361 — Al-Firyābī also informed us, saying: Safwān ibn Sālih informed us, saying: Al-Walīd ibn Muslim informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Abū al-Tufayl ʿĀmir ibn Wāthila, who said: I heard ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd say:

“The wretched person is one who was wretched in his mother’s womb, while the blessed person is one who takes heed from the fate of others.”

I said, “May Satan be disgraced! Is a person made blessed or wretched before he has performed any deeds?” I then went to Hudhayfa ibn Asīd al-Ghifārī and related to him what ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd had said. He replied, “Shall I not tell you what I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say?” ⦗781⦘ I said, “Yes.” He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say:

“When the sperm-drop has remained in the womb for forty-two mornings, the angel charged with the wombs comes and forms its flesh, bones, hearing, and sight. He then says, ‘My Lord, wretched or blessed?’ Your Lord decrees concerning it whatever He wills, and the angel writes it down. He then says, ‘My Lord, male or female?’ Your Lord decrees whatever He wills, and the angel writes it down. He then mentions its provision, lifespan, and deeds in the same manner. The angel then departs with his record, having neither added anything to it nor omitted anything from it.”