a man from the Anṣār. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him: “O Angel of Death, treat my companion gently, for he is a believer.”

The Angel of Death replied, “O Muḥammad, be at ease and rejoice, for I am gentle with every believer. Know that there is not a single dwelling of clay or of hair, whether on land or at sea, without my reviewing its occupants (1) five times each day. I am so familiar with their young and their old that I know them better than they know themselves. By Allah, O Muḥammad, if I wished to seize the soul of even a gnat, I could not do so until Allah commands me to take it.”

Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad said—meaning, ‘he has spoken the truth.’ It has reached me that he reviews them at the times of the prescribed prayers; then, when death is present, if the dying person was one who guarded his prayers, the Angel draws near, drives Satan away, and prompts him: “There is no god but Allah; Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah” at that momentous hour (2).

This ḥadīth is mursal, and there is some discussion about it.

We have already cited, in the ḥadīth of the Trumpet, the narration transmitted through Ismāʿīl ibn Rāfiʿ al-Madani the storyteller, from Muḥammad ibn Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād (3), from Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, from Abū Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in full. In it occurs:

Allah commands Isrāfīl to sound the Blast of the Swoon, and he blows it; all who are in the heavens and on the earth are stricken, save those Allah wills. When they have perished, the Angel of Death comes to the All-Compelling ﷿ and says: “My Lord, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth have died, except those You willed.” Allah—though He knows best who remains—asks, “Who is left?” He replies, “You, the Ever-Living who never dies; the bearers of Your Throne; Gabriel; and Michael.” He says, “Let Gabriel and Michael die.” Allah then causes the Throne to speak, and it says: “My Lord, will Gabriel and Michael die?” He replies, “Be silent, for I have decreed death for everyone beneath My Throne.” So they die.

The Angel of Death returns to the All-Compelling ﷿ and says, “My Lord, Gabriel and Michael have died.” Allah—though He knows best who remains—asks, “Who is left?” He answers, “You, the Ever-Living who never dies; the bearers of Your Throne; and I remain.” He says, “Let the bearers of My Throne die,” and they die. Allah then commands the Throne, and it takes up the Trumpet from Isrāfīl.

The Angel of Death returns and says, “My Lord, the bearers of Your Throne have died.” Allah—though He knows best who remains—asks, “Who is left?” He replies, “You, the Ever-Living who never dies; and I remain.” Allah says, “You are a creature among My creatures; I created you for what I willed. Die,” and he dies.

Thus none remains save Allah—the One, the Subduer, the Unique, the Self-Sufficient, who neither begets nor is begotten and to whom none is comparable—so He is the Last even as He was the First… He then related the remainder of the ḥadīth in full. It was recorded by al-Ṭabarānī.