—a lengthy narration—in which he said:

“Allah will meet the servant and say, ‘O so-and-so (1), did I not honour you, give you authority, marry you to women, place horses and camels at your service, and allow you to command and live at ease?’

He will reply, ‘Yes, my Lord.’

He will say, ‘Did you ever think that you would meet Me?’

He will reply, ‘No.’

He will say, ‘Then today I forget you just as you forgot Me.’

“Then He will meet the second and say, ‘O so-and-so, did I not honour you, marry you, grant you leadership, place horses and camels at your service, and allow you to rule and prosper?’

He will reply, ‘Yes, my Lord.’

He will say, ‘Did you ever think that you would meet Me?’

He will reply, ‘No.’

He will say, ‘Then today I forget you just as you forgot Me.’

“Then He will meet the third and address him in the same way. The man will say, ‘My Lord, I believed in You, in Your Book, and in Your Messenger; I prayed, fasted, and gave charity,’ and he will praise himself with whatever good he can.

Allah will say, ‘Then remain here.’

The narrator continued: “It will then be said, ‘Now We shall raise a witness against you.’ He will think to himself, ‘Who will testify against me?’ His mouth will be sealed, and it will be said to his thigh, his flesh, and his bones, ‘Speak!’ So his thigh, his flesh, and his bones will speak of his deeds, whatever they were—so that he may have no excuse to offer. That is the hypocrite, the one upon whom Allah is angry.

“After that a herald will call out, ‘Let every nation follow what it used to worship.’” (2)

The full wording of this ḥadith will appear later.

Al-Bazzar also narrated—from ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Zuhri, from Malik ibn Suʿayr ibn al-Khums, from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Ṣāliḥ—that Abū Hurayrah and Abū Saʿid, may Allah be pleased with them both, attributed it to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and mentioned the same up to the words: “Today I forget you just as you forgot Me.”

Muslim and al-Bayhaqi—this wording is al-Bayhaqi’s—transmitted it through Sufyan al-Thawri, from ʿUbayd al-Maktab, from Fuḍayl ibn ʿAmr, from ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbi, from Anas ibn Malik, who said:

“We were with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he laughed and asked, ‘Do you know what made me laugh?’ We said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘It is the conversation between a servant and his Lord on the Day of Resurrection. The servant will say, “My Lord, did You not protect me from oppression?” He will say, “Indeed.” The servant will say, “Then I will accept no witness against myself except from my own self.” Allah will say, “Sufficient is your own self today as a reckoner against you, and the noble recording angels as witnesses.”’”

The narrator added: “His mouth will then be sealed, and it will be said to his limbs, ‘Speak!’ They will speak of his deeds. He will then be allowed to speak and will say, ‘Away with you and destruction! It was for your sake that I used to contend.’” (3)

Abū Yaʿlā said: Zuhayr narrated to us, Ḥasan narrated to us, Ibn Luhayʿah narrated to us, from Darrāj, from Abū al-Haytham, from Abū Saʿid, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said:

“On the Day of Resurrection the disbeliever will be confronted with his deeds. He will deny and dispute them. It will be said, ‘These are your neighbours; they testify against you.’ He will say, ‘They are lying.’ It will be said, ‘Your family and your clan.’ He will say, ‘They are lying.’ It will be said, ‘Take an oath, then.’ They will swear, and Allah will thereupon silence them, and their tongues will testify, after which He will enter them into the Fire.” (4)