Chapter: The Status of the Lowest people in paradise

It is transmitted from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that, verily, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Amongst the inhabitants of Paradise the lowest in rank will be the person whose face Allah would turn away from the Fire towards the Paradise, and make a shady tree appear before him. He would say: O my Lord! direct my steps to this tree so that I (should enjoy) its shade; and the rest of the hadith is like that narrated by Ibn Mas'ud, but he did not mention:" He (Allah) would say: O son of Adam! what will bring an end to your making requests to Me" to the end of the tradition. In it, he added: Allah will remind him: Ask such and such, and when his expectations would be realised, Allah would say: That is for you, and ten times as much. He said that he would then enter his house and his two wives with large and dark eyes would enter after him. They will say: Praise be to Allah, Who has created you for us and us for you. He will say: No one has been given the like of what I have been given.

It is reported on the authority of al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Moses (ؑ) asked his Lord: Who amongst the inhabitants of Paradise is the lowest to rank? He (Allah) said: The person who would be admitted into Paradise last of all among those deserving of Paradise who are admitted to it. I would be said to him: Enter Paradise. He would gay: O my Lord! how (should I enter) while the people have settled in their apartments and taken the shares (portions)? It would be said to him: Would you be pleased if there be for you like the kingdom of a king amongst the kings of the world? He would say: I am pleased my Lord. He (Allah) would say: For you is that, and like that, and like that, and like that, and that. He would say at the fifth (point): I am well pleased. My Lord. He (Allah) would say: It is for you and, ten times like it, and for you is what your self desires and your eye enjoys. He would say: I am well pleased, my Lord. He ( Moses (ؑ)) said: (Which is) the highest of their (inhabitants of Paradise) ranks? He (Allah) said: They are those whom I choose. I establish their honour with My own hand and then set a seal over it (and they would be blessed with Bounties) which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human mind has perceived: and this is sub- stantiated by the Book of Allah, Exalted and Great:" So no soul knows what delight of the eye is hidden for them; a reward for what they did" (xxxii. 17).

Sha'bi reported he had heard al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah say on the pulpit that Moses (ؑ) (peace be upon him) had asked Allah, Exalted and Great, about the reward of the lowest of the inhabitants of Paradise, and the remaining part of hadith is the same (as narrated) above.

Abu Dharr (RA) reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: I know the last of the inhabitants of Paradise to enter it and the last of the inhabitants of Hell to come out of it. He is a man who would be brought on the Day of Resurrection and it will be said: Present his minor sins to him, and withhold from him his serious Sins. Then the minor sins would be placed before him, and it would be said: On such and such a day you did so and so and on such and such a day you did so and so. He would say: Yes. It will not be possible for him to deny, while he would be afraid lest serious sins chould be presented before him. It would be said to him: In place of every evil deed you will have good deed He will say: My Lord! I have done things I do not see here. I indeed saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) laugh till his front teeth were exposed.

This hadith is also narrated by another chain of narrators, i. e. Ibn Numair, Abu Mu'awiyahh (RA)h (RA), Waki', Abu Bakr (RA) bin Abi Shaiba, Abu Kuraib, A'mash.

It is reported on the authority of Abu Zubair that he heard from Jabir b 'Abdullah, who was asked about the arrival (of people on the Day of Resurrection). He said. We would come on the Day of Resurrection like this, like this, and see. carefully. that which concerns" elevated people". He (the narrator) said: Then the people would be summoned along with their idols whom they worshipped, one after another. Then our Lord would come to us and say: Whom are you waiting for? They would say: We are waiting for our Lord. He would say: I am your Lord. They would say: (We are not sure) till we gaze at Thee, and He would manifest Himself to them smilingly, and would go along with them and they would follow Him; and every person, whether a hypocrite or a believer, would be endowed with a light, and there would be spikes and hooks on the bridge of the Hell, which would catch hold of those whom Allah willed. Then the light of the hypocrites would be extinguished, and the believers would secure salvation. and the first group to achieve it would comprise seventy thousand men who would have the brightness of full moon on their faces, and they would not be called to account. Then the people immediately following them would have their faces as the brightest stars in the heaven. This is how (the groups would follow one after another). Then the stage of intercession would come, and they (who are permitted to intercede) would intercede, till he who had declared:" There is no god but Allah" and had in his heart virtue of the weight of a barley grain would come out of the Fire. They would be then brought in the courtyard of Paradise and the inhabitants of Paradise would begin to sprinkle water over them till they would sprout like the sprouting of a thing in flood water, and their burns would disappear. They would ask their Lord till they would be granted (the bounties) of the world and with it ten more besides it.

Jabir reported that he had heard with his ears the Apostle (ﷺ) saying: Allah will bring out people from the Fire and admit them into Paradise.

Hammad bin Zaid, reported: I said to 'Amr bin Dinar: Did you hear Jabir bin 'Abdullah narrating from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that Allah would bring out people from the Fire through intercession. He said: Yes.

Jabir bin 'Abdullah repotted: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Verily people would be brought out from the Fire, and they would be burnt except the exterior (surfaces, fronts) of their faces; and they would enter Paradise.

Yazid al-Faqir said: This view of the Khwarij (i. e. those who commit major sins and would be eternally doomed to Hell) had obsessed me, and we set out in a large group intending to perform the hajj and then going to the people (for the propagation of the views of the Khwarij). He (the narrator) said: We happened to past by Madinah and found there Jabir bin 'Abdullah sitting near a column narrating to the people (the ahadith of) the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) . When he mentioned the inhabitants of Hell, I said: O companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) what is this that thou narrateth, whereas Allah sayeth:" Verily whomsoever Thou shall commit to the Fire, Thou indeed humillateth him" (al-Qur'an, iii. 192) ; and All those who endeavoured to get out of that would be thrown back into it" (al-Qur'an, xxxi i. 20)? So what is it that you say? He said: Have you read the Qur'an? I said: Yes. He said: Have you heard about' the (exalted) position of Muhammad (ﷺ) , i. e. to which Allah would raise, him? I said: Yes. He said: Verily the position of Muhammad (ﷺ) is that of great glory and that is by which Allah would bring out whornsoever He would wish to bring out. He then described the Path (the Bridge) and the passing of the people over it, and said: I am afraid I may not have remembered (other things) but this much is still in my memory that people would come out of the Hell after having gone into it, and he said: They would come out of it as if they were the wood of the ebony tree. He (the narrator said: They would enter a river, one or the rivers of Paradise, and would bathe in it, and then come out as if they were (white like) paper. We then turned back and said: Woe be upon you! How can this old man tell a lie against the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ? We turned back (from the views of the Khwarij), and by God every one of us abandoned this (band of Khwarij) except one man. A similar statement has been made by Abu Nu'aim.

It is narrated on the authority of Anas bin Malik (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Four persons would be brought out from the Fire and would be presented to Allah. One of them would turn (towards the He)) ) and say: O my Lord, when Thou hast brought me out from it, do not throw me back into it, and Allah would rescue him from it.

Anas b Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah would gather people on the Day of Resurrection and they would be concerned about it, and Ibn Ubaid said. They would get a Divine inspiration about it, and would say: If we could seek intercession with our Lord, we may be relieved from this predicament of ours. He (the Holy Prophet) said: They would come to Adam ؑandsay, Thou art Adam, the father of mankind. Allah created thee with His own hand and breathed unto thee of His Spirit and commanded the angels and they prostrated before thee. So intercede for us with thy Lords, that He may relieve us from this position of ours. He would say: I am not in a position to do this, and would recall his error, and would fight shy of his Lord on account of that; go to Noah the first messenger (after me) sent by Allah. He (the Holy Prophet) said: So they would come to Noah (peace be upon him). He would say: I am not in a position to do that for you, and recall his fault which he had committed, and would fight shy of his Lord on account of that, (and would say): You better go to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) whom Allah took for a friend. They would come to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and he would say: I am not in a position to do that for you, and would recall his fault that he had committed and would, therefore, fight shy of his Lord on that account (and would say): You better go to Moses (ؑ) (peace be upon him) with whom Allah conversed and con- ferred Torah upon him. He (the Holy Prophet) said: So they would come to Moses (ؑ) (peace be upon him) He would say: I am not in a position to do that for you, and would recall his fault that he had committed and would fight shy of his Lord on account of that (and would say): You better go to Jesus, the Spirit of Allah and His word He would say: I am not in a position to do that for you; you better go to Muhammad (ﷺ) , a servant whose former and later sins have been forgiven. He (the narrator) said: The Messenger or Allah (ﷺ) observed: So they would come to me and I would ask the permission of my Lord and it would be granted to me, and when I would see Him, I would fall down in prostration, and He (Allah) would leave me thus as long as He would wish, and then it would be said: O Muhammad (ﷺ) , raise your head, say and you would be heard; ask and it would be granted; intercede and intercession would be accepted. Then I would raise my head and extrol my Lord with the praise which my Lord would teach me. I shall then inter- cede, but a limit would be set for me I would bring them out from the Fire and make them enter Paradise (according to the limit). I shall return then ard fall down in pros- tration and Allah would leave me (in that position) as long as He would wish to leave me it would be said: Rise, O Muhammad (ﷺ) , say and you would be heard; ask and it would be conferred; intercede and intercession would be granted. I would raise my head and extrol my Lord with praise that He would teach me. I would theft intercede and a limit would be set for me. I would bring them out of the Fire (of Hell) and make them enter Paradise. He (the narrator) said: I do not remember whether he (the Holy Prophet) said at the third time or at the fourth time: O my Lord, none has been left in the Fire, but thise restrained by the Holy Qur'an, i e. those who were eternally doomed. Ibn Ubaid said in a narration: Qatada observed: whose everlasting stay was imperative".

Anas bin Malik (RA) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah (may peace be, upon him) said: Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection and they would be made mindful of it; and the rest (of the hadith) is like the one narrated above; and then he mentioned the fourth time: And I (the Holy Prophet) would say: O my Lord, no one is left in the Fire except he whom the Qur'an has restrained, i e. eternally doomed.

Anas reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: The believers would gather on the Day of Resurrection, and they would be concerned about it, or would be made mindful of it (i. e. the trjuble for it), (and the remaining part of the hadith w,) uld be narrated) like the one transmitted by Abu Uwana, and he said in the hadith: Then I would come for the fourth time, or I would return the fourth time, and would say: O my Lord, no one has been left but he whom the Holy Qur'an has restrained.

Anas bin Malik (RA) reported: Verily the Apostle (ﷺ) said: He who professed: There is no god but Allah, would be brought out of the Fire even though he has in his heart virtue equal to the weight of a barley grain. Then he who professed: There is no god but Allah, would come out of the Fire, even though he has in his heart virtue equal to the weight of a wheat grain. He would then bring out from the Fire he who professed: There is no god but Allah, even though he has in his heart virtue equal to the weight of an atom. Ibn Minhal has made an addition (of these words) in his narration: Yazid said: I met Shu'bah and narrated to him this hadith. Shu'bah said: Qatada transmitted to us this hadith from Anas bin Malik (RA) who heard it from the Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) with this alteration that he substituted the word Zurra (grain) in place of Zarra (atom). Yazid said: Abu Bistam has made a change in it.

It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah (RA) that there was placed before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) a cup of soft bread, soup and meat. He took part of the foreleg which he liked most. He sliced (with his teeth) a slice (out of that) and said: I would be the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection. He then sliced (that meat) for the second time and said: I am the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection. When he saw that his companions did not ask him (about this assertion) he said: Why don't you say: How would that be? They said: How would be it, Messenger of Allah? (ﷺ) He said: People would stand before the Lord of the worlds. And the rest of the hadith was narrated like the one transmitted by Abu Hayyan, on the authority of Abu Zur'a, and in the story of Ibrahim, this addition was made. He said and made mention of his words with regard to the star: This is my Lord. And his words with regard to their gods: But the big among them has done that. And his words: I am ailing. He (the Holy Prophet) said: By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, the distance between two leaves of the door from their supporting frames is as the distance between Makkah and Hajar or Hajar and Makkah. I do not remember how he said it (whether Makkah and Hajar or Hajar and Makkah).

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (RA) and Hudhaifa that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, would gather people. The believers would stand till the Paradise would be brought near them. They would come to Adam ؑand say: O our father, open for us the Paradise. He would say: What turned ye out from the Paradise was the sin of your father Adam. I am not in a position to do that; better go to my son Ibrahim, the Friend of Allah. He (the Holy Prophet) said: He (Ibrahim) would say: I am not in a position to do that. Verily I had been the Friend (of Allah) from beyond, beyond; you better approach Moses (ؑ) (peace be upon him) with whom Allah conversed. They would come to Moses (ؑ) (peace be upon him), but he would say: I am not in a position to do that; you better go to Jesus, the Word of Allah and His Spirit. Jesus (peace be upon him) would say: I am not in a position to do that. So they would come to Mubammad (ﷺ) . He would then be permitted (to open the door of Paradise). Trust worthiness and kinship would be despatched, and these would stand on the right and left of the Path and the first of you would pass with (the swiftness) of lightning. He (the narrator) said: I said, O thou who art far dearer to me than my father and my mother I which thing is like the passing of lightning? He said: Have you not seen lightning, how it passes and then comes back within the twinkling of an eye? Then (they would pass) like the passing of the wind, then like the passing of a bird, and the hastening of persons would be according to their deeds, and your Apostle (ﷺ) would be standing on the Path saying: Save, O my Lord, save. (The people would go on passing) till the deeds of the servants would be failing in strength, till a man would come who would find it hard to go along (that Path) but crawlingly. He (the narrator) said: And on the sides of the Path hooks would be suspended ready to catch anyone whom these would be required (to catch). There would be those who would somehow or other succeed in trasversing that Path and some would be piled up in Hell. By Him in Whose Hand is the life of Abu Hurairah (RA) it would take one seventy years to fathom the depth of Hell.