receiving and spending it. His entry into Paradise is therefore not delayed by the reckoning, and he enters first. He also has greater need for a swift reward because of the good things he missed in this world. The wealthy person, meanwhile, is called to account. If he has used his wealth well rather than badly and is superior to the poor person, his rank will be raised above the latter’s after entering Paradise. If he is his equal, their ranks will be equal; if he is inferior, his rank will be lower. His need for a swift reward is not like that of the poor person.

A parallel is the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning his “Pool,” whose length and breadth are each a month’s journey:

“Its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. The first people to reach me there will be the poor among the Emigrants: those with dirty clothes and dishevelled hair, who do not marry women accustomed to luxury and for whom the doors of kings are not opened. One of them dies with a need still stirring in his heart, finding no way to fulfil it.”

Thus, they arrive first at what relieves the hardship and distress they experienced in this world. This is an occasion of hospitality extended to all: those who are hungriest are fed first, even though some who come later may receive a kind of food not given to some who came earlier, having earned it through their generosity toward the host or for some other reason.

No reports from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on this question are more authentic than these two hadiths. They contain the decisive judgment: the poor have precedence, while the wealthy have superiority in merit. At times one consideration may outweigh the other. This is like the seventy thousand who enter Paradise without being called to account, with another seventy thousand accompanying every thousand. Others may be called to account after them, yet, upon entering Paradise, be raised above them in rank.

As for the report:

“Ibn Awf will enter Paradise crawling,”

it is a fabrication with no basis;