A Man From Paradise

‛Abdullah ibn ‛Amr ibn al-‛Aas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), was a revered companion of the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). ‛Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) belonged to Banu Sahm, a clan of the tribe of Quraish. He embraced Islam when he was only ten years old and migrated to Madinah soon afterwards. His father, ‛Amr ibn al-‛Aas (may Allah be pleased with him), embraced Islam in 8 AH (After the Hijrah), before the conquest of Makkah. ‛Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was a scholar of both the Torah and Qur'an and called Qaariul-Kitaabayn (The Reader of the Two Books). He remembered more Ahadeeth of the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) than other Companions (may Allah be pleased with the all) because he used to write them down. His collection of Ahadeeth is known as Sahifah Saadiqah. He was known for his piety, learning and teaching. He took part in the battles of Hunayn, Tabuk and Yamamah. He died at the age of 70 (may Allah be pleased with him).


Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, "One day while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he said, 'Now there will come before you a man of Paradise? "Soon one of the men from the Ansaar entered, shoes in hand, water from ablution dripping from his beard. "The next day, the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said the same thing. Then we saw the same person we had seen the previous day, in the same condition. On the third day, the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) again said the same thing. We again saw the same Ansaari man enter, carrying shoes in his hand, water dripping from his beard.

When the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had left, ‛Abdullah ibn ‛Amr ibn al-‛Aas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) followed the Ansaari man and said to him, "I have quarreled with my father and swore I would not go to him for three days. Will you please let me stay with you for three days?"

The Ansaari man (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "Alright, you may."

"‛Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that he spent three nights with the person, 'I discovered that he did not get up at any time in the night for prayers (for Tahajud). Yes, I saw that whenever he woke up and turned on his side in his bed, he would remember Allah and say the Takbeer (Allahu Akbar). Then he would rise up for the dawn (Fajr) prayer. I also noted that he would only utter good words. 'When three nights had passed and I was almost sure he did nothing deserving special praise, I said to him, "O slave of Allah, I have no quarrel with my father but I heard Allah's Messenger (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, 'Now there will come before you a man of Paradise,' and each time it was you who came up before us. So I thought I should stay with you to see what act of yours I should emulate and gain reward. What is that act which made the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mention you in this manner?"

The Ansaari man (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "I do no more than what you have seen."

"‛Abdullah ibn ‛Amr ibn al-‛Aas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said that when he had risen up and left him, the Ansaari man (may Allah be pleased with him) called him back and said, 'I do just what you've seen. I do no more. But I do not hold anything against any Muslim and I do not envy anyone anything good Allah has given him." "Then, ‛Abdullah ibn ‛Amr ibn al-‛Aas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) remarked, 'That's what has elevated you (to that position) and that's what we are incapable of.'"