Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported the Prophet as saying, "The awnings of hell have four thick walls, each wall a distance of forty years." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "If a bucket of the pus of the inhabitants of hell were poured into the world, the people in the world would have an offensive stench." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Ibn `Abbas told that God's messenger recited this verse, "Fear God as He ought to be feared, and die only as Muslims[1]," after which he said, "If a drop of az-Zaqqum[2] were to fall on this world it would corrupt the people's means of livelihood, so what about those whose food it is?" Quran; 3:102 A tree growing in the bottom of hell. Cf. Quran; 37:62, 44:43; also 17:60. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.

Abu Sa'id reported the Prophet as saying regarding "And they in it will be showing their teeth[*]," that the fire will roast a person and his upper lip will retract till it reaches the middle of his head, and his lower lip will hang down till it strikes his navel." *Quran; 23:104 Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Anas reported the Prophet as saying, "O people, weep, but if you are unable to do so, then pretend to weep, for the inhabitants of hell will weep in hell till their tears flow on their faces as though they were streams, and when the tears stop blood will flow and the eyes will be made sore. If ships were blown along in them, they could sail." It is transmitted in Sharh as-sunna.

Abud Darda' reported God's messenger as saying, "Hunger will be cast upon the inhabitants of hell and will be equal to the punishment they are experiencing. They will cry for help and will be helped with food of dari' [1] which neither fattens nor satisfies hunger. They will then call for food and will be fed with food which chokes[2]. So, remembering that they helped down choking food with drink when they were in the world they will ask for drink and the scalding drink[3] will be presented to them on iron flesh-hooks. When they approach their faces they will scorch their faces, and when they enter their bellies, they will cut in pieces the contents of their bellies. They will then ask the guards of Jahannam to be called and they will say, `Did your messengers not bring you the clear signs?' and when they reply, `Yes,' they will say, `Then make supplication, but the supplication of the infidels is only in error[4].' They will then ask Malik to be called and will say, `0 Malik, would that your Lord might put an end to us!' He will reply to them, `You are remaining'[5] (al-A`mash[6] saying he had been informed that the period between their appeal and Malik's reply to them would be a thousand years). They will then say, `Call your Lord, for no one is better than your Lord,' and they will say, `0 our Lord, our adversity was too much for us and we were a people who were astray. 0 our Lord, bring us out of it; then if we return to evil, we shall indeed be wrongdoers.' He will then answer them, `Retreat into it in shame and do not speak to Me[7].' They will then despair of all good and will begin to sigh, grieve and bemoan themselves." `Abdallah b. `Abd ar-Rahman[8] said that people do not trace this tradition back to the Prophet. 1. Cf. Qur'an, 88:6. The name of a thorny plant which animals avoid. It is used in the Qur'an of some substance which, as Taj al-'arus says, is more bitter than aloes, more offensive than a corpse, and hotter than fire. 2. Cf. Qur'an, 73:13. 3. Cf. Qur'an, 22:19 f. 4. Qur'an, 40:50. 5. Qur'an, 43:77. Malik is the angel in charge of hell. 6. One of the transmitters of the tradition. 7. Qur'an, 23:106 ff. 8. i.e., Darimi, whose Musnad is frequently quoted. Tirmidhi transmitted it.

I heard God's messenger say, "I have warned you of hell, I have warned you of hell," and he kept on saying it so loudly that if he had been where I am just now the people in the street would be able to hear it. He went on till a cloak he was wearing fell down at his feet. Darimi transmitted it.

`Abdallah b. `Amr b. al-`As told that God's messenger pointed to something like a bowl and said, "If a piece of lead like this were sent from heaven to earth, which is a journey of five hundred years, it would reach the earth before night; and if it were sent from the top of the chain[*] it would travel forty years night and day before reaching its foot (or, its bottom)." *Quran; 69:32 Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Burda told on his father's authority that the Prophet said, "In jahannam there is a wadi called Habhab which every oppressor will inhabit." Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Al-Hasan said Abu Huraira told him that God's messenger said, "The sun and the moon are two oxen which will be cast away into hell on the day of resurrection." Al-Hasan asked what sin they had committed, and on receiving the reply, "I am telling you on the authority of God's messenger," al-Hasan said no more. Baihaqi transmitted it in Kitab al-ba'th wan nushur.

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "Only he who is miserable will enter hell." He was asked to whom that referred and replied, "He who has not done an act of obedience for God's sake, or left an act of disobedience undone." Ibn Majah transmitted it

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "Paradise and hell had a dispute and hell said, `I have been distinguished by the proud and mighty ones.' Paradise said, `What is the matter with me that only weak, lowly and inexperienced people enter me?' God then said to paradise, `You are only my mercy by whom I show mercy to those of my servants whom I wish;' and He said to hell, `You are only my punishment by whom I punish those of my servants whom I wish. Both of you will be full.' Hell will not be filled till God puts down His foot. `It will say, `Enough, enough, enough,' and at that time it will be full with all its parts collected together, and God will not wrong any of His creatures. For paradise God will create people." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Anas reported the Prophet as saying, "Hell will continue to have people thrown into it and ask if there are any more[*] till the Lord of might puts down His foot on it and its parts are collected together. It will then say, `Enough, enough, by Thy might and generosity.' In paradise there will continue to be more room till God creates people for it and causes them to dwell in the extra space in paradise." *Quran; 1:30 (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "It is not fitting for a man to say I am better than Jonah son of Matta." (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version by Bukhari he said, "Whoever says I am better than Jonah son of Matta has lied." Bukhari

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as telling that when God created paradise, He said to Gabriel, "Go and look at it." He went and looked at it and at what God had prepared in it for its inhabitants, then came and said, "0 my Lord, by Thy might, no one who hears of it will fail to enter it. He then surrounded it with disagreeable things and said, "Go and look at it, Gabriel." He went and looked at it, then came and said, "0 my Lord, by Thy might, I am afraid that no one will enter it." When God created hell He said, "Go and look at it, Gabriel." He went and looked at it, then came and said, "O my Lord, by Thy might, no one who hears of it will enter it." He then surrounded it with desirable things and said, "Go and look at it, Gabriel." He went and looked at it, then said, "0 my Lord, by Thy might, I am afraid that no one will remain who does not enter it." Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Nasa'i transmitted it.

Anas told that God's messenger led them in prayer one day, then mounted the pulpit and, pointing to the qibla in the mosque, said, "I have just now been shown, since I led you in prayer, paradise and hell pictured in front of this wall, and I have never seen such good and evil as I have seen to-day." Bukhari transmitted it.

I was with God's messenger when some people of Tamim came to him. He said, "Receive the good news, B. Tamim," and they replied, "You have given us good news, so grant us something." Some of the people of the Yemen then entered and he said, "Receive the good news, people of the Yemen, since the B. Tamim have not accepted it." They replied, "We have accepted it. We have come to you to become versed in the religion and to ask you about what was the beginning of this matter." He said, "God existed and there was nothing before Him, His Throne being upon the water. He then created the heavens and the earth and inscribed everything in the memorial[*]." At that point a man came to me and said, "Catch up on your she-camel, `Imran," for it had gone away. I therefore went off to look for it, but I swear by God that I wish it had been lost and that I had not got up and left. *i.e., the Preserved Tablet. Bukhari transmitted it.

`Umar told that God's messenger stood up among them and told them about the beginning of creation up to the time when the inhabitants of paradise will enter their abodes and the inhabitants of hell will enter theirs, saying that some remembered that and others forgot. Bukhari transmitted it.

Abu Huraira told that he heard God's messenger say God most high had inscribed a document before bringing the creation into being, "My mercy has preceded my anger," and that it is written in His presence above the throne. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

`A'isha reported God's messenger as saying, "The angels were created from light, the jinn from smokeless fire[1], and Adam from what has been described to you[2]." Quran; 4:13, Quran; 3:59 (dust); 15:26, 28:33; 55:14 (crackling clay). Muslim transmitted it.

Anas reported God's messenger as saying, "When God fashioned Adam in paradise, He left him as long as God wished to leave him; then Iblis began to visit him and consider what kind of being he was, and when he saw that he had a hollow space within he recognised that he had been created as a being not possessed of self-control." Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "Abraham the prophet circumcised himself with an axe[*] when he was eighty years old." *The Arabic is bil-qadum which has the meaning above. Another reading is bil-qaddum which is said to mean at al-Qaddum' (a village in Syria); but this version with the doubled letter is not considered correct. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "Abraham told only, three lies two of which were for God's sake, his words, `I am indeed sick[1],' and `Nay, this largest one of them did it[2].' One day when he and Sarah came by a tyrant who was told that there was a man present accompanied by a most beautiful woman, he sent for him and asked him who she was, to which he replied that she was his sister. He then went to Sarah and told her that if this tyrant knew she was his wife he would take her away from him, so if he asked her, she must inform him she was his sister[3], she being his sister in Islam, for he and she were the only believers on the face of the earth. She was sent for arid brought to him and Abraham stood up and prayed. When she entered his presence, he was about to touch her with his hand, but he had a seizure (a variant saying that he choked) and kicked the ground with his feet. He asked her to supplicate God for him, saying he would do her no harm, and she did so; but when he was set free, he stretched out to touch her a second time and suffered a similar or a more severe seizure. He asked her to supplicate God for him, saying he would do her no harm, and she did so. He then called one of his chamberlains, and saying that it was not a human being but a devil he had brought him, he told him to give her Hagar as a servant. She came to Abraham while he was standing in prayer, and he made a sign with his hand indicating that he was asking what had happened. She told him that God had thrown back the infidel's scheme in his throat and given Hagar as a servant." Abu Huraira said, "That was your mother, B. Ma' as-Sama'.'?[4] Quran, 37: 89. Quran, 21: 63. Cf. Genesis, 12:11 ff. This is said to be a general term for the Arabs because they sought out places where rain fell. Ma' as-sama' means literally "the water of the sky." Ma' as-sama' was a laqab of Mawiya, mother of al-Mundhir III, king of al-Hira, but it is difficult to see how that has any connection here. Ma' as sama' is also said to be applied to Zamzam, which is traditionally said to be the well which the angel revealed to Hagar and her son Ishmael. That might justify the suggestion that Abu Huraira is here referring to the northern Arabs in particular. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "We have more right to doubt than Abraham when he said, `My Lord, show me how Thou wilt raise the dead to life.'[1] God have mercy on Lot who sought refuge in a strong support[2]. If I had stayed in the prison as long as Joseph did, I would have responded to the summoner[3]." 1. Quran, 2:260. 2. Quran, 11:80 3. Quran, 12:50. (Bukhari and Muslim)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "Moses was a modest man who kept himself covered, none of his skin being seen because pf modesty. Some of the B. Isra'il annoyed him by saying that he concealed himself to this extent only because of some skin trouble such as leprosy or a scrotal hernia, but God wished to clear him. So, one day when he was alone having a bath, he placed his garment on a stone and the stone flew away with his garment. Moses raced after it saying, `My garment, stone; my garment, stone,' till he came to a company of the B. Isra'il who, seeing him naked in the most beautiful form God had created, said, `We swear by God that there is nothing wrong with Moses.' He took his garment and began to beat the stone, and I swear by God that there were three, four, or five scars on the stone from the effect of his beating." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported-God's messenger as saying, "While Job was naked having a bath some golden locusts alighted on him and Job began to gather them in his garment. His Lord called to him, `Job, have I not enriched you from what you see?' and he replied, 'Certainly, by Thy might, but I cannot dispense with Thy blessing'." Bukhari transmitted it.

He told that a man among the Muslims and a man among the Jews reviled one another. The Muslim said, "By Him who chose Muhammad above the universe," and the Jew said, "By Him who chose Moses above the universe." Thereupon the Muslim raised his hand and struck the Jew on his face, and the Jew went to the Prophet and told him what had happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet summoned the Muslim and asked him about that, and when he informed him, the Prophet said, "Do not make me superior to Moses, for mankind will swoon on the day of resurrection[1] and I shall swoon along with them. I shall be the first to recover and shall see Moses seizing the side of the Throne; and I shall not know whether he was among those who swooned and had recovered before me, or whether he was among those of whom God had made an exception." A version has "I shall not know whether he had his reckoning when he swooned on the day at at-Tur,[2] or was resurrected before me. And I do not say that anyone is more excellent than Jonah, son of Matta." In Abu Sa'id's version he said, "Do not make distinctions between the prophets." Abu Huraira's version has "Do not treat some of the prophets of God most high as superior to others." Quran, 39:68. Quran, 7:143. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Ubayy b. Ka'b reported God's messenger as saying, "The youth whom al-Khidr killed was given the nature of an infidel, and if he had lived, he would certainly have imposed on his parents insolence and unbelief[*]." *Cf. Quran, 28:80. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as saying, "The reason why al Khidr was so called was because he sat on some white waste land and it sprouted green (khadra') behind him." Bukhari transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "The angel of death came to Moses, son of Imran and told him to answer his Lord's summons, whereupon Moses gave the angel of death a blow in the eye and knocked it out. The angel then returned to God most high and said, `Thou didst send me to a servant of Thine who does not wish to die, and he has put out my eye.' God restored his eye to him and said, `Go back to my servant and ask him if it is life he wants, then tell him that if he wants life he must place his hand on an ox's back, and he will live a year for every hair which covers his hand.' [Moses] asked what would happen after that, and when he was told that he would die he said, `Let it be now without delay. My Lord, bring me within a stone's throw of the holy land'." God's messenger said, "I swear by God that if I were there, I would show you his grave beside the road at the red mound.'[*] (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Jabir reported God's messenger as saying, "The prophets were presented before me and I saw Moses of a type which resembled one of the men of Shanu'a. I saw Jesus, son of Mary, and the nearest to him in appearance whom I have seen is `Urwa b. Mas'ud. I saw Abraham, and the nearest to him in appearance whom I have seen is your companion (meaning himself). I also saw Gabriel, and the nearest to him in appearance whom I have seen is Dihya b. Khalifa." Muslim transmitted it.

Ibn `Abbas reported the Prophet as saying, "On the night when I was taken up to heaven I saw Moses, a dark, tall, curly-headed man, looking as though he were one of the men of Shanu'a. I saw Jesus, a man of medium height, reddish fair, with long hair. And I saw Malik, the guardian of hell, and the dajjal (with signs which God showed him) *. Now do not be in doubt about meeting him." *The phrase in brackets is an insertion by the transmitter who tells that God showed Muhammad miracles which the dajjal will perform (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "On the night when I was taken up to heaven, I met Moses who may be described as a lanky man with somewhat curly hair who resembled one of the men of Shanu'a; I met Jesus who was of medium height and red as though he had come out of a dimas (i.e., a hot bath); and I saw Abraham to whom I am the one among his descendants who bears the closest resemblance. I was brought two vessels, one containing milk and the other wine, and was told to take whichever oi them I wished. I took the milk and drank it and was told I had been guided to the true religion, for if I had taken the wine my people would have gone astray." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

We travelled with God's messenger between Mecca and Medina, and when we passed a wadi he asked its name. On being told it was the wadi al-Azraq he said, "I can fancy myself looking at Moses (and he mentioned something about his colour and his hair) putting two fingers in his ears, making loud supplication to God saying, `At Thy service,' while passing this wadi.'' He said: We journeyed till we came to a mountain pass and he asked its name. On being told that it was Harsha, or Lift, he said, "I can fancy myself looking at Jonah on a red she-camel with a nose-rein of palm fibre, wearing a woolen mantle and saying `At Thy service' while passing this wadi. Muslim transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported the Prophet as saying, "Recitation of Scripture was made easy for David, who would order his beasts to be saddled and recite the Scripture before they had been saddled; and he would eat only what his hands had earned.'' Bukhari transmitted it.

He reported the Prophet as saying, "There were two women both of whom had a son, and a wolf went off with the son of one of them. Her companion said, `It has gone off with your son,' but the other replied, `It is with your son it has gone off.' They took the case before David and he decided that the child belonged to the elder. They then went out to Solomon, son of David and told him, and he said, `Bring me, a knife and let me divide it between you.' The younger woman then said, `Don't do it, God have mercy on you; He is her son.' So, he decided that the child belonged to the younger woman.'' (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as telling that Solomon said, "I shall to-night visit ninety women (a version has a hundred) all of whom will give birth to a horseman who will fight in God's path." The angel told him to say, "If God will," but he forgot and did not say it. He visited them and none of them bore a child except one of them who gave birth to half a man. He added, "By Him in whose hand Muhammad's soul is, if he had said, `If God will,' they would all have striven as horsemen in God's path." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying that Zechariah was a carpenter. Muslim transmitted it.

He reported God's messenger as saying, "I am the nearest of kin to Jesus, son of Mary in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers, sons of one father by co-wives. Their mothers are different, but their religion is one[*]. There has been no prophet between us." *This saying is explained as meaning that all prophets have the same religion, which is figuratively called their lather, but they differ in their law and in a number of regulations, these being figuratively called their mothers. Cf. Mirqat, 5:346. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "All the descendants of Adam have their sides pierced by the devil with two of his fingers at birth, except the son of Mary. He went to pierce him, but pierced the membrane covering him." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Musa reported the Prophet as saying, "Many men have been perfect, but among women only Mary the daughter of `Imran and Asiya the wife of Pharaoh were perfect; and `A'isha's superiority over women is like the superiority of tharid over other kinds of food." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

He reported God's messenger as saying, "Adam was sixty cubits tall and seven cubits broad."

Abu Razin told that he asked God's messenger, "Where was our Lord before He created the creation?" to which he replied, "He was in obscurity ('ama') with no air below Him and no air above Him, and He created His Throne on the water." Tirmidhi transmitted it. Yazid b. Harun[1] said `ama' means that there was nothing with Him[2]. Al-Wasiti (d.206), a highly estimated authority who appears in the course of the isnad. The word 'ama' presents difficulty. It commonly means `clouds', but this is felt to be inappropriate here unless figuratively in the sense of God being veiled. It is suggested that this means it is a matter which the mind cannot grasp. Cf. Mirqat, 5:349.

Al- `Abbas b. `Abd al-Muttalib asserted that he was sitting in al Batha'[*] with a company among whom God's messenger was sitting when a cloud passed. They looked at it and God's messenger asked, "What do you call this?" and received the reply "Clouds (sahab)." He said, "And rain-clouds (muzn)," to which they agreed. He said, "And clouds (`aman)," to which they agreed. He asked, "Do you know the distance between heaven and earth?" and when they replied that they did not, he said, "The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years, the heaven which is above it is at a similar distance (going on till he counted seven heavens). Above the seventh heaven there is a sea the distance between whose surface and bottom is like that between one heaven and the next. Above that there are eight mountain goats the distance between whose hoofs and haunches is like that between one heaven and the next. On their backs is the Throne the extent of which from top to bottom is like the distance between one heaven and the next. Then God is above that." *A stony valley at Mecca. Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Jubair b. Mut'im told that a nomadic Arab came to God's messenger and said, "People are suffering distress, the children are hungry, the crops are withered and the animals are perishing, so ask God to grant us rain, for we seek you as our intercessor with God and God as our intercessor with you." Thereupon the Prophet said, "Glory be to God, glory be to God," and he continued declaring God's glory till the effect of that was apparent in the faces of his companions. He then said, "Woe to you! God is not to be sought as intercessor with anyone. God's state is greater than that. Woe to you! Do you know how great God is? His Throne is above the heavens thus (indicating with his fingers something like a dome over him), and it groans on account of Him as a saddle does because of the rider." Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Jabir b. `Abdallah reported God's messenger as saying, "I have been permitted to tell about one of God's angels who bear the Throne that the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years." Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Zurara b. Aufa told that God's messenger asked Gabriel, "Have you seen your Lord?" Gabriel trembled and replied, "Between Him and me, Muhammad, there are seventy veils of light, and if I approached one of them I would be burned." Thus, it is given in al-Masabih. Abu Nu'aim transmitted it in al-Hilya on the authority of Anas, but did not mention that Gabriel trembled.

Ibn `Abbas reported God's messenger as saying, "God created Israfil who has been keeping his feet in line from the day he was created and not raising his glance. Between him and the Lord who is blessed and exalted there are seventy lights not one of which he could approach without being burned." Tirmidhi transmitted it and called it sahih.

Jabir reported the Prophet as saying that when God created Adam and his offspring the angels said, "O Lord, Thou hast created them eating, drinking, marrying and riding[*], so appoint the world for them and the next world for us." God most high replied, "I shall not make him whom I have created with My hand and in whom I have breathed of My spirit like one to whom I say `Be' and he comes into existence." *Mirqat, 5:333, says this refers to riding on animals and sailing on ships. The verb rakiba can have either meaning. Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-lman.

Abu Huraira reported God's messenger as saying, "A believer is held by God in more honour than some of His angels." Ibn Majah transmitted it.