Mukhtasar Muslim

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrate that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The last person to enter Paradise will be a man who will walk, then stumble and fall, and the fire of Hell will keep burning him. When he crosses Hell, he will turn back and look at it and say, “Blessed is the One Who has saved me from you (Hell). Surely, what Allah has given me, He has not given to anyone among the earlier or later people.” Then a tree will be shown to him, and he will say, “O Lord, bring me near to this tree so that I may be in its shade and drink its water.” Allah will say, “O son of Adam! If I grant you this request, will you ask for anything else?” He will say, “No, O my Lord!” and will promise that he will not ask for anything else. And Allah will accept his excuse because he will see such a blessing that he cannot be patient over it (that is, man is impatient; when he is afflicted with hardship and sees comfort, he cannot help but desire it). Eventually, Allah will bring him near to that tree, and he will remain in its shade and drink its water. Then another tree, better than the first, will be shown to him. He will say, “O Lord, bring me near to this tree so that I may be in its shade and drink its water, and I will not ask for anything else.” Allah will say, “O son of Adam! Did you not promise that you would not ask for anything else? And if I bring you near to this tree, will you not ask for more?” He will agree, “No, I will not ask for anything else.” Allah will excuse him because he cannot be patient over the blessing he sees. Then Allah will bring him near to that tree, and he will remain in its shade and drink its water. Then a tree will be shown to him that will be at the gate of Paradise and will be better than the previous two trees. He will say, “O my Lord! Bring me near to this tree so that I may remain in its shade and drink its water; now I will not ask for anything else.” Allah will say, “O son of Adam! Did you not admit that you would not ask for anything else?” He will say, “Indeed, I admitted, but now fulfill this request of mine, and I will not ask for anything else.” Allah will excuse him because he will see such blessings that he cannot be patient over them. Eventually, Allah will bring him near to that tree. When he reaches that tree, he will hear the voices of the people of Paradise and will say, “O my Lord! Admit me into Paradise.” Allah will say, “O son of Adam! What will satisfy you? (That is, when will your desire end, and when will you stop asking repeatedly?) Are you pleased if I give you as much as the whole world and as much again?” He will say, “O my Lord! Are You mocking me while You are the Lord of all the worlds?” Then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) began to laugh and said to the people, “Do you not ask me why I am laughing?” The people asked, “Why are you laughing?” He said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also laughed in the same way (after narrating this hadith).” The people asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Why do you laugh?” He replied, “I laugh because of the Lord of the worlds laughing. When that servant will say, ‘Are You mocking me while You are the Lord of all the worlds?’ the Lord will laugh (at his naivety and foolishness), and Allah will say, ‘I am not mocking you (mockery does not befit Me; it befits the servants), rather I can do whatever I wish.’”