Thereafter we shall relate the events that followed, down to our own age, recounting the tribulations (fitan), the great battles (malāḥim), and the portents of the Hour. We shall then speak of the resurrection and the rising of mankind, the terrors of the Day of Judgment, and describe that scene—what it contains and the momentous happenings that will unfold. Next comes a portrayal of Hellfire, followed by a depiction of the gardens of Paradise and the exquisite bounties they contain, together with all matters connected to them. On each topic we shall cite what has come to us from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the transmitted reports judged acceptable by the scholars—the heirs of the prophets—who draw from the lamp of the chosen Muḥammadan prophethood; upon the one who brought it be the most excellent blessings and peace.
From the Isra’īliyyāt we will quote only what the Lawgiver has permitted—reports that do not contradict the Book of Allah, exalted is He, or the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him. These belong to the class that is neither affirmed nor denied; they merely expand a concise statement in our sources or attach a name to someone left unnamed in our law, though such identification yields us no real benefit. We include them merely for adornment, not out of need or reliance.
Our sole foundation is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah—reports whose transmission is sound or at least acceptable; whenever a narration is weak, we shall point that out. In Allah we seek help, upon Him we depend, and there is no power and no strength except through Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise, the Most High, the Most Great.
Allah, exalted is He, has said in His Book:
“Thus We relate to you some of the accounts of those who have gone before, and We have given you from Us a reminder.” (20:99)
Allah indeed narrated to His Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—the story of what has already passed: the creation of creatures, the chronicles of bygone nations, how He treated His allies, and what He inflicted upon His enemies. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, clarified these matters for his community with a complete and healing exposition. In every chapter we shall present what has reached us from him, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, alongside the pertinent verses. He informed us of what we need in this regard and left aside what brings no benefit—subjects over which groups among the scholars of the People of the Book may dispute, though most people have no need for them. Some of our own scholars have also quoted such material at length, but we shall neither emulate nor follow them. We will mention only a small portion, in abridged form, making clear what therein is true by virtue of its harmony with what we possess, and rejecting whatever conflicts with it.
As for the ḥadīth related by al-Bukhārī—may Allah have mercy on him—in his Ṣaḥīḥ from [ʿAbd Allāh ibn] ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ