Abū Hurayrah. Al-Tirmidhī said:

“This is a hadith that we know only through this chain.”

Suwayd ibn ‘Amr narrated something of this from al-Awzā‘ī. They said: Suwayd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz also narrated it from al-Awzā‘ī. He said: He said: “A hadith from Sa‘īd.” Its meaning has also been narrated from Ka‘b al-Ahbār as his own statement, including the substance of the additional wording.

The basic hadith concerning the “marketplace of Paradise” was narrated by Muslim in his Sahīh, but he did not mention seeing Allah in it. Most of these hadiths, when their chains are considered individually, are open to criticism, whether mild or severe. Yet their number and the many routes through which they are transmitted make it highly probable that they are genuine; indeed, this may establish their authenticity with certainty. Moreover, statements agreeing with this have been transmitted from the “Companions” and the “Successors.” Such matters cannot be asserted on the basis of personal opinion; they can only be stated on the basis of received revelation.

Al-Dāraqutnī narrated through an authentic chain from Ibn al-Mubārak: Al-Mas‘ūdī informed us, from al-Minhāl ibn ‘Amr, from Abū ‘Ubaydah, from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd, who said:

“Hasten to Friday prayer, for Allah will appear before the people of Paradise every Friday on a mound of camphor. Their nearness to Him will correspond to their haste in attending Friday prayer in this world.”

He also narrated through an authentic chain to Shabābah ibn Sawwār, from ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Mas‘ūdī, from al-Minhāl ibn ‘Amr, from Abū ‘Ubaydah ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd, from ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd, who said:

“Hasten to Friday prayer, for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will appear before the people of Paradise every Friday on a mound of white camphor, and they will be near