the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—saying:

“Allah will gather all His servants and will call out to them with a voice that is heard by the one who is far just as it is heard by the one who is near: ‘I am the King, I am the Judge.’”

He also narrated (1)—through ʿIkrimah—from Abu Hurayrah, tracing it back (2) to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—who said:

“When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in humble submission to His word, and it sounds like a chain striking a smooth stone (3),

‘until, when fear is lifted from their hearts, they say, “What has your Lord said?” They reply, “The truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.”’ (4)”

He (5) later, several chapters on, said: Chapter: The statement of Allah, the Exalted,

‘Every day He is upon some affair’ (6),

‘No reminder from their Lord comes to them but that it is new’ (7),

and His saying,

‘Perhaps Allah will bring about after that a matter’ (8),

asserting that His speech does not resemble the happenings of created beings, for He says,

‘There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.’ (9)