The Intercession of Believers and the Last to Enter Paradise

(75) Common Believers’ Right to Intercede

[This chapter establishes that] a group will be interceded for by a single person of this ummah. [It also contains] proofs validating my earlier claim that on the Day of Judgment people other than the Prophets will also intercede.

469. (1) Abū al-Khaṭṭāb Ziyād b. Yaḥyā → Bishr:

…… (2) Aḥmad b. al-Miqdām → Bishr b. al-Mufaḍḍal → Khālid → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Shaqīq:

I met a group of people, and I was the fourth among them. One of them said that he heard the Prophet saying, “A number larger than the tribe of Banū Tamīm will enter Paradise through the intercession by a single man from my ummah.” He said that they asked, “Is that person other than you, O Prophet?” He said, “Yes, he is other than me.” I asked [the person], “Did you hear it from the Prophet yourself?” He said, “Yes.” When he stood up, I asked, “Who is this man?” He said, “This is Ibn Abī al-Jad‘āᵓ”.

470. (3) Muhammad b. al-Walīd → Muhammad (b. Jaᶜfar) → Shuᶜbah → Khālid → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Shaqīq → a Companion of the Prophet, named Ibn Abī Jad‘āᵓ:

I heard the Prophet saying:

A number larger than the tribe of Banū Tamīm will enter Paradise through the intercession by a single person of my ummah.

Abū Bakr said: Muhammad said that the man is called Ibn Abī Jad‘āᵓ.

471. (4) Salm b. Junādah → Abū Muᶜāwiyah → Dāwūd → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Qays al-Nakh‘ī → al-Ḥārith b. Uqaysh → the Prophet:

No such Muslim couple (man and his wife) will bear three children who die before being of age (i.e. they die before maturity and committing sins) but Allah will put them into Paradise out of His blessings for them.

The people said, “O Prophet of Allah, what about those bearing two?” He said, “They too.”

The Prophet said, “From my ummah, there will be a man who will be outgrown for the Fire to the extent that he will cover one of its corners. From my ummah there will be those by whose intercession Allah will send to Paradise people more than the number of the tribe of Muḍar.”

Abū Bakr said: I have included some versions of this narrative in Kitāb al-Janāᵓiz (Chapter on Funerals).

472. (5) al-Mundhir b. al-Walīd al-Jārūdī → his father → Shuᶜbah → Dāwūd → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Qays → al-Ḥārith b. Uqaysh → the Prophet:

A person from my ummah will enter Paradise and will intercede for a people outnumbering the tribe of Muḍar. A man from my ummah will be enlarged for the Fire, till he will cover one corner of it. No two people (couple) will bear four children but will be sent to Paradise out of Allah’s mercifulness.

A woman said, “Does this also apply for [the one with] three [children]?” He said, “Yes. The [ones with three children] too will have this blessing.” She asked, “What if they are two?” He said, “The same will happen to [those with] two [children].”

Abū Bakr said: I have explained that the word ummah has been used in two meanings: First, those to whom the Prophet has been sent and, second, those who responded to the call of the Prophet positively. This person described as being enlarged for the Fire is probably from among those to whom the Messenger was sent but they did not accept his message. He is not among those who accepted his call and became his followers and committed some sins.

473. (6) Isḥāq b. Ibrāhīm b. Ḥabīb b. al-Shahīd → Yaḥyā b. Yamān → Sufyān → Ādam b. ᶜAlī → Ibn ᶜUmar:

The Prophet will say to a man, “O man! Stand up and intercede.” The man will stand and intercede for a tribe, a family or one or two persons, depending on his own good actions.

Abū Bakr said: The words (i.e. call the ṣiddīqīn) used in the narrative ascribed to Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, before the mention of the Prophets, carries two meanings:

a. It refers to ṣiddīqūn from among the Prophets, that is the more exalted of them. It has been said in the Qurᵓān: “We did bestow on some Prophets more gifts than on others.” (Q 17:55) This means there are ṣiddīqūn Prophets following the station of our beloved Prophet. [If we take the word in this sense, then we will interpret the relevant part of the ḥadīth as follows:] Then it will be said, “Call the Prophets, those other than the first class namely the ṣiddīqūn.”

b. The ṣiddīqūn are those of this ummah whom the Prophet will command to intercede for others. So this intercession made by the ṣiddīqūn from the ummah of the Prophet will be under his order. In this sense, this intercession is in fact from the Prophet. Intercession by other than the Prophet can, linguistically, be attributed to him as he is the prime agent in this case. I have explained this issue at many places in my books that an act can be attributed to the doer of the act and also to the one who orders the doer to do that particular act. This is why the intercession by other than the Prophet is attributed to the Prophet himself because it is he who will order them to do so.

474. (7) Isḥāq b. Manṣūr → ᶜAbd al-Razzāq → Maᶜmar → Thābit al-Bunānī → Anas b. Mālik → the Prophet:

A man will intercede for two or three men and a man for one.

475. (8) Mālik b. Mighwal → ᶜAṭiyyah al-ᶜAwfī → Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī → the Prophet:

One man from my ummah will intercede for groups of people and they will be sent to Paradise through his intercession.

(….) Muhammad b. Bashshār → ᶜUthmān b. ᶜUmar → Mālik b. Mighwal.

476. (9) Yaḥyā b. Ḥakīm → Yaᶜqūb b. Isḥāq al-Ḥaḍramī → Mālik b. Mighwal → ᶜAṭiyyah → Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī → the Prophet:

In my ummah, there will be men who will intercede for groups of people and they will be sent to Paradise through their intercession. One person among them (my ummah) will intercede for many of his family members who will be sent to Paradise through his intercession.

477. (10) Muhammad b. Bashshār → Abū Dāwūd → Shuᶜbah → Manṣūr → Ribᶜī b. Ḥirāsh:

I met ᶜAbd Allāh b. Salām who said, “Should I not tell you a ḥadīth I found in the book of Allāh: “Allāh will bring out a number of people from the Fire and Abraham, the friend of the Lord, will say, “O my lord! It has burnt my sons.”” [The Prophet said], “So they too will be brought out.”

478. (11) Muᶜāwiyah b. Ṣāliḥ → Abū ᶜImrān al-Filasṭīnī → Yaᶜlā b. Shadād → the Prophet:

Allāh will bring out of Hell, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, a number equalling the inhabitants of Paradise

(…) Aḥmad b. ᶜAbd al-Raḥmān b. Wahb → his uncle → Muᶜāwiyah:

Abū Bakr said: I do not know whether Abū ᶜImrān al-Filasṭīnī has been approved or disapproved as a transmitter.

479. (12) Salām b. Miskīn → Abū Ẓalāl al-Qasamlī → Anas b. Mālik → the Prophet:

A person will remain in the Fire and will call for a thousand years, “O Ḥannān! (Compassionate) O Mannān! (Munificent)” Allāh will say, “O Gabriel bring My servant. He is at such and such place.” Gabriel will come to Hell. The inhabitants of Hell will be found lying upon their faces. Allah will say to Gabriel, “O Gabriel, go to such and such place, he is there.” Gabriel will get him out of it. When the man will come stand before Allāh Almighty, He will say, “O My servant, how did you find your place?” He will say, “It was a horrible place for repose.” Then He will say, “Take My servant back to it.” The man will say, “I did not expect that.” The Lord will say, “Send My servant to Paradise.”

(…) Abū Ghassān Mālik b. al-Khalīl b. Bashīr b. Nuhayk → Muslim b. Ibrāhīm → Salām:

(76) The Last Person to be taken out of Hell

[This chapter deals with narratives] regarding the blessings and bounties of Paradise that Allah will bestow upon the last person to be taken out of Hell and put in Paradise, out of mercy. This man will come out of Hell crawling on all fours. He will not be among those who will be taken out of Hell through intercession, after they will have been burnt by the Fire and will have become like charcoal and who will die before their release from Hell.

480. (1) Yūsuf b. Mūsā → Jarīr → Manṣūr → Ibrāhīm b. ᶜUbaydah → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Masᶜūd → the Prophet:

I know the person who will be released from Hell last of all and who will be the last to go to Paradise. A person will be brought out of the Fire blackened (by burns) and Allāh will say to him, “Go and enter Paradise.” He will come to it and it will seem to him as full. He will return to Allah and say, “O my Lord, I found it full.” Allāh will say to him, “Go and enter Paradise.” He will come to it and it will seem to him as full. He will return to Allah and say, “O my Lord, I found it full.” Allāh will say to him, “Go and enter Paradise. You have a place equal to the world and also ten more like it or a place ten times the size of the world.” He will say, “Do you mock me or laugh at me even though you are the King?”

He (ᶜAbd Allāh b. Masᶜūd) said, “I saw the Prophet smile and his front teeth could be seen.” It was, therefore, said that that would be the lowest rank in Paradise.

……. (2) al-Ḥusayn b. ᶜĪsā → ᶜUbayd Allāh b. Mūsā → Isrāᵓīl → Manṣūr:

A similar narrative through this isnād. It says that the Prophet said:

He will say, “You have ten times the world.”

This narrative does not contain the remaining text.

……. (3) Yūsuf b. Mūsā → Abū Muᶜāwiyah → al-Aᶜmash:

481. (4) Ṭalīq b. Muhammad al-Wāsiṭī → Abū Muᶜāwiyah → al-Aᶜmash → Ibrāhīm → ᶜUbaydah → ᶜAbd Allāh → the Prophet:

I know the person who will be taken out of Hell last of all. A person will come out of it crawling. It would be said to him, “Go and enter Paradise.” He will go and enter Paradise. He will find people occupying all the places. He will return and say, “O my Lord, the people have occupied the places.” It will be said to him, “Do you remember the time in which you lived?” He will say, “Yes.” It will be then said to him, “Wish for it.” He will make a wish. It will be said to him, “You have what you wished for and ten times of that in addition.” He will say, “Do you mock me even though you are the King?”

He (ᶜAbd Allāh b. Masᶜūd) said, “I saw the Prophet smiling, with his front teeth visible.”

482. (5) al-Ḥasan b. Muhammad al-Zaᶜfarānī → ᶜAffān → ᶜAbd al-Wāḥid b. Ziyād → al-Aᶜmash → Ibrāhīm → ᶜAlqamah and ᶜUbaydah → ᶜAbd Allāh → the Prophet.

I know the last person to be taken out of Hell. A man will come out of the Fire crawling. It will be said to him, “Enter Paradise.” He will enter and see that people have occupied all the places. He will say, “O my Lord, I find no place there.” Allāh will say, “Enter Paradise. We will make a place for you in it.” Allāh then will say, “You have the like of the world and ten times like it.” He will say, “Do you laugh at me even though you are the King?”

He (ᶜAbd Allāh) said, “The Prophet smiled till his front teeth were visible.”

….. (6) al-Ḥasan b. Muhammad al-Zaᶜfarānī → (Abū Muᶜāwiyah → al-Aᶜmash →) Ibrāhīm → ᶜUbaydah → ᶜAbd Allāh → the Prophet:

The same report.

This way he (al-Ḥasan) narrated the report of Abū Muᶜāwiyah and said, “The same as above.”

483. (7) al-Ḥasan b. Muhammad al-Zaᶜfarānī and al-Ḥusayn b. ᶜĪsā al-Bisṭāmī → Yazīd b. Hārūn → Ḥammād b. Salamah → Thābit al-Bunānī → Anas b. Mālik → ᶜAbd Allāh b. Masᶜūd → the Prophet:

The last man to enter Paradise will walk on the Bridge and stumble once (yalṭabitu).

Al-Zaᶜfarānī reported the words, “He will stumble (yankibu) once.”

Both of them agreed on the following wording:

He will walk once and be burnt by the Fire once. When he will have crossed it, he will turn to Allah and say, “Allāh the Exalted and Great has saved me from it.”

Al-Zaᶜfarānī used the words, “[saved me from] you [O Fire].”

They both used the wording:

[The man said,] “Allāh has given me what He never gave to anyone from the first and the last [generations].” Then a tree will be raised for him and he will look towards it. He will say, “O my Lord, bring me near this tree so that I may take shelter in its shade and drink of its water.”

So he related the complete narrative which I have included in Kitāb Naᶜīm al-Ᾱkhirah (Chapter on Bounties of Paradise). In the narrative, it has been said:

He will say, “O my Lord! Let me enter Paradise.” Allāh Almighty will say, “What stops you from asking Me?”

Al-Zaᶜfarānī used the words, “What stops you from asking me, My servant? Will you be pleased if I gave you, in Paradise, like of the world and another equal to it?”

Then he related the complete narrative.

Abū Bakr said: Ḥumayd reported this narrative from Anas b. Mālik. He did not mention the name of Ibn Masᶜūd in the isnād. It is also disputed whether he ascribed the narrative to the Prophet.

484. (8) Muhammad b. ᶜAmr b. al-ᶜAbbās → Ibn Abī ᶜAdī → Ḥumayd → Anas:

Ibn Abī ᶜAdī said, “Ḥumayd reported it to us twice, once he ascribed it to the Prophet and once he did not.”

[The text follows]: The Prophet said:

The last person to be taken out of Hell will say, “O my Lord! Get me out of Hell. I will not ask you for anything else.”

He (the Prophet) said:

When he will be got out of it, a tree will be raised for him near to the Bridge. He will say, “O my Lord, bring me near to this tree so that I can take shelter in its shade, drink of its water and eat of its fruits.”

Then he narrated the complete ḥadīth. In it he reported:

He (Allah) will say, “O son of Adam! What stops you from asking of Me? Ask for the bounties of Paradise.” He will ask while Allah will be looking at him.

Anas said that some of the Companions told him that once he will have satisfied his heart Allah will say to him, “You have what you asked for and ten times like of it.” Some others said that Allah will say, “You have what you asked for and a like of it.” He said, “He will enter Paradise.”

If all the people or all the children of Adam joined him, his food and drinks and other bounties, none of his blessings would run short. He will say to himself, “Allāh has made me the last to enter Paradise only to give me what He has not given to anyone else.”

485. (9) Muhammad b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā al-Ṣanᶜānī → al-Muᶜtamir → Ḥumayd → Anas:

The last person to leave Hell and to enter Paradise will be the one to whom his Lord would say, “O son of Adam! What do you need? What do you ask for?”

Al-Ṣanᶜānī then related the complete narrative in which he reported:

If all the people joined him or, he said, if all the children of Adam joined him to share his food and drinks and services, it will suffice them and it will not lessen his bounties.

486. (10) Yūsuf b. Mūsā → ᶜAlī b. Jarīr al-Khurāsānī → Ḥammād b. Salamah → ᶜAṭāᵓ b. al-Sāᵓib → ᶜAmr b. Maymūn → Ibn Masᶜūd → the Prophet:

A people will be in the Fire, and Allāh will take pity on whomever He wills and take them out of it. They will be placed in the lowest station in Paradise. There they will be washed in the canal of life and the inhabitants of Paradise will call them al-jahannamiyyūn. If any among them entertained all the people of the world, he could provide them with food, drinks, lodges, beds and quilts.

ᶜAṭāᵓ said, “I think their spouses too. Allāh will not let anything lessen from their provisions.”

Abū Bakr said: I have included the narrative from Abū ᶜUbaydah from Masrūq from Ibn Masᶜūd in the chapter entitled Kitāb Naᶜīm al-Ākhirah (Bounties of the Last Day).

487. (11) Muhammad b. ᶜAbd al-Aᶜlā al-Ṣanᶜānī → al-Muᶜtamir → his father → Abū Naḍrah → Abū Saᶜīd or Jābir:

The Prophet delivered a speech and prolonged it. In it he related the matters of the world and the Afterlife. He told that the first thing that brought destruction to the Children of Isrāᵓīl was that the wives of the poor would be interested in dress and colours, or he said, in things that interest rich women. He mentioned the story of a woman from the children of Isrāᵓīl who was short. She made herself two wooden feet (or shoes). She also put on a ring which had a lock and a cover. She applied musk on it and walked out among two tall women. They sent to the party a man to follow them. He recognized the two tall women but he did not recognize the one with the two wooden feet.

The Prophet also mentioned the last man to get out of the Fire. He said that he will see a tree and will ask to be put under it. It would be said to him, “Will you not ask for another favour?” He will promise that he would not ask for anything more. Then he will see another tree. He will ask to be placed under that one. He will be asked, “Did not you promise that you will not ask for anything else except what I have given to you?” He will promise again that he will not ask for another. But he will ask again.

Abū al-Muᶜtamir said, “It surprised me to learn that he makes promises but does not fulfil them. He is still given what he asks for and things similar to it, Allah willing.”

488. (12) Ḥammād b. Salamah → ᶜAlī b. Zayd → Saᶜīd b. al-Musayyib → Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī and Abū Hurayrah → the Prophet:

Allāh will say to one of the last two men to leave the Fire, “O son of Adam! What have you prepared for today? Have you ever done a good deed hoping [to meet Me] and fearing Me?” He will say, “No, my Lord.” He will be ordered to be put in the Fire. He will be the most regretful of all the dwellers of Hell. It would be said to the second man, “O son of Adam, what have you prepared for this day? Have you done any good ever?” He will say, “No, O my lord. However, I have hoped the best from You.” Then a tree will be raised for him and he will say, “O my Lord, let me stay under this tree so that I rest in its shade or drink from its water or eat its fruit.” He will pledge not to ask for anything else. He (Allāh) will say, “O son of Adam, did not you promise that you will not ask for more?” He will say, “Yes, I did. But [I ask for] this [favour] alone.” Allah will put him under that tree. He will again promise not to ask for anything else. Then another tree will be raised for him near the gate of Paradise. This tree will be more beautiful than the previous two, with abundant water. He will say, “O my Lord, put me near to it.” He will promise that he will not ask for more. He will be brought near to it and here he will be able to hear the voices of the inhabitants of Paradise. He will not be able to control himself and will say, “O my Lord, send me into Paradise.” Allāh will say, “Ask and wish.” He will ask and wish for a period equal to three days of the world (miqdār thalāthati ayyām min al-dunyā). He will receive what he will not have known earlier and will ask and wish. When he will have done it, He will say, “You have got whatever you asked for.”

Abū Saᶜīd added, “and also another like it.”

al-Jurayrī added, “ten times like it.”

[Saᶜīd said]:

Each one of them (Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī and Abū Hurayrah) narrated what you heard and I am narrating what I have heard.

The same narrative has been narrated to us by Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Ḥajjāj b. Minhāl:

The latter said:

Ḥammād narrated to me, but he did not mention his ancestry. He is Ḥammād b. Salamah.

489. (13) Muhammad → Mūsā b. Ismāᶜīl → Ḥammād → ᶜAlī b. Zayd → Saᶜīd b. al-Musayyib → Abū Saᶜīd al-Khudrī and Abū Hurayrah:

The Prophet told us this.

This version also mentions the difference in the narration of Abū Saᶜīd and Abū Hurayrah the way Ḥajjāj mentioned. He also used the following words: […..] for a time of three days of this worldly time (miqdār thalāthati ayyām min ayyām al-dunyā).

…… (14) al-Ḥasan al-Zaᶜfarānī → ᶜAffān → Ḥammād b. Salamah.

490. (15) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Muhammad b. Kathīr → Ḥammād b. Salamah → Thābit → Anas → the Prophet:

The Day of Judgment will be elongated for the people and they will say to one another, “Let us go to Adam, the father of all mankind so that he may intercede for us.” The complete narrative.

(77) The Man is not a Beneficiary of Intercession

The man above described, who will be the last to come out of the Fire crawling, is not among those who will be rescued through intercession. He will be the last of those who will enter Paradise. Those who will be put in Paradise through intercession will enter it before this man. This one will remain between Hell and Paradise. Then Allāh will let him enter Paradise because of His blessings and mercifulness and not through intercession by anyone. He will reward him with His blessings and bounties which have been mentioned in the narrative regarding blessings of Paradise. This chapter also includes the proof that Allāh will, before judgment of all mankind, rescue from the Fire people who will have been burnt by the Fire save for their marks of prostrations.

491. (1) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → Abū al-Yamān → Shuᶜayb → al-Zuhrī → Saᶜīd b. al-Musayyib and ᶜAṭāᵓ b. Yazīd al-Laythī → Abū Hurayrah:

The people said to the Prophetm “O messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord on the Day of Judgment?”

So he related the complete narrative, which I have included in Kitāb al-Ahwāl. This narrative includes:

When Allāh will intend to show mercy to those of the people of the Fire He willed, He will order the angels to get out of Hell all the people who worshipped Allāh. They will get them out of it. They will be recognized through their marks of prostrations for Allāh has forbidden the Fire to consume anything bearing the marks of prostration. They would be rescued from the Fire, quite burnt. They will come out as a seed comes out from the silt carried by flood. Then Allāh will conclude deciding the fates of people. A man facing the Fire will remain between Hell and Paradise. He will be the last to enter Paradise. He will say, “O my Lord, turn my face away from the Fire, its air has poisoned me and its blaze has burnt me.” Allāh will say, “If I did that, perhaps you would ask for more than that.”

He related parts of the narrative and said:

Then Allāh will permit entry into Paradise. It will be then said to him, “State your wish.” He will continue to wish until all his wishes will be exhausted. Allāh will say to him, “That is for you and, besides it, the like of it also.”

Abū Saᶜīd said to Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet had said:

Allāh will say, “This is for you and, besides it, ten like it.” Abū Hurayrah replied that he did not remember that the Prophet said other than: “This is for you and one more, similar to it.”

Abū Saᶜīd swore that he heard the Prophet saying, “and, besides it, ten like it.”

…… (2) Muhammad b. Yaḥyā → ᶜAbd al-Razzāq → Maᶜmar → al-Zuhrī → ᶜAṭāᵓ b. Yazīd al-Laythī → Abū Hurayrah:

492. (3) Muhammad → Sulaymān b. Dāwūd al-Hāshimī Ibrāhīm b. Saᶜd → Ibn Shihāb → ᶜAṭāᵓ b. Yazīd al-Laythī → Abū Hurayrah:

The people said (qāl al-nās) to the Prophet.

Al-Hāshimī said, “ indeed the people said (inna al-nās qālū): O messenger of Allah!”

Muhammad b. Yaḥyā said all of them reported the complete ḥadīth. However, they might have differed over a word or a thing without affecting meanings.

The above passage is translated from Kitāb al-Tawḥīd by Imām Abū Bakr Ibn Khuzaymah (d. 311 AH). English translation by Dr Tariq Mahmood Hashmi.

English Translation of Seminal Islamic Texts

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