the reckoning and the entry into Paradise, as is established in the sound collections: this community will be the very first of all nations to enter Paradise, and Muḥammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—will be the first for whom the gate of Paradise is opened. The reason is that although the Scripture reached us after it had been given to them, Allah guided us concerning the point over which they differed—the festival that precedes the other two—so our righteous deeds took place before theirs. Because we outstripped them in guidance and in righteous action, we have been made to outstrip them in the reward for those deeds.
Anyone who insists that the particle bi-yad here means “other than” has ventured far from the truth.
Seventh proof from the Sunnah: Kuraib, the freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), narrated: “Ibn ʿAbbās, together with a number of the Prophet’s Companions (peace and blessings be upon him), sent me to Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) to ask her: ‘Which days did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fast most often?’ She replied, ‘He used to fast on Saturday and Sunday more than on any other days, and he would say, “They are festival days for the idolaters, and I prefer to differ from them.”’