in death—and that is exactly what happened, for these words were spoken during his final illness. He also declared that he would be a witness over them, even though his departure would precede theirs, and he announced that he had been given the keys to the treasuries of the earth; that is, the lands would be opened to him, as has been related in the earlier ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah. Abū Hurayrah said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has gone, and you are conquering them piece by piece—meaning land after land.”
He further informed them that his Companions would never fall into idolatry after him, and so it proved—praise and bounty belong to Allah. What he did fear for them was rivalry over worldly gain, and this indeed arose in the time of ʿAlī and Muʿāwiyah, may Allah be pleased with them both, and among those who came after them, right up to our own day.
Al-Bukhārī then said: “ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us; Azhar ibn Saʿd informed us; Ibn ʿAwn informed us; Mūsā ibn Anas ibn Mālik told me, from Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ missed Thābit ibn Qays. A man said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I can bring you news of him.’ He went to him and found him sitting in his house with his head lowered. He asked, ‘What is the matter with you?’ Thābit replied, ‘Something grievous: I used to raise my voice above the voice of the Prophet ﷺ, and my deeds have therefore come to nothing; I am one of the people of the Fire.’ The man returned and reported what he had said. Mūsā continued: ‘He went back a second time bearing a tremendous glad tiding and said, “Go to him and tell him: You are not of the people of the Fire; rather, you are of the people of Paradise.”’” (1)
Al-Bukhārī alone records this report.
Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shamās was later martyred at the Battle of al-Yamāmah, as will be detailed below.
In the same way, an authentic ḥadīth conveys the glad tidings given to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām that he would die upon Islam and be among the people of Paradise. Indeed, he—may Allah be pleased with him—passed away in the best and most beautiful of conditions, and people testified to his place in Paradise even during his lifetime, because the Truthful Prophet ﷺ had informed them that he would die upon Islam; and so it happened.
The sound collections likewise contain the Prophet’s statement concerning the Ten Promised Companions (3) that they are among the people of Paradise. Moreover, it is authentically reported that he ﷺ said, “No one who pledged allegiance beneath the tree (4) shall ever enter the Fire,” and they numbered one thousand four hundred.