Musnad Ahmad

Narrated from Hazrat Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Once, while I was between sleep and wakefulness near the House of Allah, one of three men came forward between two men. Then a golden basin was brought to me, filled with wisdom and faith. He split my body from the chest to the abdomen, washed my heart with the water of Zamzam, and filled it with wisdom and faith. Then a beast was brought to me, smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey, and I set out with Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him). We reached the lowest heaven. It was asked, “Who is it?” He replied, “Jibreel!” It was asked, “Who is with you?” He replied, “Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!” It was asked, “Has he been called?” He replied, “Yes!” The angels said, “Welcome! What an excellent arrival!” There I met Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him) and greeted him. He said, “Welcome to the son and the Prophet, what an excellent arrival!” The same questions and answers occurred at the second heaven, where I met Hazrat Yahya and ‘Isa (peace be upon them), and they said “brother” instead of “son.” The same questions and answers occurred at the third heaven, where I met Hazrat Yusuf (peace be upon him), and he also said “brother” instead of “son.” The same questions and answers occurred at the fourth heaven, where I met Hazrat Idris (peace be upon him), and he also said “brother.” The same questions and answers occurred at the fifth heaven, where I met Hazrat Haroon (peace be upon him), and he also said “brother.” The same questions and answers occurred at the sixth heaven, where I met Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), and he also said “brother.” When I passed by Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), he began to weep. It was asked, “Why are you weeping?” He replied, “O Lord! This young man whom You have sent after me—his ummah will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my ummah.” Then we reached the seventh heaven, and the same questions and answers occurred. There I met Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and when I greeted him, he said, “Welcome to the son and the Prophet.” Then al-Bayt al-Ma’mur was presented before me. I asked Jibreel (peace be upon him) about it, and he said, “This is al-Bayt al-Ma’mur. Every day seventy thousand angels pray in it, and when they leave, they never return.” Then Sidrat al-Muntaha was presented before me. Its berries were like the jars of Hajar, and its leaves were as large as elephant ears. At its root, four rivers were flowing—two hidden and two apparent. I asked Jibreel (peace be upon him) about them, and he said, “The hidden rivers are in Paradise, and the apparent ones are the Nile and the Euphrates.” Then fifty prayers were made obligatory upon me. When I passed by Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), he asked, “What happened?” I said, “Fifty prayers have been made obligatory upon me.” Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) said, “I know people well. I have tested the Children of Israel thoroughly. Your ummah will not be able to bear this. So return to your Lord and ask Him to reduce it.” So I returned to my Lord and requested a reduction, and my Lord reduced them to forty. Again, when I passed by Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), the same questions and answers occurred, and ten more prayers were reduced. In this way, they were reduced by ten each time, until finally only five prayers remained. Even then, Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) advised me to seek further reduction, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Now I feel shy to return to my Lord so many times.” At that moment, a voice proclaimed, “I have decreed My obligation and have reduced it for My servants, and I will reward one good deed tenfold.” 17988. Narrated from Hazrat Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Once, while I was between sleep and wakefulness near the House of Allah... Then the narrator mentioned the entire hadith and said: We reached the seventh heaven. It was asked, “Who is it?” He replied, “Jibreel!” It was asked, “Who is with you?” He replied, “Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!” It was asked, “Has he been called?” He replied, “Yes!” The angels said, “Welcome, what an excellent arrival!” There I met Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him)...

Narrated to us Yunus ibn Muhammad, narrated to us Shayban, from Qatadah, who said: Anas ibn Malik narrated to us that Malik ibn Sa'sa'ah narrated to them, that the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "While I was at the Ka'bah, between sleep and wakefulness," and he mentioned the hadith, he said: "Then we ascended to the seventh heaven, and Jibril, peace be upon him, sought permission to enter. It was said: Who is this? It was said: Jibril. It was said: And who is with you? It was said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for? He said: Yes. So it was opened for him, and they said: Welcome to him, and what a good arrival he has come. So we came upon Ibrahim, peace be upon him. I said: Who is this? Jibril said: This is your father Ibrahim. So I greeted him, and he said: Welcome, O righteous son and righteous prophet. Then the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary was raised for me, and its leaves were like the ears of elephants, and its fruits like the jars of Hajar, and there were four rivers coming out from its root: two visible rivers and two hidden rivers. I said: What are these, O Jibril? He said: As for the two visible rivers, they are the Nile and the Euphrates, and as for the two hidden rivers, they are two rivers in Paradise. He said: Then two vessels were brought to me, one of them containing wine and the other milk. He said: I took the milk, so Jibril said: You have chosen the natural disposition."

It is narrated from Hazrat Malik bin Sa’sa’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Once, while I was between sleep and wakefulness near the House of Allah, one of three men came forward between two men. Then a basin of gold was brought to me, filled with wisdom and faith. He split open my body from the chest to the abdomen, washed my heart with the water of Zamzam, and filled it with wisdom and faith. Then a beast was brought to me, smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey, whose one step reached as far as the eye could see. I set out with Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him). We reached the lowest heaven. It was asked, “Who is it?” He replied, “Jibreel!” It was asked, “Who is with you?” He replied, “Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)!” It was asked, “Has he been called?” He replied, “Yes!” The angels said, “Welcome! What an excellent arrival!” There I met Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him) and greeted him. He said, “Welcome to the son and the Prophet! What an excellent arrival!”

The same questions and answers occurred at the second heaven, where I met Hazrat Yahya and ‘Isa (peace be upon them), and they called me brother instead of son. The same questions and answers occurred at the third heaven, where I met Hazrat Yusuf (peace be upon him), and he also called me brother. The same questions and answers occurred at the fourth heaven, where I met Hazrat Idris (peace be upon him), and he also called me brother. The same questions and answers occurred at the fifth heaven, where I met Hazrat Haroon (peace be upon him), and he also called me brother. The same questions and answers occurred at the sixth heaven, where I met Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), and he also called me brother.

When I moved ahead after meeting Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), he began to weep. It was asked, “Why are you weeping?” He replied, “O Lord! This young man whom You have sent after me—his ummah will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my ummah.” Then we reached the seventh heaven, and the same questions and answers occurred. There I met Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and when I greeted him, he said, “Welcome to the son and the Prophet!”

Then the Bayt al-Ma’mur was presented before me. I asked Jibreel (peace be upon him) about it, and he said, “This is Bayt al-Ma’mur. Every day seventy thousand angels pray in it, and when they leave, they never return again.” Then the Sidrat al-Muntaha was presented before me. Its berries were like the pitchers of Hajar, and its leaves were as large as elephant ears. At its root, four rivers were flowing—two hidden and two apparent. I asked Jibreel (peace be upon him) about them, and he said, “The hidden rivers are in Paradise, and the apparent ones are the Nile and the Euphrates.”

Then a vessel of wine, a vessel of milk, and a vessel of honey were presented before me. I took the vessel of milk. Hazrat Jibreel (peace be upon him) said, “This is the true nature upon which you and your ummah are.” Then fifty prayers were made obligatory upon me. When I passed by Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), he asked, “What happened?” I replied, “Fifty prayers have been made obligatory upon me.” Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) said, “I know the nature of people well. I have tested the Children of Israel thoroughly. Your ummah will not be able to bear this. So return to your Lord and request a reduction.” So I returned to my Lord and requested a reduction, and the Lord reduced them to forty. Again, when I passed by Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), the same questions and answers occurred, and ten more prayers were reduced. In this way, ten by ten, they were reduced until finally only five remained. Even then, Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) advised me to seek further reduction, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Now I feel shy before my Lord to go again.” At that moment, a voice came, “I have decreed My obligation and have reduced it for My servants, and I will give a reward of tenfold for every good deed.”

The previous hadith is also narrated with a slight difference in wording from this second chain.

Muhammad ibn Ja'far narrated to us, he said: Sa'id ibn Abi Arubah narrated to us, from Qatadah ibn Di'amah, from Anas ibn Malik, from Malik ibn Sa'sa'ah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he said: "While I was at the Ka'bah, between sleep and wakefulness, I heard a speaker say, one of the three:" — then he mentioned the hadith — he said: "Then al-Bayt al-Ma'mur was raised for us; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, and when they leave it, they never return to it, that is the last of their turn." He said: "Then Sidrat al-Muntaha was raised up to me, and its leaves were like the ears of elephants." Then he mentioned the hadith, he said: "So I said: I have gone back and forth to my Lord, Mighty and Majestic, until I became shy; no, but I am content and submit." He said: "So when I passed beyond it, I was called: I have lightened [the burden] for My servants, and I have established My obligations, and I have made for every good deed ten times its like."

Muhammad ibn Bakr narrated to us, he said: Sa'id informed us, from Qatadah, from Anas ibn Malik, from Malik ibn Sa'sa'ah, a man from his people, and he mentioned it.