Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2538
حَدَّثَنَا سُوَيْدُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ لَهِيعَةَ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي حَبِيبٍ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ عَامِرِ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لَوْ أَنَّ مَا يُقِلُّ ظُفُرٌ مِمَّا فِي الْجَنَّةِ بَدَا لَتَزَخْرَفَتْ لَهُ مَا بَيْنَ خَوَافِقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَلَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلاً مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ اطَّلَعَ فَبَدَا أَسَاوِرُهُ لَطَمَسَ ضَوْءَ الشَّمْسِ كَمَا تَطْمِسُ الشَّمْسُ ضَوْءَ النُّجُومِ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ ابْنِ لَهِيعَةَ . وَقَدْ رَوَى يَحْيَى بْنُ أَيُّوبَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي حَبِيبٍ وَقَالَ عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Prophet said: ‘If even a fragment of what is in Paradise, as small as what a fingernail can hold, were to appear, it would adorn the far reaches of the heavens and the earth. If a man of Paradise were to look out and his bracelets became visible, they would eclipse the light of the sun as the sun eclipses the light of the stars.’ Abu Isa described this hadith as gharīb, known through this chain only from Ibn Lahi‘ah. He noted that Yahya ibn Ayyub transmitted it from Yazid ibn Abi Habib with a different chain, naming Umar ibn Saad ibn Abi Waqqas directly from the Prophet.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The hadith is transmitted with differing chains: this version goes through Dawud ibn Amir ibn Saad, his father, and his grandfather; Yahya ibn Ayyub's version names Umar ibn Saad directly. Abu Isa records the variation without resolving it.
The phrase about what a fingernail can hold describes an extremely small portion of Paradise's contents.