and the heavens will be in His right hand, whereupon He will proclaim, “I am the King.” (1)
He (2) said: Saʿid related it from Mālik.
Mālik has also narrated in his al-Muwaṭṭaʾ (3) through Zayd ibn Aslam, from ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who reported from Muslim ibn Yasār al-Juhanī, that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was asked about this (4) verse:
“And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants and made them testify about themselves, saying, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They replied, ‘Yes indeed, we testify’…” (5).
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) questioned about it, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) responded:
“Allah—Blessed and Exalted—created Adam, then He passed His right hand over his back and drew forth from him offspring. He said, ‘I have created these for Paradise, and they will act with the deeds of the people of Paradise.’ He then passed [His hand] over his back again and drew forth other offspring, and He said, ‘I have created these for the Fire, and they will act with the deeds of the people of the Fire.’”
A man asked, “O Messenger of Allah, then what is the role of deeds?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied:
“When Allah—Blessed and Exalted—creates a servant for Paradise, He employs him in the deeds of the people of Paradise until he dies while engaged in one of the deeds of the people of Paradise (6); and when He creates a servant for the Fire, He employs him in the deeds of the people of the Fire, until…"