a crowd gathered around him. He asked, “Who is this?” They replied, “Abū Hurayra.” He said, “I approached him and sat before him as he addressed the people. Whenever he fell silent and was free, I said to him, ‘I solemnly implore you, by right and by right, to relate to me a hadith you heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, which you understood and retained.’”

Abū Hurayra said, “I shall. I will certainly relate to you a hadith that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me in this very house, which I understood and retained.” Then Abū Hurayra was overcome and remained silent for a little while. When he recovered, he said, “I will certainly relate to you a hadith that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me in this very house, when no one was with us but he and I.”

Then Abū Hurayra was overcome again and lowered his head until he recovered. He wiped his face and said, “I shall. I will certainly relate to you a hadith that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me in this very house, when no one was with us but he and I.” Then Abū Hurayra was severely overcome and fell forward onto his face. His distress remained intense for a long time. When he recovered, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told me:

“On the Day of Resurrection, Allah—Exalted is He—will descend to His servants to judge between them, while every nation kneels. The first to be summoned will be a man who learned the Quran, a man who was killed in Allah’s cause, and a man possessed of great wealth who gave much in charity.

“Allah Most High will say to the reciter, ‘Did I not teach you what I revealed to My Messenger?’ He will reply, ‘Yes, my Lord.’ He will ask, ‘What did you do with what you learned?’ He will reply, ‘I used to recite it in prayer during the hours of the night and day.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say to him, ‘You have lied.’ Then Allah will say to him, ‘You wanted it to be said, “So-and-so is a reciter,” and that has already been said.’

“The wealthy man will be brought forward, and Allah will say to him, ‘Did I not give you abundantly, so that you had no need of anyone?’ He will reply, ‘Yes, my Lord.’ He will ask, ‘What did you do with what I gave you?’ He will reply, ‘I used to maintain ties of kinship and give charity.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say to him, ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say to him, ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said, “So-and-so is generous,” and that has already been said.’

“The man who was killed in Allah’s cause will be brought forward and asked, ‘For what were you killed?’ He will reply, ‘I was commanded to fight in Your cause, so I fought until I was killed.’ Allah will say to him, ‘You have lied,’ and the angels will say to him, ‘You have lied.’ Allah will say to him, ‘Rather, you wanted it to be said, “So-and-so is brave,” and that has already been said.’”

Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ struck his knees and said, “O Abū Hurayra, those three will be the first of creation with whom will be kindled