663 — Abū Hafs Umar ibn Ayyūb al-Saqatī also narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Sulaymān Luwayn narrated to us, saying: al-Walīd ibn Abī Thawr narrated to us, from Simāk ibn Harb, from Abd Allah ibn Umayrah, from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, from al-Abbās ibn Abd al-Muttalib—may Allah have mercy on him—who said:

“I was sitting at al-Bathā among a group that included the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—when a cloud passed over them. He looked at it and asked them, ‘Do you know what this is called?’

“They replied, ‘Yes. It is called a cloud.’

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘And a rain cloud.’

“They replied, ‘And a rain cloud.’

“He said, ‘And a canopy.’ He then asked, ‘Do you know the distance between heaven and earth?’

“They replied, ‘No.’

“He said, ‘Indeed, ⦗1088⦘ the distance from the earth to heaven is either seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years. The heaven above it is likewise, until he had counted seven heavens. He then said: Above the seventh heaven is a sea, the distance between its bottom and its surface being like the distance from one heaven to the next. Above that are eight mountain goats, and the distance between their cloven hooves and their knees is like the distance from one heaven to the next. Then Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He—is above that.’”

664 — Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd also narrated to us, saying: Abbād ibn Yaqub al-Rawājinī narrated to us, saying: al-Walīd ibn Abī Thawr informed us, from Simāk ibn Harb, from Abd Allah ⦗1089⦘ ibn Umayrah, from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, from al-Abbās ibn Abd al-Muttalib, who said:

“We were sitting at al-Bathā among a group that included the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—when a cloud passed by. He looked at it…” And he related the hadith in full.