Silsilah Sahihah

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The condition of the last man to enter Paradise will be that as he walks (to come out of Hell), he will fall on his face, and the fire will keep scorching his face. When he passes through Hell, it will address him: Blessed is the One who saved me from you and granted me (freedom from you) and gave me what He has not given to anyone among the former or the latter. Then he will see a tree and say: My Lord! Bring me near to this tree so that I may enjoy its shade and drink its water. Allah, the Exalted, will say: O son of Adam! (First make this agreement) If I grant you this request, will you not ask for anything else? He will say: No, my Lord! He will make a covenant and promise with Allah that he will not ask for anything more, but (later on) his Lord will excuse him because He knows that this (servant) will not be able to be patient. Allah, the Exalted, will bring him near to that tree, and he will rest in its shade and drink its water. Then he will see another tree more beautiful than the first. He will say: O my Lord! Bring me near to that tree so that I may drink its water and rest in its shade, and I promise I will not ask for anything more. Allah, the Exalted, will say: O son of Adam! Did you not make a covenant with Me that you would not ask for anything more? Now if I bring you near to that tree, will you not ask for anything else? He will make a promise not to ask for anything further. But his Lord will excuse him again because He knows that he will not be able to be patient. Allah, the Exalted, will bring him near to the (second) tree, and he will sit in its shade and drink its water. Then he will see a third tree more beautiful than the first two, which will be near the gate of Paradise. He (showing impatience) will pray: O my Lord! Bring me near to this tree so that I may enjoy its shade and drink its water, and I will not ask You for anything more. Allah, the Exalted, will say: O son of Adam! Did you not make a covenant with Me before that you would not ask for anything more? He will say: Yes, my Lord! This is my last request; after this, I will not ask for anything else. But his Lord will excuse him, because (in the future) he will see things upon which he will not be able to be patient. Allah, the Exalted, will bring him near to (this third tree). When he reaches near it, he will hear the voices of the people of Paradise and say: O my Lord! Admit me into Paradise. Allah, the Exalted, will say: What can prevent Me from accepting your supplication? (I am All-Powerful. O My servant!) If I give you the world and another world like it, will you be pleased? That servant will say: O my Lord! Even though You are the Lord of the worlds, are You making fun of me? (This does not befit You.)” Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) laughed and said: Do you not ask me about why I laughed? They said: Well, what is the reason for your laughter? Tell us. He said: (In fact) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) laughed at this point in the same way. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) asked: O Messenger of Allah! Why did you laugh? He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: When that servant said: (O Allah!) Even though You are the Lord of the worlds, are You making fun of me? Allah, the Exalted, laughed, so I laughed too. Then Allah, the Exalted, said: I am not making fun of you; I am able to do whatever I will.”