Al-Khallāl narrated it, and it explicitly affirms the superiority of human beings over angels. However, the status of its chain of transmission is unknown, so its acceptance depends on the soundness of that chain.

Abdullāh ibn Ahmad narrated in Kitāb al-Sunnah (The Book of the Sunnah), from Urwah ibn Ruwaym, who said: “Al-Ansārī informed me, on the authority of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the angels said:

‘Our Lord, You created us and created the descendants of Adam. You enabled them to eat, drink, wear clothes, have relations with women, ride animals, sleep, and rest, while granting us none of these things. So grant them this world and grant us the Hereafter.’”

He related the hadith as traced back to the Prophet, whereas it was cited earlier through Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, without being traced back to the Prophet.

Zayd ibn Aslam grew in knowledge, understanding of religion, and scrupulous piety, to the point that Alī ibn al-Husayn would leave the gatherings of his own people to attend his gathering. Al-Zuhrī reproached him for this, and he replied: “One sits only where one benefits”—or he said, “where one finds what sets one’s heart right.”

Some four hundred seekers of knowledge would attend his gathering. Their least virtue was to give away whatever worldly possessions they had, and none would keep things for himself at the expense of the others. Thus, he would make such a statement only on the basis of . . . (1) that was clear. Lying about Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is graver than lying about His Messenger.

At the very least, these reports show that the earliest generations of the righteous predecessors used to transmit among themselves that righteous human beings are superior to angels, without any objection from them, and no one disagreed