He continued: He will reply, “Yes, my Lord.” He will say, “Did you think that you would meet Me?” He will reply, “My Lord, no.” He will say, “Today I will forget you just as you forgot Me.”

Then He will meet the third and say the same to him. He will reply, “My Lord, I believed in You, Your Book and Your messengers. I prayed, fasted and gave charity.” He will speak as highly of himself as he can. Then he will be told, “Shall We bring forth Our witness against you?” He will wonder to himself, “Who will testify against me?” His mouth will then be sealed, and his thigh will be told, “Speak!” His thigh, flesh and bones will speak of his deeds. This is done so that his own testimony leaves him without excuse. That is the hypocrite with whom Allah is angry.’”

Muslim’s narration ends here. In another narrator’s version—which matches Muslim’s narration and is likewise authentic—he said:

“Then a herald will proclaim, ‘Let every community follow what it used to worship!’ The allies of the devils will follow the devils, and the Jews and Christians will follow their allies into Hell. Then we will remain, O believers. Our Lord will come to us—and He is our Lord—and say, ‘Why are these people standing here?’ We will say, ‘We are Allah’s believing servants. We worshipped Him, and He is our Lord. He will come to us and reward us, and this is where we stand.’

“He will say, ‘I am your Lord, so proceed.’ Then the bridge will be laid down, with hooks of fire upon it that snatch people away. At that point I will be permitted to intercede: ‘O Allah, grant safety! O Allah, grant safety!’

“When they reach the bridge, everyone who has spent a pair of things from his possessions in Allah’s cause will be called by all the keepers of Paradise: ‘O servant of Allah! O Muslim! There is good here, so come! O servant of Allah! O Muslim! There is good here, so come!’

“Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, that servant has nothing to lose: he may leave one gate and enter through another.’ The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, tapped him on the shoulders and said, ‘By Him in whose Hand is my soul, I hope that you will be among them.’”