We said: Messenger of Allah, shall we see our Lord? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Do you feel any trouble in seeing the sun on a cloudless day? We said: No. And the remaining part of the hadith has been narrated to the end like the hadith transmitted by Hafs b. Maisara with the addition of these words: Without the deed that they did or any good that they had sent before. It would be said to them: For you is whatever you see (in it) and with it the like of it. Abu Sa'id said: I have come to know that the bridge would be thinner even than the hair and sharper than the sword; and in the hadith narrated by Laith these words are not found: They would say, O our Lord! Thou hast bestowed upon us (favours) which thou didst not bestow on anyone else in the world.

Abu Bakr b. Abi Shaiba, Ja'far b. 'Aun, Hisham b. Sa'd, Zaid b. Aslam narrated the hadith as transmitted by Hafs b. Maisara, with certain additions and omissions.

Verily the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah will admit into Paradise those deserving of Paradise, and He will admit whom He wishes out of His Mercy, and admit those condemned to Hell into the Fire (of Hell). He would then say: See, he whom you find having as much faith in his heart as a grain of mustard, bring him out. They will then be brought out burned and turned to charcoal, and would be cast into the river of life, and they would sprout aj does a seed in the silt carried away by flood. Have you not seen that it comes out yellow (fresh) and intertwined?

They would be cast into the river which is called (the river of) life, and (both the narrators) did not doubt the hadith. The text transmitted by Khalid is: just as seeds sprout beside the flood water; and in the hadith of Wuhaib it is: Just as the seed sprouts in the silt or deposit left by flood.

The (permanent) inhabitants of the Fire are those who are doomed to it, and verily they would neither die nor live in it (al-Qur'an, xx. 47; lxxxvii. 13). But the people whom the Fire would afflict (temporarily) on account of their sins, or so said (the narrator)" on account of their misdeeds," He would cause them to die till they would be turned into charcoal. Then they would be granted intercession and would be brought in groups and would be spread on the rivers of Paradise and then it would be said: O inhabitants of Paradise, pour water over them; then they would sprout forth like the sprouting of seed in the silt carried by flood. A man among the people said: (It appears) as if the Messenger of Allah lived in the steppe.

" in the mud of the flood," and he did not mention (the words narrated) after it.

I know the last of the inhabitants of Fire to be taken out therefrom, and the last of the inhabitants of Paradise to enter it. A man will come out of the Fire crawling. Then Allah, the Blessed and Exalted will say to him: Go and enter Paradise. So he would come to it and it would appear to him as if it were full. He would go back and say: O my Lord! I found it full. Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, would say to him: Go and enter Paradise. He would come and perceive as if it were full. He would return and say: O my Lord! I found it full. Allah would say to him: Go and enter Paradise, for there is for you the like of the world and ten times like it, or for you is ten times the like of this world. He (the narrator) said. He (that man) would say: Art Thou making a fun of me? or Art Thou laughing at me. though Thou art the King? He (the narrator) said: I saw the Messenger of Allah laugh till his front teeth were visible. And it was said: That would be the lowest rank among the inhabitants of Paradise.

I recognise the last of the inhabitants of Fire to be taken out thereof. A man will come out of it crawling. It will be said to him: Go and enter Paradise. He (the Holy Prophet) said: He would go there to enter Paradise, but would find persons who have already occupied all its apartments. It would be said to him: Do you recall the time when you were in it (in the Hell)? He would say: Yes. It would be said to him: Express any desire. And he would express the desire. It would be said to him: For thee is that which thou desireth and ten times the world (worldly resources). He (the Holy Prophet) said: He would say: Art Thou making a fun of me, though Thou art the King? I saw the Messenger of Allah laugh till his front teeth were visible.

Verily the Messenger of Allah said: The last to enter Paradise would be a man who would walk once and stumble once and be burnt by the Fire once. Then when he gets beyond it, he will turn to it and say: Blessed is He Who has saved me from thee. Allah has given me something He has not given to any one of those in earlier or later times. Then a tree would be raised up for him and he will say: O my Lord I bring me near this tree so that I may take shelter in its shade and drink of its water. Allah, the Exalted and Great, would say: O son of Adam, if I grant you this, you will ask Me for something else. He would say: No. my Lord. And he would promise Him that he would not ask for anything else. His Lord would excuse him because He sees what he cannot help desiring; so He would bring him near it, and he would take shelter in its shade and drink of its water. Afterwards a tree more beautiful than the first would be raised up before him and he would say: O my Lord! bring me near this tree in order that I may drink of its water and take shelter in its shade and I shall not ask Thee for anything else. He (Allah) would say: O son of Adam, if I bring you near it you may ask me for something else. He would promise Him that he would not ask for anything else. His Lord will excuse him because He would see something he cannot help desiring. So He would bring him near it and he would enjoy its shade and drink its water. Then a tree would be raised up for him at the gate of the Paradise, more beautiful than the first two. He would say: O my Lord! bring me near this (tree) so that I may enjoy its shade and drink from its water. I shall not ask Thee for anything else. He (Allah) would say: O son of Adam! did you not promise Me that you would not ask Me anything else? He would say: Yes, my Lord, but I shall not ask Thee for anything else. His Lord would excuse him for He sees something the temptation of which he could not resist. He (Allah) would bring him near to it, and when He would bring him near it he would hear the voices of the inhabitants of the Paradise. He would say: O my Lord! admit me to it. He (Allah) would say: O son of Adam, what will bring an end to your requests to Me? Will it please you if I give you the whole world and a like one along with it? He will say: O my Lord! art Thou mocking at me, though Thou art the Lord of the worlds? Ibn Mas'ud laughed and asked (the hearers): Why don't you ask me what I am laughing at. They (then) said: Why do you laugh? He said: It is in this way that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) laughed. They (the companions of the Holy Prophet) asked: Why do you laugh. Messenger of Allah? He said: On account of the laugh of the Lord of the universe, when he ldesirer of Paradise) sai Thou mocking at me though Thou art the Lord of the worlds? He would say: I am not mocking at you, but I have power to do whatever I will.

Amongst the inhabitants of Paradise the lowest in rank will be the person whose face Allah would turn away from the Fire towards the Paradise, and make a shady tree appear before him. He would say: O my Lord! direct my steps to this tree so that I (should enjoy) its shade; and the rest of the hadith is like that narrated by Ibn Mas'ud, but he did not mention:" He (Allah) would say: O son of Adam! what will bring an end to your making requests to Me" to the end of the tradition. In it, he added: Allah will remind him: Ask such and such, and when his expectations would be realised, Allah would say: That is for you, and ten times as much. He said that he would then enter his house and his two wives with large and dark eyes would enter after him. They will say: Praise be to Allah, Who has created you for us and us for you. He will say: No one has been given the like of what I have been given.

The same hadith has been by AlMughirah bin Shu’bah attributing it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Moses asked his Lord: Who amongst the inhabitants of Paradise is the lowest to rank? He (Allah) said: The person who would be admitted into Paradise last of all among those deserving of Paradise who are admitted to it. I would be said to him: Enter Paradise. He would say: O my Lord! how (should I enter) while the people have settled in their apartments and taken the shares (portions)? It would be said to him: Would you be pleased if there be for you like the kingdom of a king amongst the kings of the world? He would say: I am pleased my Lord. He (Allah) would say: For you is that, and like that, and like that, and like that, and that. He would say at the fifth (point): I am well pleased. My Lord. He (Allah) would say: It is for you and, ten times like it, and for you is what your self desires and your eye enjoys. He would say: I am well pleased, my Lord. He (Moses) said: (Which is) the highest of their (inhabitants of Paradise) ranks? He (Allah) said: They are those whom I choose. I establish their honour with My own hand and then set a seal over it (and they would be blessed with Bounties) which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human mind has perceived: and this is sub- stantiated by the Book of Allah, Exalted and Great:" So no soul knows what delight of the eye is hidden for them; a reward for what they did" (xxxii. 17).

Sha'bi reported he had heard al-Mughira b. Shu'ba say on the pulpit that Moses (peace be upon him) had asked Allah, Exalted and Great, about the reward of the lowest of the inhabitants of Paradise, and the remaining part of hadith is the same (as narrated) above.

I know the last of the inhabitants of Paradise to enter it and the last of the inhabitants of Hell to come out of it. He is a man who would be brought on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said: Present his minor sins to him, and withhold from him his serious sins. Then the minor sins would be placed before him, and it would be said: On such and such a day you did so and so and on such and such a day you did so and so. He would say: Yes. It will not be possible for him to deny, while he would be afraid lest serious sins should be presented before him. It would be said to him: In place of every evil deed you will have a good deed. He will say: My Lord! I have done things I do not see here. I indeed saw the Messenger of Allah laugh till his front teeth were exposed.

This hadith is also narrated by another chain of narrators, i. e. Ibn Numair, Abu Mu'awiya, Waki', Abu Bakr b. Abi Shaiba, Abu Kuraib, A'mash.

Then the people would be summoned along with their idols whom they worshipped, one after another. Then our Lord would come to us and say: Whom are you waiting for? They would say: We are waiting for our Lord. He would say: I am your Lord. They would say: (We are not sure) till we gaze at Thee, and He would manifest Himself to them smilingly, and would go along with them and they would follow Him; and every person, whether a hypocrite or a believer, would be endowed with a light, and there would be spikes and hooks on the bridge of the Hell, which would catch hold of those whom Allah willed. Then the light of the hypocrites would be extinguished, and the believers would secure salvation. and the first group to achieve it would comprise seventy thousand men who would have the brightness of full moon on their faces, and they would not be called to account. Then the people immediately following them would have their faces as the brightest stars in the heaven. This is how (the groups would follow one after another). Then the stage of intercession would come, and they (who are permitted to intercede) would intercede, till he who had declared:" There is no god but Allah" and had in his heart virtue of the weight of a barley grain would come out of the Fire. They would be then brought in the courtyard of Paradise and the inhabitants of Paradise would begin to sprinkle water over them till they would sprout like the sprouting of a thing in flood water, and their burns would disappear. They would ask their Lord till they would be granted (the bounties) of the world and with it ten more besides it.

Allah will bring out people from the Fire and admit them into Paradise.

I said to 'Amr b. Dinar: Did you hear Jabir b. 'Abdullah narrating from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that Allah would bring out people from the Fire through intercession. He said: Yes.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Verily people would be brought out from the Fire, and they would be burnt except the exterior (surfaces, fronts) of their faces; and they would enter Paradise.

This view of the Khawarij (i.e. those who commit major sins and would be eternally doomed to Hell) had obsessed me, and we set out in a large group intending to perform the Hajj and then going to the people (for the propagation of the views of the Khawarij). He (the narrator) said: We happened to past by Medina and found there Jabir b. 'Abdullah sitting near a column narrating to the people (the ahadith of) the Prophet (ﷺ). When he mentioned the inhabitants of Hell, I said: O companion of the Messenger of Allah what is this that you narrate, whereas Allah says: "Verily whomsoever Thou shall commit to the Fire, Thou indeed humiliateth him" (al-Qur'an, iii. 192); and All those who endeavored to get out of that would be thrown back into it" (al-Qur'an, xxxi i. 20)? So what is it that you say? He said: Have you read the Qur'an? I said: Yes. He said: Have you heard about the (exalted) position of Muhammad (ﷺ), i.e. to which Allah would raise, him? I said: Yes. He said: Verily the position of Muhammad (ﷺ) is that of great glory and that is by which Allah would bring out whomsoever He would wish to bring out. He then described the Path (the Bridge) and the passing of the people over it, and said: I am afraid I may not have remembered (other things) but this much is still in my memory that people would come out of the Hell after having gone into it, and he said: They would come out of it as if they were the wood of the ebony tree. He (the narrator said: They would enter a river, one or the rivers of Paradise, and would bathe in it, and then come out as if they were (white like) paper. We then turned back and said: Woe be upon you! How can this old man tell a lie against the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? We turned back (from the views of the Khawarij), and by God every one of us abandoned this (band of Khawarij) except one man. A similar statement has been made by Abu Nu'aim.