(1) Reported by Muslim, no. 2654, in the Book of Qadar, “Chapter: Allah directs the hearts as He wills,” and by Ahmad, 2/168, on the authority of Abd Allah b. Amr b. al-As, who said that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “The hearts of all the descendants of Adam are between two fingers of the Most-Merciful, as if they were a single heart; He turns them wherever He wills.” The Prophet ﷺ then added: “O Allah, Controller of the hearts, turn our hearts toward Your obedience.” Additional chains are found: at-Tirmidhi, no. 2140 (Book of Qadar); Ibn Majah, no. 3834 (Book of Supplication); and Ahmad, 3/112, 257—on the authority of Anas—who related that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ frequently said: “O Allah, keep my heart firm upon Your religion.” A man asked, “O Messenger of Allah, do You fear for us even though we have believed in you and affirmed what you have brought?” He replied, “The hearts are between two fingers of the Most-Merciful; He turns them as He wills.” The same wording is also transmitted by Ibn Majah, no. 199 (Introduction), and by Ahmad, 4/182, through the narration of an-Nawwas b. Samʿan. (2) Reported by al-Bukhari, nos. 4811 (Tafsir) and 7414, 7415, 7451, 7513; by Muslim, no. 2786 (Book on the Traits of the Hypocrites); by at-Tirmidhi, no. 3239 (Tafsir); and by Ahmad, 1/457, on the authority of Abd Allah b. Masʿud: A Jewish scholar came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Muhammad! On the Day of Resurrection Allah will place the heavens upon one finger, the earths upon one finger, the mountains and trees upon one finger, the water and soil upon one finger, and all other creatures upon one finger; then He will shake them and say: ‘I am the King, I am the King!’ ” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ laughed out of amazement at the scholar’s words, affirming them. He then recited: “They have not appraised Allah with a true appraisal. The whole earth will be in His grasp on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand. Exalted is He above what they associate with Him” (Quran 39:67). A parallel report from Abd Allah b. Abbas appears in at-Tirmidhi, no. 3240. (3) Reported by Muslim, no. 179 (Book of Faith); Ibn Majah, nos. 195–196 (Introduction); and Ahmad, 4/400–401, on the authority of Abu Musa al-Ashʿari: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us with five statements, saying, “Allah, the Exalted, does not sleep, nor is it fitting for Him to sleep. He lowers the Scale and raises it. The deeds of the night are presented to Him before the deeds of the day, and the deeds of the day before the deeds of the night. His veil is light; were He to remove it, the splendor of His face would burn everything His sight reaches among His creation.” Regarding “He lowers the Scale,” some explained “Scale” (qist) as the Balance itself; others understood it as the allotted provision (rizq) of every creature, which He sometimes constricts and sometimes expands. “The splendor of His face” refers to His light, majesty, and magnificence. (4) Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 2826 (Book of Jihad); Muslim, no. 1890 (Book of Leadership); Malik, al-Muwattaʾ, 2/460; al-Nasaʾi, 6/38–39; and Ibn Majah, no. 191, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah ﵁: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah laughs at two men: one kills the other, yet both enter Paradise.” The Companions asked, “How is that, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “One fights in the path of Allah and is martyred; then Allah turns in mercy to the killer, who embraces Islam, fights in the path of Allah, and is martyred.”