Qatadah said: I also heard him say: “I will go out and bring them forth from the Fire, and admit them into Paradise. Then I will return and seek permission to enter upon my Lord in His abode, and permission will be granted to me. When I see Him, I will fall in prostration, and He will leave me thus for as long as Allah wills. Then He will say: ‘Raise your head, Muhammad. Speak, and you will be heard; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted; ask, and you will be given.’” He said: “I will raise my head and praise my Lord with praises and glorification that He will teach me. Then I will intercede, and He will specify for me a number. I will go out and admit them into Paradise.

“Then I will return a third time and seek permission to enter upon my Lord in His abode, and permission will be granted to me. When I see Him, I will fall in prostration, and He will leave me thus for as long as Allah wills. Then He will say: ‘Raise your head, Muhammad. Speak, and you will be heard; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted; ask, and you will be given.’” He said: “I will raise my head and praise my Lord with praises and glorification that He will teach me. Then I will intercede, and He will specify for me a number. I will go out and admit them into Paradise.” (1)

Qatadah said: I also heard him say: “I will go out and bring them forth from the Fire and admit them into Paradise, until none remains in the Fire except those whom the Quran has decreed to remain therein forever”—that is, those for whom eternal residence therein has become obligatory. He then recited this verse: “Perhaps your Lord will raise you to a praised station.” “This is the praised station (2) which your Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has been promised.” (3)

Through this chain of transmission, he said: [Muhammad ibn Isma'il narrated to us;] (4) Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us; Ma'bad ibn Hilal al-Ghazzi narrated to us, saying: We went to Anas ibn Malik, and he related the hadith of intercession in similar terms. He said: “I will seek permission to enter upon my Lord, and permission will be granted to me. He will inspire me with praises with which I will praise Him—praises that do not occur to me now. I will praise Him with those praises and fall before Him in prostration. Then it will be said: ‘Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard; ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.’ I will say: ‘My Lord, my ummah, my ummah!’ He will say: ‘Go and bring out from it whoever has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a grain of barley.’ I will go and do so. Then I will return and praise Him with those praises, and fall before Him in prostration.”

He then described a similar sequence, after which it will be said: “Go and bring out whoever has in his heart faith equal to the weight of a speck or a mustard seed.” I will go and do so. Then I will return and praise Him with those praises, and fall before Him in prostration.” He then described a similar sequence, after which it will be said: “Go and bring out whoever has in his heart the slightest, slightest, slightest weight of a mustard seed of faith.” I will go and do so.

When we left Anas, we passed by al-Hasan, greeted him, and related the hadith to him up to this point. He said, “And then?” We said, “He did not add anything further.” He said, “He narrated it to me twenty years ago, [when he was then still in full possession of his faculties] (6), just as he narrated it to you. Then he said: ‘Then I will return a fourth time, praise Him with those praises, and fall before Him in prostration. It will then be said: “Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard; ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.” I will say: “My Lord, will You permit me to intercede for whoever said: There is no god but Allah?” He will say: “By My might, My majesty, My grandeur, and My greatness, I shall surely bring out from it whoever said: There is no god but Allah.”’” (7)