Events of the Day of Resurrection and the Beginning of Creation

He told that a man among the Muslims and a man among the Jews reviled one another. The Muslim said, "By Him who chose Muhammad above the universe," and the Jew said, "By Him who chose Moses above the universe." Thereupon the Muslim raised his hand and struck the Jew on his face, and the Jew went to the Prophet and told him what had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet summoned the Muslim and asked him about that, and when he informed him, the Prophet said, "Do not make me superior to Moses, for mankind will swoon on the day of resurrection[1] and I shall swoon along with them. I shall be the first to recover and shall see Moses seizing the side of the Throne; and I shall not know whether he was among those who swooned and had recovered before me, or whether he was among those of whom God had made an exception." A version has "I shall not know whether he had his reckoning when he swooned on the day at at-Tur,[2] or was resurrected before me. And I do not say that anyone is more excellent than Jonah, son of Matta." In Abu Sa'id's version he said, "Do not make distinctions between the prophets." Abu Huraira's version has "Do not treat some of the prophets of God most high as superior to others." Quran, 39:68. Quran, 7:143. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "It is not fitting for a man to say I am better than Jonah son of Matta." (Bukhari and Muslim.)In a version by Bukhari he said, "Whoever says I am better than Jonah son of Matta has lied." Bukhari

Ubayy b. Ka'b reported God's messenger as saying, "The youth whom al-Khidr killed was given the nature of an infidel, and if he had lived, he would certainly have imposed on his parents insolence and unbelief[*]." *Cf. Quran, 28:80.(Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as saying, "The reason why al Khidr was so called was because he sat on some white waste land and it sprouted green (khadra') behind him." Bukhari transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "The angel of death came to Moses, son of Imran and told him to answer his Lord's summons, whereupon Moses gave the angel of death a blow in the eye and knocked it out. The angel then returned to God most high and said, `Thou didst send me to a servant of Thine who does not wish to die, and he has put out my eye.' God restored his eye to him and said, `Go back to my servant and ask him if it is life he wants, then tell him that if he wants life he must place his hand on an ox's back, and he will live a year for every hair which covers his hand.' [Moses] asked what would happen after that, and when he was told that he would die he said, `Let it be now without delay. My Lord, bring me within a stone's throw of the holy land'." God's messenger said, "I swear by God that if I were there, I would show you his grave beside the road at the red mound.'[*] (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Jabir reported God's messenger as saying, "The prophets were presented before me and I saw Moses of a type which resembled one of the men of Shanu'a. I saw Jesus, son of Mary, and the nearest to him in appearance whom I have seen is `Urwa b. Mas'ud. I saw Abraham, and the nearest to him in appearance whom I have seen is your companion (meaning himself). I also saw Gabriel, and the nearest to him in appearance whom I have seen is Dihya b. Khalifa." Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn `Abbas reported the Prophet as saying, "On the night when I was taken up to heaven I saw Moses, a dark, tall, curly-headed man, looking as though he were one of the men of Shanu'a. I saw Jesus, a man of medium height, reddish fair, with long hair. And I saw Malik, the guardian of hell, and the dajjal (with signs which God showed him) *. Now do not be in doubt about meeting him." *The phrase in brackets is an insertion by the transmitter who tells that God showed Muhammad miracles which the dajjal will perform(Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "On the night when I was taken up to heaven, I met Moses who may be described as a lanky man with somewhat curly hair who resembled one of the men of Shanu'a; I met Jesus who was of medium height and red as though he had come out of a dimas (i.e., a hot bath); and I saw Abraham to whom I am the one among his descendants who bears the closest resemblance. I was brought two vessels, one containing milk and the other wine, and was told to take whichever oi them I wished. I took the milk and drank it and was told I had been guided to the true religion, for if I had taken the wine my people would have gone astray." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

We travelled with God's messenger between Mecca and Medina, and when we passed a wadi he asked its name. On being told it was the wadi al-Azraq he said, "I can fancy myself looking at Moses (and he mentioned something about his colour and his hair) putting two fingers in his ears, making loud supplication to God saying, `At Thy service,' while passing this wadi.'' He said: We journeyed till we came to a mountain pass and he asked its name. On being told that it was Harsha, or Lift, he said, "I can fancy myself looking at Jonah on a red she-camel with a nose-rein of palm fibre, wearing a woolen mantle and saying `At Thy service' while passing this wadi.Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as saying, "Recitation of Scripture was made easy for David, who would order his beasts to be saddled and recite the Scripture before they had been saddled; and he would eat only what his hands had earned.'' Bukhari transmitted it.

He reported the Prophet as saying, "There were two women both of whom had a son, and a wolf went off with the son of one of them. Her companion said, `It has gone off with your son,' but the other replied, `It is with your son it has gone off.' They took the case before David and he decided that the child belonged to the elder. They then went out to Solomon, son of David and told him, and he said, `Bring me, a knife and let me divide it between you.' The younger woman then said, `Don't do it, God have mercy on you; He is her son.' So, he decided that the child belonged to the younger woman.'' (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as telling that Solomon said, "I shall to-night visit ninety women (a version has a hundred) all of whom will give birth to a horseman who will fight in God's path." The angel told him to say, "If God will," but he forgot and did not say it. He visited them and none of them bore a child except one of them who gave birth to half a man. He added, "By Him in whose hand Muhammad's soul is, if he had said, `If God will,' they would all have striven as horsemen in God's path." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying that Zechariah was a carpenter. Muslim transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "I am the nearest of kin to Jesus, son of Mary in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers, sons of one father by co-wives. Their mothers are different, but their religion is one[*]. There has been no prophet between us." *This saying is explained as meaning that all prophets have the same religion, which is figuratively called their lather, but they differ in their law and in a number of regulations, these being figuratively called their mothers. Cf. Mirqat, 5:346.(Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "All the descendants of Adam have their sides pierced by the devil with two of his fingers at birth, except the son of Mary. He went to pierce him, but pierced the membrane covering him." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Musa reported the Prophet as saying, "Many men have been perfect, but among women only Mary the daughter of `Imran and Asiya the wife of Pharaoh were perfect; and `A'isha's superiority over women is like the superiority of tharid over other kinds of food." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Razin told that he asked God's messenger, "Where was our Lord before He created the creation?" to which he replied, "He was in obscurity ('ama') with no air below Him and no air above Him, and He created His Throne on the water." Tirmidhi transmitted it. Yazid b. Harun[1] said `ama' means that there was nothing with Him[2]. Al-Wasiti (d.206), a highly estimated authority who appears in the course of the isnad. The word 'ama' presents difficulty. It commonly means `clouds', but this is felt to be inappropriate here unless figuratively in the sense of God being veiled. It is suggested that this means it is a matter which the mind cannot grasp. Cf. Mirqat, 5:349.

Al- `Abbas b. `Abd al-Muttalib asserted that he was sitting in al Batha'[*] with a company among whom God's messenger was sitting when a cloud passed. They looked at it and God's messenger asked, "What do you call this?" and received the reply "Clouds (sahab)." He said, "And rain-clouds (muzn)," to which they agreed. He said, "And clouds (`aman)," to which they agreed. He asked, "Do you know the distance between heaven and earth?" and when they replied that they did not, he said, "The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years, the heaven which is above it is at a similar distance (going on till he counted seven heavens). Above the seventh heaven there is a sea the distance between whose surface and bottom is like that between one heaven and the next. Above that there are eight mountain goats the distance between whose hoofs and haunches is like that between one heaven and the next. On their backs is the Throne the extent of which from top to bottom is like the distance between one heaven and the next. Then God is above that." *A stony valley at Mecca.Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Jubair b. Mut'im told that a nomadic Arab came to God's messenger and said, "People are suffering distress, the children are hungry, the crops are withered and the animals are perishing, so ask God to grant us rain, for we seek you as our intercessor with God and God as our intercessor with you." Thereupon the Prophet said, "Glory be to God, glory be to God," and he continued declaring God's glory till the effect of that was apparent in the faces of his companions. He then said, "Woe to you! God is not to be sought as intercessor with anyone. God's state is greater than that. Woe to you! Do you know how great God is? His Throne is above the heavens thus (indicating with his fingers something like a dome over him), and it groans on account of Him as a saddle does because of the rider." Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Jabir b. `Abdallah reported God's messenger as saying, "I have been permitted to tell about one of God's angels who bear the Throne that the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years." Abu Dawud transmitted it.