665 — Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd also narrated to us, saying: Ahmad ibn Hafs ibn Abd Allah narrated to us, saying: My father informed me, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Tahmān narrated to us, from Simāk, 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:

“A cloud passed over the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and he asked, ‘Do you know what this is?’

“We replied, ‘A cloud.’

“He asked, ‘Or a rain cloud?’

“We replied, ‘Or a rain cloud.’

“He asked, ‘Or a canopy?’

“We replied, ‘Or a canopy.’

“He then asked, ‘Do you know the distance between heaven and earth?’

“We replied, ‘No.’

“He said: ⦗1090⦘ ‘Seventy-one, seventy-two, or seventy-three years. The heaven above it is likewise’—until he had counted seven heavens in this manner—‘then above the seventh heaven is the sea, the distance from its bottom to its surface being like the distance from one heaven to the next. Above it 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 the Throne is above that, and Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He—is above the Throne.’”