“On the Day when Allah gathers the messengers and asks, ‘What answer were you given?’ they will say, ‘We have no knowledge. Surely You alone are the Knower of the unseen.’ ⦗109⦘ [Al-Māʾidah 5:109].

And He, exalted is He, says: “We shall surely question those to whom messengers were sent, and We shall surely question the messengers themselves. Then We shall relate to them with full knowledge, for We were never absent.” ⦗6-7⦘ [Al-Aʿrāf 7:6-7].

And He says: “The weighing on that Day will be true. Whoever’s scales are heavy—it is they who will prosper; and whoever’s scales are light—it is they who have ruined themselves for having wronged Our signs.” ⦗8-9⦘ [Al-Aʿrāf 7:8-9].

And He says: “By your Lord, We shall surely question them all about what they used to do.” ⦗92-93⦘ [Al-Ḥijr 15:92-93].

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā said: Ḥamzah ibn al-ʿAbbās narrated to us; ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUthmān narrated to us; Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us; Rishdīn ibn Saʿd narrated to us; he informed me from Ibn Anʿum al-Maʿāfirī, from Ḥibbān ibn Abī Jabalah, with an isnād reaching the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

“When Allah gathers His servants on the Day of Resurrection, the first to be summoned will be Isrāfīl. His Lord will say to him, ‘What did you do with My covenant—did you convey it?’ He will reply, ‘Yes, my Lord, I conveyed it to Jibrīl.’ Then Jibrīl will be called and asked, ‘Did Isrāfīl convey My covenant to you?’ He will answer, ‘Yes, he conveyed it to me,’ and Isrāfīl will be dismissed.

“Jibrīl will then be asked, ‘Did you convey My covenant?’ He will say, ‘Yes, I conveyed it to the messengers.’ The messengers will be summoned and asked, ‘Did Jibrīl convey My covenant to you?’ They will reply, ‘Yes,’ and Jibrīl will be dismissed.

“Next it will be said to the messengers, ‘What did you do with My covenant?’ They will answer, ‘We delivered it to our nations.’ The nations will be summoned and asked, ‘Did the messengers convey My covenant to you?’ Some will deny and others will affirm.

“The messengers will say, ‘We have witnesses who will testify for us that we truly conveyed Your covenant.’ He will ask, ‘Who will testify for you?’ They will say, ‘The nation of Ahmad, peace and blessings be upon him.’

“He will ask them, ‘Do you bear witness that these messengers of Mine conveyed My covenant to those to whom they were sent?’ They will say, ‘Yes, our Lord, we bear witness that they did convey it.’ The nations will protest, ‘How can they testify against us when they never met us?’ The Lord, exalted be He, will say to them, ‘How do you testify about those you did not meet?’ They will reply, ‘Our Lord, You sent a messenger to us and revealed to us Your covenant and Your Book, in which You informed us that they had indeed conveyed it; so we testified in accordance with the trust You laid upon us.’ The Lord will say, ‘They have spoken the truth.’ That is His word: “Thus We have made you a middle nation so that you may be witnesses over mankind and so that the Messenger may be a witness over you.” [Al-Baqarah 2:143]. (1)

Ibn Anʿum said: “I have learnt that the nation of Muhammad will testify, except for anyone who harboured rancour (1) toward his brother (2).”

[The discourse of the Lord, exalted is He, with Adam, peace be upon him]

Imam Aḥmad said: Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd narrated to us; ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad narrated to us, from Thawr, from Abū al-Ghayth, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“The first to be called on the Day of Resurrection will be Adam. It will be said, ‘This is your father Adam.’ He will say, ‘My Lord, here I am at Your service and all good is in Your hands.’ He will be told by our Lord, exalted be He, ‘Bring forth the portion of Hell from your descendants.’ He will ask, ‘My Lord, how many?’ He will answer, ‘Out of every hundred, ninety-nine.’” We said, “O Messenger of Allah, what do you think if ninety-nine are taken from us…?”