Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I will ask you about three things, only a Prophet knows them.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Ask.” He said: “What is the first sign of the Hour? What will be the first thing the people of Paradise will eat? And how does a child resemble his father or his mother?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Jibreel (peace be upon him) has just informed me of these matters.” He said: “That angel is the enemy of the Jews.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The first sign of the Hour will be that a fire will emerge from the east and will gather the people towards the west. The first thing the people of Paradise will eat will be the extra lobe of the fish’s liver. As for the resemblance of a child to his father or mother: when the man’s semen precedes the woman’s fluid, the child will resemble him, and when the woman’s fluid overcomes the man’s, the child will resemble her.” Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam said: “I bear witness that Allah alone is the Truth and you are the Messenger of Allah.” He further said: “O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, the Jews are a people of slander; when they find out about my Islam, they will accuse me falsely. Please do this: call them and ask them about me in this way: ‘Who and what is this son of Salam among you?’” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called them and asked: “Who and what is Abdullah bin Salam among you?” They said: “He is the best among us and the son of the best among us, a scholar and the son of a scholar, and a great jurist.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked them: “If he becomes Muslim, will you also become Muslim?” They said: “May Allah protect him from doing such a thing.” At that moment, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) came out and said: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah.” Upon hearing this, they began to say: “He is the worst among us and the son of the worst among us, ignorant and the son of an ignorant man.” Ibn Salam said: “This is what I was afraid of.”