We went to Anas b. Malik through Thabit and reached there (his house) while he was offering the forenoon prayer. Thabit sought permission for us and we entered, and he seated Thabit with him on his bedstead. He (Thabit) said to him (Anas b. Malik): O Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas b. Malik), your brothers from among the inhabitants of Basra ask you to narrate to them the hadith of intercession. He said: Muhammad (ﷺ) narrated to us: When it would be the Day of Resurrection, some of the people would rush to one another in bewilderment. They would come to Adam and say: Intercede (with your Lord) for your progeny. He would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) for he is the Friend of Allah. They would come to Ibrahim, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but go to Moses, for he is Allah's Interlocutor. They would come to Moses, but he would say: I am not fit to do this, but you should go to Jesus, for he is the Spirit of Allah and His word. They would come to Jesus, and he would say, I am not fit to do this; you better go to Muhammad (ﷺ). They would come to me, and I would say: I am in a position to do that, I would go and ask the permission of my Lord and it would be granted to me. I would then stand before Him and would extol Him with praises which I am not able to do now, but with which Allah would inspire me, then I would fall in prostration and it would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise thy head, and say and it would be listened to; ask and it would be granted, intercede and it would be accepted. I shall say: My Lord, my people, my people It would be said: Go, and bring forth from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a wheat grain or a barley seed. I would go and do that; then I would return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises (taught to me by Allah), then I would fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head, and say and it would be heard; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. So I would say: My people. my people. It would be said to me: Go and take out from it (Hell) him who has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a mustard seed. I would go and do that. I would again return to my Lord and extol Him with those praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say, and you would be listened to; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. I would say: My Lord, my people, my people. It would be said to me: Go, and bring out of the Fire him who has in his heart as much faith as the smallest, smallest, smallest grain of mustard seed. I would go and do that. This is the hadith which Anas narrated to us. We went out of his (house) and when we reached the upper part of Jabban (graveyard) we said: Would that we meet Hasan and salute him and he was hiding in the house of Abu Khalifa. He (Ma'bad b. Hilal, the narrator) said: We went to him and greeted him and we said: O Abu Sa'id, we come from your brother Abu Hamza (kunya of Anas), and we have never heard a hadith like this relating to intercession, which he has narrated to us. He said: Narrate it, we narrated the hadith. He said: Narrate it (still further). We said: He did not (narrate it) before us more than this. He said: He (Anas) had narrated it to us twenty years back, when he was strong and healthy. He has in fact missed something. I cannot make out whether the old man has forgotten or he has (intentionally) avoided to narrate it to you lest you should rely (absolutely) upon it (and abandon doing good deeds). We said to him: Relate that to us, and he laughed and said: There is haste in the nature of man. I did not make mention of it to you but for the fact that I wanted to narrate that to you (and added that the Prophet said): I would then return to my Lord for the fourth time and extol Him with these praises. I would then fall in prostration. It would be said to me: O Muhammad, raise your head: say and it will be listened to; ask and it will be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. I would say: O my Lord, permit me regarding him who professed: There is no god but Allah. He (the Lord) would say: That is not for thee or that is not what lies with thee, but by My Honour, Glory, Greatness and Might, I would certainly take him out who professed it: There is no god but Allah. He (the narrator, Ma'bad) said: I hear testimony to the fact that the hadith transmitted to us-by Hasan was heard by him from Anas b. Malik and I can see that he reported it twenty years back, when he was hale and hearty.
The Book of Faith - Sahih Muslim 193e
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon His final Messenger Muhammad.
The Context of the Hadith
This noble hadith was narrated by the Companion Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) to the people of Basra through the chain of Thabit al-Bunani. The seekers of knowledge traveled to learn from the Companions, demonstrating the importance of seeking authentic knowledge directly from its sources.
The Sequence of Intercession
On the Day of Resurrection, humanity will seek intercession from the prophets. They approach Adam first, then Ibrahim, then Musa, then Isa (peace be upon them all), but each directs them to the next until they reach Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). This demonstrates the elevated status of our Prophet as the leader of all prophets and the one granted the greatest intercession.
The Honor of Muhammad (ﷺ)
When the Prophet (ﷺ) is approached, he accepts the responsibility and seeks permission from Allah. He is granted the honor of standing before his Lord and praising Him with divinely inspired praises. This shows the special relationship between Allah and His final Messenger.
The Stages of Intercession
The intercession occurs in multiple stages: first for those with faith equivalent to a mountain, then a barley seed, then a mustard seed, and finally the smallest particle of faith. This demonstrates Allah's infinite mercy and that even the smallest amount of sincere faith will eventually be rewarded with salvation.
The Final Intercession
The complete narration, as recalled by Hasan al-Basri, includes the fourth intercession where the Prophet seeks permission for those who professed "La ilaha illallah" (There is no god but Allah). Allah, through His Honor and Majesty, declares He will take out everyone who uttered this testimony of faith with sincerity.
Scholarly Reflections
This hadith establishes the reality of the Prophet's intercession (Shafa'ah) and emphasizes the power of the testimony of faith. It also teaches us about the methodology of hadith transmission and how the Companions and Tabi'un were careful to preserve every detail of the Prophet's teachings.
The hadith inspires hope in Allah's mercy while reminding us to maintain sincerity in our faith and actions. It is a profound reminder of the ultimate success awaiting the believers in the Hereafter.