Hurayrah say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his Companions, “Do you know what most often causes people to enter the Fire?” They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Indeed, what most often causes people to enter the Fire are the two cavities: the genitals and the mouth. Do you know what most often causes people to enter Paradise?” They replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Indeed, what most often causes people to enter Paradise is fear of Allah and good character.” (1)

Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Salihi informed us; Abu Sa'id Muhammad ibn Musa al-Sayrafi informed us; Abu al-Abbas al-Asamm related to us; Muhammad ibn Abd Allah [ibn Abd] al-Hakam (2) related to us; my father and Shu'ayb informed us; they said: al-Layth related to us from [Ibn] al-Hadd (3), from Amr ibn Abi Amr, from al-Muttalib ibn Abd Allah, from Aishah, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, “By his good character, the believer attains the rank of one who stands in prayer at night and fasts by day.” (4)

“So you will see, and they will see (5) which of you is afflicted with madness.” (6)

His saying, exalted is He, “So you will see, and they will see”: You, Muhammad, will see, and they—the people of Mecca ⦗171/b⦘—will see when the punishment descends upon them.

“Which of you is afflicted with madness”: It has been said that it means: Which of you is insane? Thus, maftūn (one afflicted) is a passive participle used in the sense of a verbal noun, just as it is said, “So-and-so possesses neither majlūd (toughness) nor maʿqūl (intelligence),” meaning toughness and intelligence. This is the meaning of al-Dahhak’s statement and al-Awfi’s narration from Ibn Abbas.

It has also been said that the preposition baʾ means “in”; that is: You will see, and they will see, in which of the two parties the insane person is: in your party or in theirs.

It has also been said that the preposition baʾ means “with,” and that maftūn (the afflicted one) is Satan. The meaning is: With which of you is Satan (5)—with the believers or with the disbelievers? This is the meaning of Mujahid’s statement. (6)

Others said that the preposition is superfluous. The meaning is: Which of you is afflicted—that is, the insane person who has been afflicted with madness? This is the view of Qatadah.