Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Shuraih bin Ubaid, he says: In Homs, Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) fell ill. At that time, the governor there was Abdullah bin Qurt Azdi. He did not come to visit him. When a man from the tribe of Banu Kila’ came to visit Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), he said to him: Do you know how to write? He replied: Yes. He said: Write. Then he dictated this letter: From Thawban, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to the governor Abdullah bin Qurt. To proceed! If there had been a servant of Musa or Isa (peace be upon them) in your region, you would certainly have gone to visit him in his illness. Then he wrapped up the letter and said: Will you deliver this letter to Abdullah? He said: Yes. So when that man went and gave the letter to Abdullah bin Qurt and he read it, he stood up in fear. The people said: What happened to him? Has some accident occurred? He went to the service of Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), visited him, and sat with him for a while. After that, when he got up to leave, Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) held his sheet and said: Sit down, I will tell you a hadith which I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Seventy thousand people from my Ummah will enter Paradise without reckoning or punishment, and in addition to this, with every thousand of them, there will be seventy more people.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Seventy thousand people from my Ummah, or he said seven hundred thousand, will enter Paradise without reckoning.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: Once the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained absent from us for the whole day, he did not come outside. We thought that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would not come out at all. Then suddenly he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out, and as soon as he arrived, he performed such a long prostration that we thought his (peace and blessings be upon him) soul had been taken. Eventually, he (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head and said: My Lord consulted me regarding my Ummah, asking how I should deal with them. I said: O my Lord! They are Your creation and Your servants; You can treat them however You wish. Allah consulted me again, and I replied in the same manner. Then Allah Himself said: O Muhammad! I will not grieve you regarding your Ummah, and He gave me the glad tidings that the first among my Ummah, seventy thousand people will enter Paradise without reckoning, and with each thousand of them, seventy thousand more will enter Paradise without reckoning or punishment. After this, Allah revealed to me that you may make any supplication, it will be accepted; ask for anything, it will be granted to you. I said to Allah’s messenger, that is, the angel: Will my Lord surely grant me whatever I ask? He said: Allah has sent me for this very purpose, that whatever you ask, He (peace and blessings be upon him) will grant you. The fact is that Allah has given me so much, and I do not boast about it. He has forgiven my past and future sins, and I walk in good health, and He has also granted me this distinction that my Ummah will not die of famine, nor will the enemy prevail over them, and Allah has blessed me with Kawthar, which is a river that flows from Paradise into my basin. Allah has granted me honor and victory, and the awe of my Ummah precedes them by a month’s journey, and Allah has also given me the virtue that among the Prophets, I will be the first to enter Paradise, and Allah has made spoils of war lawful for me and my Ummah, and many of the strict commands that were revealed to the people before us have been made lawful for us, and no hardship or difficulty has been imposed upon us.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah Almighty has promised me that He will admit four hundred thousand people from my Ummah into Paradise. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said: O Messenger of Allah! Increase this number for us. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gathered his palm and said: And like this. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Increase this number for us. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: And like this. At that moment, Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Abu Bakr! This is enough for you, now stop. But Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Umar! Leave me, and let me make the request. If Allah Almighty admits all of us into Paradise, what objection could you have? Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: If Allah Almighty wills, He can admit all His creation into Paradise with a single palm. Upon hearing this, the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, has spoken the truth.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: One night we talked with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for quite a long time, then when we presented ourselves before him in the morning, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Tonight, all the Prophets and their nations were presented before me. With some Prophets there were three people, with some a small group, with some a small band, and there were some Prophets with whom there was not even a single person, until Musa (peace be upon him) passed before me and with him was a large group of Bani Israel. Those people pleased me greatly. I asked: Who are these people? I was told that these are your brother Musa (peace be upon him) and his nation Bani Israel. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I asked, where is my Ummah? I was told to look to my right side. I looked and there was a huge crowd, filled with people’s faces. Then I was told: Look to your left side. I looked and that side of the horizon was also filled with people. Then I was asked: Are you now pleased? I said: Yes, I am pleased, O my Lord! I am pleased, O my Lord! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: After that, I was told that with these followers of yours, there are seventy thousand people who will enter Paradise without reckoning. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: May my parents be sacrificed for you, try to be among those seventy thousand, and if you cannot strive that much, then at least try to be among those in the crowd, and if not even that, then try to be among those on the horizon. I saw there some people pushing and shoving. Hearing this, Sayyiduna ‘Ukasha bin Mihsan (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and submitted: O Messenger of Allah! Pray that Allah makes me among those seventy thousand. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for him. Then after him, another man stood up and made the same request. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Ukasha has preceded you. Sayyiduna Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Then we became engaged in conversation and said: What do you think, who could these seventy thousand people be? Are they those who were born in Islam and never went near shirk until their death? When these words reached the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: They are those who neither cauterize wounds, nor seek ruqyah (spiritual healing), nor take omens, but rather place complete trust in their Lord.