chambers return to their chambers. These are of white pearl, green emerald, and red ruby, with chambers and doors of the same material, rivers flowing through them, spouses and servants within them, and fruit hanging low. Nothing do they long for more than Friday, when they may gaze still more upon their Lord, Mighty and Majestic, and receive still greater honour from Him.’”

Ibn Battah also narrated this hadith in similar wording from al-Qāfilānī: Muhammad ibn Ishāq al-Sāghānī narrated to us: ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from Layth, from ‘Uthmān, from Anas. His version includes:

“Then their Lord, Exalted is He, reveals Himself to them and says, ‘Ask Me, and I shall give you.’ They ask Him for His pleasure. He says, ‘My pleasure has brought you into My abode and granted you My honour, so ask Me, and I shall give you.’ They ask Him for His pleasure, and He calls them to witness that He is pleased with them. He said: Then He opens to them what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever imagined. He said: This lasts as long as it takes you to disperse after the Friday prayer. Then He ascends, and the prophets, the foremost in truthfulness, and the martyrs ascend with Him, while the inhabitants of the chambers return to their chambers.”

He then related the remainder.

This chain establishes that this hadith was indeed transmitted from Layth ibn Abī Sulaym, thereby removing the objection concerning Sallām ibn Sulaym, since all the narrators preceding Layth in this second chain are leading authorities. As for the first chain, it seems to leave some misgiving, because Sallām narrated it from a group of well-known transmitters, and ‘Abd Allāh ibn Rawh al-Madā’inī narrated it from him. Assessments of this Sallām have differed. Ibn Ma‘īn once said, “There is nothing wrong with him.” Abū Hātim said, “He is truthful, and his hadith are acceptable.”

On another occasion, Ibn Ma‘īn was asked about him: “Is he trustworthy?” He replied, “No.” Al-‘Uqaylī said, “His narrations are not corroborated by other transmitters.”