What Allah the Exalted gave Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Muttalib bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that some people of the Ansar said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): We hear from your people, and those who speak say that the example of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is only that of a palm tree that grows in a rubbish heap. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O people, who am I? The people said: You are the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon you. He said: I am Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abd al-Muttalib. He said: We had never heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) state this lineage before that. Then he said: Behold! Indeed Allah created His creation and divided them into two groups, then placed me in the best group; then He made them into tribes and placed me in the best tribe. So I am the best of you in household and the best of you in person.

Sayyiduna Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When the Day of Resurrection comes, I will be the leader (imam) of the people, their preacher and their intercessor, and I have no pride in this.

The father of Ja'far said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I was born of marriage, and I was not born of fornication, from Adam (peace be upon him) until now; the fornication of the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) did not reach me.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been given five qualities that were not given to anyone: I have been helped by awe over the distance of a month's journey; the earth has been made pure and a place of prayer for me, so whichever man of my Ummah the time of prayer comes upon, wherever it may be, let him pray; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me, and they were not made lawful for anyone before me; I have been given intercession; and the earlier prophets were sent specifically to their own people, and I have been sent to all people.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been given five qualities, and I do not state them out of pride: I have been sent to the red and the black; the earth has been made pure and a place of prayer for me; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me, whereas they were not lawful for anyone before me; I have been helped by awe, which travels ahead of me over the distance of a month's journey; and I have been given intercession, and I have deferred it for my Ummah until the Day of Resurrection, and if Allah wills, it will reach every man who has not associated anyone with Allah.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been helped by awe; I have been given comprehensive words; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me; and while I was asleep, the keys of the treasures of the earth were brought to me and placed in my hands.

Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been given five qualities that were not given to any prophet before me: I have been sent to the red and the black; I have been helped by awe over the distance of a month's journey; the earth has been made pure and a place of prayer for me; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me, which were not made lawful for any prophet before me; and I have been given the wealth of intercession, for every prophet has asked for his intercession, and I have deferred my intercession and made it for every person who dies without associating partners with Allah.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been helped by the east wind (saba), and the people of Ad were destroyed by the wind from the direction of the west.

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been given virtues that were not given to any prophet before me. We said: O Messenger of Allah, what are they? He said: I have been helped by awe; I have been given the keys of the earth; I have been named Ahmad; the soil has been made a means of purification for me; and my Ummah has been made the best of nations.

Mus'ab bin Sa'd said that Ka'b said: The first person who will take hold of the ring of the door of Paradise, and it will open, is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he recited this verse of the Torah: "The last of us are ahead of us, the last ones, the first ones."

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: We have been given three virtues over the people: the whole earth has been made a place of prayer for us; its soil has been made a means of purification for us when we do not find water; and these verses have been given to me from a treasure-chamber beneath the Throne, namely the last verses of Surah al-Baqarah. Nothing of them was given to anyone before me, nor will they be given to anyone after me.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I went out looking for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and found him praying, so I waited for him until he had finished the prayer. Then he said: Tonight I have been given five virtues that were not given to any prophet before me: I have been helped by awe, so the enemy is struck with awe of me from a month's journey away; I have been sent to the red and the black; the earth has been made a means of purification and a place of prayer for me; the spoils of war have been made lawful for me, which were not lawful for anyone before me; and it was said: Ask, and you will be given. I have stored it up, and it will reach every person among you who has not associated anything with Allah.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I am the first intercessor in Paradise. And he said: No prophet has been believed as much as I have been believed, and among the prophets there are prophets who were believed by no more than one man of their community.

Mujahid said that the explanation of "It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praised station" [Al-Isra: 79] is that Allah will seat him (peace and blessings be upon him) on the Throne.

Ubayd bin Umayr said that in "And indeed, for him is nearness to Us" [Sad: 25], he mentioned nearness to Him.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I entered Paradise and saw a river on whose banks were tents of pearl. I struck my hand into the soil, and it was fragrant musk. I said to Jibril (peace be upon him): What is this? He said: This is al-Kawthar, which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has given you.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: While the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among us, he dozed off for a moment. Then he raised his head smiling. We said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), what has happened to you? He said: A surah has just been revealed to me. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Indeed, We have given you al-Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do you know what al-Kawthar is? We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: It is a river that my Lord has promised me; upon it there is much good, and it is a Pond to which my Ummah will come on the Day of Resurrection. Its vessels are as many as the stars. Then a servant will be held back from it, and I will say: O my Lord, indeed he is one of my companions. Allah Almighty will say: No, you do not know what innovation he has introduced after you.

Sayyidah Khawlah bint Hakim (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, do you have a Pond? He said: Yes, and the dearest to me of those who come to it are your people.

Amir bin Sa'd said: I wrote to Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him): Tell me something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He wrote: I heard him (peace and blessings be upon him) say: I will be the first to reach the Pond.

Sayyiduna al-Sunabih (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: I will reach the Pond before you.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Between my grave and my pulpit is a garden from the gardens of Paradise, and my pulpit will be on my Pond.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I will reach the Pond before you, on your behalf.

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say on this pulpit: I will reach al-Kawthar before you, on your behalf.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Al-Kawthar is a river in Paradise. Its banks are of gold, and its channel runs over rubies and pearls. Its soil is purer than musk, its water is sweeter than honey, and it is whiter than snow.

Sayyiduna Jundab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: I will reach the Pond before you, on your behalf.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, before you is a Pond equal to the distance between Jarba and Adhruh.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out while we were in the mosque. He (peace and blessings be upon him) had a bandage tied around his head, during the illness in which he passed away. He walked towards the pulpit and we followed him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: By the One in whose hand is my soul, I am standing at the Pond at this moment.

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Many people will come to my Pond, but they will be held back from reaching me.

Murrah narrated from one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood among us and said: I will reach the Pond before you.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I will reach the Pond before you. Whoever comes to me will drink from it, and whoever drinks from it will never feel thirst.

Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Soon after me you will see others preferred over you, so be patient until you meet me at the Pond.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Ansar: Soon after me you will see others preferred over you, so be patient until you meet me at the Pond.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: I will be at the Pond, waiting for those who come to drink.

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), what will the vessels of the Pond be like? He said: By the One in whose hand is my soul, its vessels are more numerous than the stars of the sky, and by its stars are meant the stars of a night with a clear sky. Whoever drinks from it will not feel thirst. Its width is like its length, equal to the distance between Amman and Aylah. Its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey.

Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I will be at the drinking-place of my Pond, and I will drive people away from it for the people of Yemen; I will strike them with my staff until they disperse. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the breadth of the Pond, and he said: It is as far as from this place of mine to Amman; between the two is a journey of a month or thereabouts. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about its water, and he said: It is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. Two spouts from Paradise pour into it, whose flow comes from Paradise; one spout is of silver and the other of gold.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Many people will come to my Pond who kept company with me and saw me, until, when they are raised towards me, they will be held back from me. I will say: O my Lord, these are my companions. Allah will say: You do not know what innovations they introduced after you.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One day meat was brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the meat of the foreleg was presented to him, which he liked. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took one bite from it with his teeth, then said: I will be the leader of the people on the Day of Resurrection. And do you know how this will be? On the Day of Resurrection Allah will gather the first and the last on one plain, so that the caller's call will reach them all and the eye will see them all. The sun will come near, and people will suffer such distress and grief as they have no strength to bear. People will say to one another: Do you not see what calamity has befallen you? Do you not see someone who may intercede for you with your Lord? (2) So people will say to one another: Your father is Adam (peace be upon him). They will go to Adam (peace be upon him) and say: O Adam, you are the father of mankind. Allah created you with His hand, breathed into you a spirit from Himself, and commanded the angels to prostrate to you. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what state we are in? Do you not see our calamity? He will say: My Lord is so angry today as He never was before and never will be after. And Allah forbade me from going near the tree, but I disobeyed Him. I want safety for my own soul. Go to someone else; go to Nuh (peace be upon him). (3) So they will go to Nuh (peace be upon him) and say: O Nuh, you are the first messenger to the people of the earth, and Allah has named you a grateful servant. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what state we are in? Do you not see what calamity has befallen us? Nuh (peace be upon him) will say to them: My Lord is so angry today as He never was before and never will be after today. And I had the option of one supplication, which I made against my people. I want safety for my own soul. Go to someone else; go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him). (4) So they will go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and say: O Ibrahim, you are the Prophet of Allah and His intimate friend among the people of the earth. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what state we are in? Do you not see what calamity has befallen us? Ibrahim (peace be upon him) will say to them: My Lord is so angry today as He never was before, nor will He ever be so angry after this. And he will mention his untruths. I want safety for my own soul. Go to someone else; go to Musa (peace be upon him). (5) So they will go to Musa (peace be upon him) and say: O Musa, you are the Messenger of Allah. Allah favoured you with His message and by speaking with you. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what state we are in? Do you not see what calamity has befallen us? Musa (peace be upon him) will say to them: My Lord is so angry today as He never was before and never will be after. And I killed a soul whom I had not been commanded to kill. I want safety for my own soul. Go to someone else; go to Isa (peace be upon him). (6) So they will come to Isa (peace be upon him) and say: O Isa, you are the Messenger of Allah, and you spoke to people in the cradle, and you are the Word of Allah which He cast to Maryam, and a spirit from Him. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what state we are in? Do you not see what calamity has befallen us? Isa (peace be upon him) will say to them: My Lord is so angry today as He never was before, nor will He be so angry after this. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention any sin of his. I want safety for my own soul. Go to someone else; go to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). (7) So they will come to me and say: O Muhammad, you are the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, and Allah has forgiven all your past and future sins. Intercede for us with your Lord. Do you not see what state we are in? Do you not see what calamity has befallen us? I will go beneath the Throne and fall down in prostration to my Lord. Then Allah will open my breast and inspire me with praise and glorification of Him such as He will not have inspired in anyone before me. Then it will be said: O Muhammad, raise your head. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted. I will raise my head and say: O my Lord, my Ummah! O my Lord, my Ummah! It will be said: O Muhammad, admit into Paradise those of your Ummah who have no reckoning against them through the right-hand door among the doors of Paradise; and they are partners with the people in the other doors besides that. Then he said: By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the distance between two door-leaves among the door-leaves of Paradise is like that between Makkah and Hajar, or like that between Makkah and Busra.

Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the Day of Resurrection the sun will be given the heat of ten years, then it will be brought near to people's heads until it is at the distance between two bows. People will sweat until the sweat reaches a man's height in the earth, then it will rise until a man says "gharghar". Salman said: until a man begins to say gharghar. When they see their state, they will say to one another: Do you not see what state you are in? Go to your father Adam (peace be upon him), that he may intercede for you with your Lord. So they will go to Adam (peace be upon him) and say: O our father, you are the one whom Allah created with His hand, into whom He breathed a spirit, and whom He settled in His Paradise. Rise and intercede for us; you see our state. He will say: This is not my station, and I am not of that rank, so how can I do this? They will say: Then to whom do you command us to go? He will say: Go to the servant whom Allah has declared grateful. (2) So they will come to Nuh (peace be upon him) and say: O Prophet of Allah, you are the one whom Allah has declared grateful, and you see our state. Rise and intercede for us. He will say: This is not my station, and this is not my rank, so how can I do this? They will say: To whom do you command us to go? He will say: Go to the intimate friend of Allah, Ibrahim (peace be upon him). (3) So they will come to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and say: O intimate friend of Allah, you see our state, so intercede for us with your Lord. He will say: This is not my station, and I am not of that rank; how can I do this? They will say: To whom do you command us to go? He will say: Go to Musa, whom Allah chose for His message and for speaking with Him. (4) So they will go to Musa (peace be upon him) and say: You see our state, so intercede for us with your Lord. He will say: This is not my station, and I am not of that rank; how can I do this? They will say: To whom do you command us to go? He will say: Go to the Word of Allah and His Spirit, Isa (peace be upon him), son of Maryam (peace be upon her). (5) So they will go to Isa (peace be upon him) and say: O Word of Allah and O Spirit of Allah, you see our state, so intercede for us with your Lord. He will say: This is not my station, and I am not of that rank; how can I do this? They will say: To whom do you command us to go? He will say: Go to the servant through whom Allah opened and through whom He sealed, whose past and future sins He has forgiven, and who will come on this Day in safety. (6) So they will come to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and say: O Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), you are the one through whom Allah opened and through whom He sealed, and He has forgiven all your past and future sins, and you have come on this Day in safety, and you see our state. So intercede for us with our Lord. He (peace and blessings be upon him) will say: I am the one you seek. Then he will go out, moving people aside, until he reaches the gate of Paradise. He will take hold of the ring of gold on the gate and knock on it. It will be said: Who is this? The reply will be: This is Muhammad. He said: Then the gate will be opened for him. He will come and stand before Allah, ask permission to prostrate, and be given permission, so he will prostrate. He will be called: O Muhammad, raise your head. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted. Supplicate, and your supplication will be answered. He said: Then Allah will inspire his heart with praise and glorification such as no one among the creation will have been inspired with. He will say: O Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah! Then he will ask permission to prostrate, be given permission and prostrate. Then Allah will inspire his heart with praise and glorification such as no one among the creation will have been inspired with. And he will be called: O Muhammad! O Muhammad! Raise your head. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted. Supplicate, and your supplication will be answered. He will raise his head and say: O Lord, my Ummah, my Ummah! He will say this two or three times. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: His intercession will be accepted for everyone in whose heart there is faith the weight of a grain of wheat, or faith the weight of a barley grain, or faith the weight of a mustard seed. That is the Praised Station (al-Maqam al-Mahmud).

Abdullah bin Ghalib narrated that Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the Day of Resurrection the leader of the children of Adam will be Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection the believers will gather and say: If we were to seek intercession with our Lord (and this will be inspired in them), Allah would give us relief from this place. So they will come to Adam (peace be upon him) and say to him: O Adam, you are the father of mankind. Allah created you with His hand, breathed His spirit into you and taught you the names of all things. Intercede for us with our Lord, that He may give us relief from this place. He will say: This is not my station; and he will mention his complaint to them or state the error he committed, and he will feel shy of his Lord. But go to Nuh (peace be upon him), for he is the first messenger sent to the people of the earth. So they will go to Nuh (peace be upon him), but he will say: This is not my station; and he will mention his request to his Lord about what he had no knowledge of, and he will feel shy of his Lord. But go to Ibrahim, the intimate friend of Allah. They will go to him, and he will say: This is not my station. Go to Musa (peace be upon him), to whom Allah spoke and to whom He gave the Torah. They will go to him, but he will say: This is not my station; and he will mention to them his killing of a soul without it being in return for a soul, and he will feel shy of his Lord because of that. But go to the servant of Allah, His Messenger, His Word and the Spirit of Allah. They will come to Isa (peace be upon him), and he will say: I am not for this task, and this is not my station. But go to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), whose past and future sins Allah has forgiven. So they will come to me. Al-Hasan said that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then I will walk between two rows of the believers. "The statement of al-Hasan ended." Then I will ask permission of my Lord, and permission will be given to me. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in prostration, and Allah Almighty will leave me in that state for as long as He wills. Then it will be said, or He will say: Raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard; ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted. I will raise my head and praise Allah with a praise that Allah will teach me. Then I will intercede, and Allah will set a limit for me, and I will admit that many people into Paradise. Then I will return a second time. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in prostration, and Allah will leave me in that state for as long as He wills. Then He will say as He said the first time: Speak, and you will be heard; ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted. I will raise my head and praise with a praise that Allah will teach me. Then I will intercede, and Allah will set a limit for me, and I will admit them into Paradise. Then I will return a third time. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in prostration, and Allah will leave me in that state for as long as He wills. Then it will be said: Ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted. I will raise my head and praise with a praise that Allah will teach me. Then I will intercede, and Allah will set a limit for me, and I will admit them into Paradise. Then I will return to Allah a fourth time and say: O my Lord, no one remains except those whom the Qur'an has held back.