Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 352
حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ: يَا نَبِيَّ اللهِ، مَتَى السَّاعَةُ؟ فَقَالَ: وَمَا أَعْدَدْتَ لَهَا؟ قَالَ: مَا أَعْدَدْتُ مِنْ كَبِيرٍ، إِلاَّ أَنِّي أُحِبُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ، فَقَالَ: الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas reported that a man asked the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), ‘Prophet of Allah, when is the Hour?’ He replied, ‘What have you prepared for it?’ The man said, ‘I have prepared nothing great, except that I love Allah and His Messenger.’ He said, ‘A person is with the one he loves.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The man’s reply says he has not prepared any great deed; it does not say he is unprepared for a terrible event.
مَا أَعْدَدْتُ مِنْ كَبِيرٍ، إِلاَّ أَنِّي أُحِبُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ،
The Arabic says he has prepared nothing great, except that he loves Allah and His Messenger; the English witness turns كبير into a terrible event.
Should this be read as ‘nothing great’ (i.e. no great deed) rather than ‘a terrible event’?