Beginning of Creation

Muhammad narrated to us: Ibn Abi Maryam informed us: al-Layth narrated to us: Ibn Abi Jaʿfar narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, from ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, from ʿAʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ), that she heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘The angels descend into the clouds and mention a matter decreed in heaven. The devils eavesdrop, hear it, and convey it to the soothsayers, who mix with it one hundred lies of their own.’

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Saʿd narrated to us: Ibn Shihab narrated to us, from Abu Salama and al-Agharr, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘On Friday, at every gate of the mosque, angels record the people in order, one after another. When the imam sits, they roll up the scrolls and come to listen to the remembrance.’

ʿAli ibn ʿAbd Allah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: al-Zuhri narrated to us, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab, who said: ʿUmar passed through the mosque while Hassan was reciting poetry. He said, ‘I used to recite poetry in it, when someone better than you was there.’ Then he turned to Abu Hurayra and said, ‘I adjure you by Allah: did you hear the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “Answer on my behalf; O Allah, strengthen him with the Holy Spirit”?’ He said, ‘Yes.’

Hafs ibn ʿUmar narrated to us: Shuʿba narrated to us, from ʿAdi ibn Thabit, from al-Baraʾ (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said to Hassan: ‘Satirize them—or engage them in invective—and Gabriel is with you.’

And Ishaq narrated to us: Wahb ibn Jarir informed us: My father narrated to us, saying: I heard Humayd ibn Hilal, from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: It is as though I can see dust rising in the lane of Banu Ghanm. Musa added: ‘The procession of Gabriel.’

Farwa narrated to us: ʿAli ibn Mushir narrated to us, from Hisham ibn ʿUrwa, from his father, from ʿAʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that al-Harith ibn Hisham asked the Prophet (ﷺ), ‘How does revelation come to you?’ He said, ‘All these ways: sometimes the angel comes to me with a sound like the ringing of a bell. When it departs, I have retained what it said. This is the hardest form for me. Sometimes the angel appears to me as a man and speaks to me, and I retain what he says.’

Adam narrated to us: Shayban narrated to us: Yahya ibn Abi Kathir narrated to us, from Abu Salama, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: ‘Whoever spends two of anything in the way of Allah will be called by the keepers of Paradise: “O so-and-so, come!”’ Abu Bakr said, ‘That person will suffer no loss.’ The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘I hope you will be one of them.’

ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Hisham narrated to us: Maʿmar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salama, from ʿAʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to her: ‘ʿAʾisha, this is Gabriel; he sends you greetings of peace.’ She said, ‘And upon him be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings.’ She added, ‘You see what I do not see,’ meaning the Prophet (ﷺ).

Abu Nuʿaym narrated to us: ʿUmar ibn Dharr narrated to us. [Another chain:] Yahya ibn Jaʿfar narrated to me: Wakiʿ narrated to us, from ʿUmar ibn Dharr, from his father, from Saʿid ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Gabriel, ‘Why do you not visit us more often?’ Then this was revealed: ‘We do not descend except by the command of your Lord. To Him belongs what is before us and what is behind us…’—the verse.

Ismaʿil narrated to us, saying: Sulayman narrated to me, from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, from ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUtba ibn Masʿud, from Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Gabriel recited to me in one mode, and I kept asking him for more until he reached seven modes.’

Muhammad ibn Muqatil narrated to us: ʿAbd Allah informed us: Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah narrated to me, from Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was the most generous of people, and he was at his most generous in Ramadan, when Gabriel met him. Gabriel would meet him every night in Ramadan and review the Qurʾan with him. When Gabriel met him, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was more generous in doing good than the freely blowing wind. ʿAbd Allah also related this with the same chain, in similar wording. Abu Hurayra and Fatima (may Allah be pleased with them both) related from the Prophet (ﷺ) that Gabriel used to review the Qurʾan with him.

Qutayba narrated to us: Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz once delayed the ʿAsr prayer a little. ʿUrwa said to him, ‘Gabriel came down and led the prayer in front of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).’ ʿUmar said, ‘Be sure of what you are saying, ʿUrwa.’ He said: I heard Bashir ibn Abi Masʿud say: I heard Abu Masʿud say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Gabriel came down and led me in prayer. Then I prayed with him; then I prayed with him; then I prayed with him; then I prayed with him’—counting five prayers on his fingers.

Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us: Ibn Abi ʿAdi narrated to us, from Shuʿba, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Zayd ibn Wahb, from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Gabriel said to me: “Whoever of your community dies without associating anything with Allah will enter Paradise—or will not enter the Fire.”’ He said, ‘Even if he commits fornication and theft?’ He replied, ‘Even so.’

Abu al-Yaman informed us: Shuʿayb informed us: Abu al-Zinad narrated to us, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Angels take turns among you: angels by night and angels by day. They gather at the Fajr and ʿAsr prayers. Then those who spent the night among you ascend to Him. He asks them—though He knows best—“How did you leave My servants?” They say, “We left them praying when we came to them, and we left them praying when we departed from them.”’

Muhammad narrated to us: Makhlad informed us: Ibn Jurayj informed us, from Ismaʿil ibn Umayya, that Nafiʿ related to him that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad related to him, from ʿAʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: I stuffed a cushion for the Prophet (ﷺ) with figures, making it like a small pillow. He came and stood between the two doors, and his expression began to change. I said, ‘What is wrong, Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘What is this cushion?’ I said, ‘A cushion I made for you to recline on.’ He said, ‘Did you not know that angels do not enter a house containing an image, and that whoever makes an image will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and told, “Give life to what you have created”?’

Ibn Muqatil narrated to us: ʿAbd Allah informed us: Maʿmar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah, that he heard Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) say: I heard Abu Talha say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Angels do not enter a house containing a dog or an image.’

Ahmad narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to us: ʿAmr informed us that Bukayr ibn al-Ashajj related to him that Busr ibn Saʿid related to him that Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) related to him. Present with Busr ibn Saʿid was ʿUbayd Allah al-Khawlani, who had been raised in the household of Maymuna (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ). Zayd ibn Khalid related to both of them that Abu Talha had told him that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Angels do not enter a house containing an image.’ Busr said: Zayd ibn Khalid later became ill, and we visited him. We found in his house a curtain with images on it. I said to ʿUbayd Allah al-Khawlani, ‘Did he not relate to us a saying about images?’ He said, ‘He said, “Except a design woven into a garment.” Did you not hear him?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Indeed, he mentioned it.’

Yahya ibn Sulayman said: Ibn Wahb narrated to me, saying: ʿUmar narrated to me, from Salim, from his father, who said: Gabriel had promised the Prophet (ﷺ), then said: ‘We do not enter a house containing an image or a dog.’

Ismaʿil narrated to me, saying: Malik narrated to me, from Sumayy, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘When the imam says, “Allah hears whoever praises Him,” say, “O Allah, our Lord, to You belongs all praise.” Whoever’s words coincide with the words of the angels will have his past sins forgiven.’

Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Fulayh narrated to us: My father narrated to us, from Hilal ibn ʿAli, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi ʿAmra, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (ﷺ), who said: ‘A person among you is in prayer as long as the prayer keeps him waiting, and the angels say, “O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him,” so long as he does not leave his prayer or invalidate his ablution.’