Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) reports this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "I was given a choice between intercession and half of my Ummah entering Paradise, and I chose intercession, because it is more general and more sufficient. Do you think that it will be for the clean (that is, the God-fearing) people? No! Rather, it will be for the sinners who are stained with sins." Ziyad says: "Even though we are such people, the one who narrated this hadith to us narrated it to us in this way."
Ahmad and at-Tabarani recorded it, except that he (at-Tabarani) recorded these words: "It will not be for the God-fearing believers; rather, it will be for the sinners, the wrongdoers and those stained (with evils)." The narrators of at-Tabarani are the narrators of the Sahih, except for an-Nu'man bin Qurad, and he is thiqah (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب البعث / 18520
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (5452) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 5429»