Hadith 38, 40 Hadith Qudsi

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: When Allah created Paradise and the Fire, He sent Gabriel to Paradise and said, ‘Look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its people.’ He came to it and looked at it and at what Allah had prepared therein for its people. He returned to Him and said, ‘By Your might, no one will hear of it without entering it.’ So He commanded that it be surrounded by hardships and said, ‘Return to it and look at what I have prepared therein for its people.’ He returned to it, and it had been surrounded by hardships. He returned to Him and said, ‘By Your might, I fear that no one will enter it.’ He said, ‘Go to the Fire and look at it and at what I have prepared therein for its people.’ It was heaped one part upon another. He returned to Him and said, ‘By Your might, no one will hear of it and enter it.’ So He commanded that it be surrounded by desires. He said, ‘Return to it.’ He returned and said, ‘By Your might, I fear that no one will be spared from it without entering it.’

Al-Tirmidhi related it and said, ‘A good, sound hadith’; Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i also related it.