “Allah hears and sees” means that Allah has the power of hearing and seeing.
Abu Dawud said: This is a refutation of the Jahmiyyah.
When we are were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) he looked at the moon on the night when it was full, that is, fourteenth, and said : You will see your Lord as you see this (moon) and have no doubts about seeing him. If, therefore, you can keep from being prevented from prayer before the sun rises and before it sets, do so. He then recited :”Celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before its setting”.
The people asked : Messenger of Allah! Shall we see our lord, the Exalted, on the Day of resurrection? He replied : Do you feel any trouble in seeing the sun at noon when it is not in the cloud? They said: No. He asked : Do you feel any trouble in seeing the moon on the night when it is full and not in the cloud? They replied: No. He said: By him in whose hand my soul is, you will not feel any trouble in seeing him except as much as you feel in seeing any of them.
I asked: Messenger of Allah! will each one of us see his Lord? Ibn Mu'adh's version has: "being alone with Him, on the Day of Resurrection? And what sign is there is His creation?" He replied: AbuRazin! does each one of you not see the moon? Ibn Mu'adh's version has: "on the night when it is full, being alone with it?" Then the agreed version goes: I said: Yes. He said: Allah is more great. Ibn Mu'adh's version has: It is only part of Allah's creation, but Allah is more glorious and greater.
Allah will fold the heavens an the day of Resurrection, then seizing them in His right hand he will say: I am the king. Where are the mighty men? Where are the proud men? He will then fold the earths and take them in his other hand (According to the version of Ibn al-Ala), and then say ; I am the King. Where are the mighty men? Where are the proud men?
Chapter 1697: Refutation Of The Jahmiyyah - كتاب السنة
Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying; Our lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says :
(Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) presented himself to the people at Arafat, saying: Is there any man who takes me to his people? The Quraysh have prevented me from preaching the word of my Lord.
The Prophet (May peace be upon him) used to seek refuge in Allah for al-Hasan and al-husain, saying ; I seek refuge for both of you in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and every poisonous thing and from the evil eye which influences. He would then say; your father sought refuge in Allah by them for Ismail and Ishaq.
Abu Dawud said; this is a proof of the fact that the Quran is not created.
"When Allah, the exalted, speaks to send revelation, the inhabitants of heaven hear the clanging of a bell from the heavens like a chain being dragged across a rock, and they swoon. They continue to remain like that until Jibril comes to them. When he comes to them, they recover and say: 'O Jibril, what did your Lord say?' He would say: 'The truth,' and they would say: 'The truth, the truth.'"
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: When Allah created Paradise, He said to Gabriel: Go and look at it. He went and looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might, no one who hears of it will fail to enter it.
He then surrounded it with disagreeable things, and said: Go and look at it, Gabriel. He went and looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might, I am afraid that no one will enter it.
When Allah created Hell, He said: Go and look at it, Gabriel. He went and looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might, no one who hears of it will enter it.
He then surrounded it with desirable things and said: Go and look at it, Gabriel. He went, looked at it, then came and said: O my Lord! By Thy might and power, I am afraid that no one will remain who does not enter it.
We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said when we arrived at a halting place: You are not a hundred thousandth part of those who will come down to me at the pond. I (the narrator AbuHamzah) asked: What was your number that day? He replied: Seven or eight hundred.
The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) dozed for a short while and raised his smiling. He either said to them(people) or they said to him: Messenger of Allah! Why did you laugh? He said: A surah has been revealed to me just now, and then he recited: “In the name of Allah, Most Gracious. Most Merciful. To thee We have granted the fount (of abundance)” up to the end. When he recited, he asked: Do you know what al-kauthar is? They replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: It is a river which my Lord, the Exalted, has promised me( to grant) in Paradise: there is abundance of good and upon it there is a pond which my people will approach on the Day of Resurrection. There are vessels as numerous as stars(in the sky).
حَدَّثَنَا عَاصِمُ بْنُ النَّضْرِ، حَدَّثَنَا الْمُعْتَمِرُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبِي قَالَ، حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ : لَمَّا عُرِجَ بِنَبِيِّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الْجَنَّةِ - أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ - عُرِضَ لَهُ نَهْرٌ حَافَتَاهُ الْيَاقُوتُ الْمُجَيَّبُ أَوْ قَالَ الْمُجَوَّفُ، فَضَرَبَ الْمَلَكُ الَّذِي مَعَهُ يَدَهُ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ مِسْكًا فَقَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِلْمَلَكِ الَّذِي مَعَهُ :
" مَا هَذَا " . قَالَ : هَذَا الْكَوْثَرُ الَّذِي أَعْطَاكَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ .
When the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) was lifted to the heavens (for travelling) in Paradise, or as he said, a river whose banks were of transparent or hollowed pearls was presented to him. The angel who was with him struck it with his hand and took out musk. Muhammad (ﷺ) then asked the angel who was with him: What is this? He replied: It is al-Kawthar which Allah has given you.
حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ السَّلاَمِ بْنُ أَبِي حَازِمٍ أَبُو طَالُوتَ، قَالَ شَهِدْتُ أَبَا بَرْزَةَ دَخَلَ عَلَى عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ فَحَدَّثَنِي فُلاَنٌ، سَمَّاهُ مُسْلِمٌ وَكَانَ فِي السِّمَاطِ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ قَالَ : إِنَّ مُحَمَّدِيَّكُمْ هَذَا الدَّحْدَاحُ، فَفَهِمَهَا الشَّيْخُ فَقَالَ مَا كُنْتُ أَحْسِبُ أَنِّي أَبْقَى فِي قَوْمٍ يُعَيِّرُونِي بِصُحْبَةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ لَهُ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ صُحْبَةَ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَكَ زَيْنٌ غَيْرُ شَيْنٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ : إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ إِلَيْكَ لأَسْأَلَكَ عَنِ الْحَوْضِ سَمِعْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَذْكُرُ فِيهِ شَيْئًا فَقَالَ أَبُو بَرْزَةَ : نَعَمْ لاَ مَرَّةً وَلاَ ثِنْتَيْنِ وَلاَ ثَلاَثًا وَلاَ أَرْبَعًا وَلاَ خَمْسًا، فَمَنْ كَذَّبَ بِهِ فَلاَ سَقَاهُ اللَّهُ مِنْهُ ثُمَّ خَرَجَ مُغْضَبًا .
I saw AbuBarzah who came to visit Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. Then a man named Muslim who was there in the company mentioned it to me.
When Ubaydullah saw him, he said: This Muhammadan [i.e. Companion of Muhammad (ﷺ)] of yours is short and fat. The old man (i.e. AbuBarzah) understood it.
So he said: I did not think I would remain amongst a people who would criticize me for having had the company of Muhammad (ﷺ).
Thereupon Ubaydullah said to him: The company of Muhammad (ﷺ) is a honour for you, not a disgrace. He added: I called for you to ask about the Haud (reservoir or cistern). Did you hear the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say anything about it? AbuBarzah said: Yes, not once, twice, thrice, four times or five times. Whoever disbelieves in it, may Allah not supply him with water from it. He then went away angrily.
Chapter 1703: Questioning And Punishment In The Grave - كتاب السنة
Al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib reported the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) as saying:
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنِ مَرْثَدٍ، عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَيْدَةَ، عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ بْنِ عَازِبٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ : " إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمَ إِذَا سُئِلَ فِي الْقَبْرِ فَشَهِدَ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ { يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ } .
When a Muslim is questioned in the grave he testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle. That is verified by Allah’s words: “Allah establishes those who believe with the word that stands firm.”