Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 13991 — I was sitting in a circle in the mosque

Kharashah bin al-Hurr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I was sitting in a circle in the mosque of Madinah in which there was an elderly man of fine appearance, and he was Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him). He began narrating a fine hadith to the people. When he stood up, the people said: "Whoever would like to look at a man of the people of Paradise, let him look at this man." I said: "By Allah, I will certainly follow him and find out where his house is." So I followed him until he was about to leave Madinah; then he entered his house. I sought permission and he gave me permission, and he asked: "What do you need, O son of my brother?" I said to him: "When you stood up, I heard the people saying: 'Whoever would like to look at a man of the people of Paradise, let him look at this man,' and I liked the idea of being with you." He said: "Allah knows best the people of Paradise, and I will tell you why they said that: I was asleep when someone came to me and said: 'Get up.' He took my hand and I went with him, and I saw a highway on my left. I began to walk on it, but he said: 'Do not walk on it, for it is the path of the people of the left.' And there was a highway on my right, and he said: 'Go this way.' We came to a mountain, and he said: 'Climb it.' Whenever I tried to climb, I would fall on my backside; I did this several times. Then he took me along until he brought me to a pillar whose top was in the sky and whose lower part was in the earth, with a ring at its top, and he said: 'Climb on top of it.' I said: 'How can I climb on top of it when its top is in the sky?' He took my hand and threw me up, and I found myself hanging from the ring. Then he removed the pillar and it fell, and I remained hanging from the ring until morning. I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and related the dream to him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'The paths that you saw on your left are the paths of the people of the left, and the paths that you saw on your right are the paths of the people of the right. The mountain is the abode of the martyrs, and you will never attain it. The pillar is the pillar of Islam, and the ring is the ring of Islam, and you will always keep holding it until you die.' Then he said to me: 'Do you know how Allah created the creation?' I said: 'No.' He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Allah created Adam, then said: You will beget so-and-so, and so-and-so will beget so-and-so, and so-and-so will beget so-and-so, and so-and-so will beget so-and-so; his lifespan will be such, his deeds will be such-and-such, and his provision will be such-and-such; then the soul is breathed into him.'"