Mukhtasar Muslim

`Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that` the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to us, and he (peace be upon him) is the truthful and the one who is made truthful, (he said that) indeed the sperm of each one of you remains in his mother's womb for forty days, then it remains as a clot of blood for forty days, then it becomes a lump of flesh in forty days. Then Allah Almighty sends an angel to it, who breathes the soul into it and is commanded regarding four things: to write down his provision (i.e., whether he will be needy or wealthy), to write down his lifespan (how long he will live), to write down his deeds (what he will do), and to write down whether he will be fortunate (of Paradise) or unfortunate (of Hell). So I swear by Him besides whom there is no deity, that indeed one of you performs the deeds of the people of Paradise until there remains between him and Paradise only a handspan, then what is written in destiny overtakes him, so he begins to do the deeds of the people of Hell and thus enters Hell. And a man performs the deeds of the people of Hell throughout his life, until there remains between him and Hell only a handspan, then what is written in destiny overtakes him, so he begins to do the deeds of the people of Paradise and thus enters Paradise.

`Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Asid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that` when the drop of fluid remains in the womb for forty or forty-five nights, an angel comes to it and says, "O Lord! Should I write him as wretched or blessed?" Then whatever Allah commands, he writes it as such. Then he says, "Should I write him as male or female?" Then whatever Allah commands, he writes it as such, and he writes his deeds, his effect, his lifespan, and his provision. Then the record is rolled up; nothing is added to it nor subtracted from it.

´It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amir bin Wathilah that` he heard from Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them), who used to say: The wretched one is he who is wretched from his mother’s womb, and the fortunate one is he who takes admonition from others. Amir bin Wathilah, after hearing this from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them), came to a companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) whose name was Hudhaifah bin Asid Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), and narrated to him the statement of Abdullah bin Mas'ud and asked: How can a person be wretched without having done any deeds? Sayyiduna Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: Do you find this strange? I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: When forty-two nights pass over the drop (of semen), Allah sends an angel to it, who shapes it and creates its hearing, sight, skin, flesh, and bones. Then he asks: O Lord! Will it be male or female? Then Allah decrees whatever He wills, and the angel writes it down. Then he asks: O Lord! What will its lifespan be? Then Allah decrees whatever He wills, and the angel writes it down. Then he asks: O Lord! What will its provision be? Then Allah decrees whatever He wills, and the angel writes it down. Then the angel comes out with this record in his hand, and nothing is added to it nor subtracted from it. And in another narration, it is added that (the angel asks): Will it be sound in body or defective? Then Allah creates it either free from defect or with a defect.