al-Ghifārī, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“The first person who will enter through this door is a man of the people of Paradise.”

Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ then came in (1).

Abū Yaʿlā said: Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us; [ʿAbd Allah] (2) ibn Qays al-Raqāshī al-Kharrāz of Baṣrah narrated to us; Ayyūb narrated to us, from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said:

“We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he said, ‘A man of the people of Paradise will now come in through this door.’ Every one of us hoped that the man would be someone from his own household, and then Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ appeared (3).”

Ḥarmalah reported: from Ibn Wahb, who said: Ḥaywah informed me; ʿAqīl informed me; from Ibn Shihāb; he said: someone whose reliability I do not doubt related to me, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

“While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said, ‘A man of the people of Paradise is about to appear before you.’ Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ then emerged. The next day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the same, and Saʿd again appeared, in the same order as before. On the third day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ repeated the statement, and once more he appeared in that same order.

“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ left, ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ rose and went to Saʿd (4) and said, ‘I have quarreled with my father and sworn not to go to him for three nights. If you would allow me to stay with you until my oath is fulfilled, please do so.’

“Anas continued: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr claimed that he spent a night with him. When dawn approached he noticed that Saʿd did not get up for any extra worship that night; rather, whenever he turned over on his bed he would remember Allah and magnify Him until he rose for Fajr. When he prayed the prescribed prayer he performed a careful, complete wuḍūʾ, and then he passed the day without fasting.

“ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr said: I observed him for three nights and their days and found that he did no more than this, yet I never heard him speak anything but good. When the three nights had passed and I was on the verge of belittling his deeds, I said, ‘In fact there was no anger or estrangement between my father and me. Rather, I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on three separate occasions, in three gatherings, say, “A man of the people of Paradise will appear before you,” and each time it was you who appeared. I therefore wished to stay with you so that I might see what you do and follow your example, hoping thereby to attain what you have attained. I have not seen you engage in many deeds, so what is it that has raised you to the rank mentioned by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’

“He replied, ‘It is nothing more than what you have already seen.’

“So I left, but he called me back and said, ‘It is nothing more than what you have seen—except that I bear no ill-will toward any Muslim, I intend no harm for him, and I utter no evil about him.’

“I said, ‘That is what has raised you to that rank, and it is something I cannot manage (5).’”