Allah’s bounty. “And that bounty is in the hand of Allah: He grants it to whomever He wills, and Allah is the Possessor of tremendous bounty.”

Abd al-Wahid al-Malihi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il related to us; Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id related to us; al-Layth related from Nafi‘, from Ibn Umar, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “Your lifespan in comparison with that of the nations that came before you is like the time between the afternoon prayer and sunset. The likeness of you, the Jews, and the Christians is that of a man who hired workers and said, ‘Who will work for me until midday for one qirat (a unit of weight)?’ The Jews worked until midday for one qirat each. Then he said, ‘Who will work for me from midday until the afternoon prayer for one qirat each?’ The Christians worked from midday until the afternoon prayer for one qirat each. Then he said, ‘Who will work for me from the afternoon prayer until sunset for two qirats each? Indeed, you are the ones who work from the afternoon prayer until sunset. Indeed, yours is a double reward.’ The Jews and Christians became angry and said, ‘We have done more work but received less pay!’ Allah, Most High, said, ‘Have I wronged you in any way regarding what is due to you?’ They said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Then it is My bounty, which I give to whomever I will.’” (1)

Abd al-Wahid al-Malihi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il related to us; Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’ related to me; Abu Usamah related to us from Yazid, from Abu Burdah, from Abu Musa, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “The likeness of the Muslims, Jews, and Christians is that of a man who hired some people to do work for him until nightfall, for an agreed wage. They worked until midday, then said, ‘We have no need for the wage you stipulated for us; what we have done is of no account.’ He said to them, ‘Do not do so. Complete the rest of your work, and take your wage in full.’ But they refused and left. So he hired another group after them and said, ‘Complete the rest of this day, and you shall have the wage that I stipulated for them.’ They worked until the time of the afternoon prayer, then said, ‘What we have done is of no account, and the wage you assigned us is yours.’ He said, ‘Complete the rest of your work, for only a little of the day remains.’ But they refused. So he hired another group to work for the remainder of the day. They worked for the remainder of the day until the sun set, and they received in full the wages of both groups. Such is their likeness and the likeness of the light they accepted.” (2)