1009 – ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The first matter to be judged between people on the Day of Resurrection will concern blood-shed.” Agreed upon. (1)

Lexical notes
• awwal (first) is the subject, while the predicate is fī al-dimāʾ (concerning blood). This in no way conflicts with the statement, “The first thing for which a servant will be called to account is his prayer,” for prayer involves Allah’s right, whereas blood-shed involves the rights of human beings.

Points derived from the ḥadith
1 – The narration underscores the gravity of human life: it is mentioned first on the Day of Resurrection only because it is more serious and weightier than any other violation of people’s rights.
Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd said, “The ḥadith magnifies the matter of blood-shed, for what is dealt with first is what is most important, and this truly deserves that rank. Sins grow in severity according to the harm they inflict or the benefits they squander; destroying the human frame is among the gravest harms, and after disbelief in Allah nothing should be considered more heinous.”

2 – It affirms the Day of Resurrection, the reckoning, the judgment and the recompense that will occur therein.

3 – This ḥadith does not contradict the report collected by the compilers of the Sunan from Abū Hurayrah, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The first thing a servant will be called to account for is his prayer,” for the present ḥadith concerns the servant’s dealings with other created beings, whereas the ḥadith about prayer concerns what relates to the Creator’s rights. Undoubtedly, the greatest of people’s mutual rights is blood, and the greatest of Allah’s rights upon a Muslim is the prayer.