Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah Munawwarah, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said: I want to ask you about three things, which only a Prophet knows. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ask. He said: What is the very first sign of the Hour? What will be the first thing the people of Paradise will eat? And how does a child resemble its parents? The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jibreel (peace be upon him) has just informed me about these matters. Abdullah bin Salam said: This angel is the enemy of the Jews. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The first sign of the Hour is the fire that will appear from the east and will gather the people, driving them towards the west. The first food the people of Paradise will eat will be the extra lobe of the fish’s liver. As for the resemblance of a child to its father or mother: when the man’s semen prevails over the woman’s, the child resembles the man; and when the woman’s semen prevails over the man’s, the child resembles the mother. Upon hearing these answers, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah.” Then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! The Jews are a people given to slander. If they find out about my acceptance of Islam, they will come to you and slander me. Please send for them and ask them about me, what is my status among them? So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to the Jews and asked them: What is the status of Ibn Salam among you? They replied: He is the best among us and the son of the best man among us; he is our scholar and the son of a great scholar among us; he is the most knowledgeable in religion among us and the son of the most knowledgeable in religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Tell me, if he accepts Islam, will you become Muslims? They said: May Allah protect him from this. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) came forward and proclaimed: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah.” Upon hearing this, the Jews immediately said: He is the worst among us and the son of the worst man among us; he is ignorant and the son of an ignorant man among us. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This is what I was afraid of.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I did not hear from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about any living person, except Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him), that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding him that he is from among the people of Paradise.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a bowl of food was presented to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) ate from it, and some food remained in it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A man from Paradise will come by this mountain path and eat this leftover food.” Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I had left my brother Umair making ablution, and I wished in my heart that Umair would come, but then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived and ate the leftover food.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Qais bin ‘Abad (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I was present in the mosque when a man came, on whose face the signs of humility and submission were apparent. He entered and performed two short rak‘ahs. People began to say that this is a man of Paradise. When he went out, I also followed him. He entered his house, so I also entered after him and spoke with him. When I became familiar with him and he with me, I said to him: When you entered the mosque, people were saying such things about you. He said: Subhan Allah! No person should say anything which he does not know well. I will tell you the reason for what they said. I once narrated a dream before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I saw as if I was in a splendid, lush garden. One of the narrators of the hadith, Ibn ‘Awn, said that ‘Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) also mentioned the garden’s lushness, splendor, and its vastness, that it was extremely beautiful, splendid, and very vast and spacious. In its midst was an iron pillar, whose lower part was in the earth and upper part reached the sky. At its top was a ring. I was told to climb it. I said: I cannot climb it. Then a servant came, lifted my garment from behind and said: Climb up. So I climbed it until I grasped the ring. He said to me: Hold the ring firmly. At that moment, I woke up, and when I woke up, it was as if it was in my hand. I went and mentioned this dream to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: The garden refers to the garden of Islam, the pillar refers to the pillar of Islam, and the ring refers to the firm ring (i.e., faith). The meaning of this dream is that you will remain steadfast upon Islam until your death. Sayyiduna Qais bin ‘Abad (peace and blessings be upon him) says that the person was Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Harsha bin Haras, he says: I went to Madinah Munawwarah, there were several elders present in Masjid Nabawi, I also sat in their company. Meanwhile, an elder came leaning on a staff, people began to say that whoever wants to see a man of Paradise, let him look at him. He came and stood behind a pillar and performed two rak‘ahs of prayer. I got up and went to him and said that some people have said such things about you. He said: Paradise belongs to Allah, He will admit whomever He wills into Paradise. The detail of this matter is that I saw a dream during the time of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I saw that as if a man came to me and said: Come. I went with him, he kept walking with me on a big and clear path. A path came to my side, I intended to go on it, but he said to me: This is not your path. Going further, a path came to my right side, I walked on it until I reached a barren mountain on which there were no trees, etc. He took my hand and lifted me up, and I reached its peak. There I saw an iron pillar, on its top was a golden ring. That man took my hand and lifted me up, and I caught hold of that ring. Then he said: Hold it firmly. I said: I have held it. He struck that iron pillar with his foot, and I remained clinging to the ring. When I narrated this dream to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: You have seen a very good dream. The big and clear path refers to the Plain of Resurrection, and the path that came to your left was the path of the people of Hell; you are not among those people. The path on your right was the path of the people of Paradise. The barren mountain is the station of the martyrs, and the ring you held firmly is the ring of Islam. Remain holding it firmly until your death. After this, he said: I hope that I am among the people of Paradise. This elder was Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him).