“Have they seen Me?” They reply, “No.” He says, “How would it be were they to see Me?” They answer, “Had they seen You, they would praise, exalt, and remember You even more.” He says, “What are they asking for?” They say, “They are asking for Paradise.” He says, “Have they seen it?” They respond, “No.” He says, “How would it be were they to see it?” They reply, “Had they seen it, they would desire it more ardently and strive for it with greater eagerness.” He says, “From what are they seeking refuge?” They say, “They seek refuge from the Fire.” He says, “Have they seen it?” They say, “No.” He says, “How would it be were they to see it?” They say, “Had they seen it, they would flee from it more intensely and fear it even more.” He says, “I call you to witness that I have forgiven them.” They say, “Among them is so-and-so, a habitual sinner; he did not come for their sake—he only came for some need.” He says, “They are a people in whose company no one who sits with them will ever be miserable”—he said it twice. Agreed upon.

19- Ibn ʿAbbās reported: Men from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ told me that while they were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ one night, a shooting star flashed brightly. He asked, “What would you say when something like this was hurled?” They replied, “We would say: ‘Tonight a great man has been born, or a great man has died.’” He said, “It is not hurled because someone dies or is born. Rather, when our Lord—blessed and exalted—decrees a matter, the bearers of the Throne glorify Him, and then the inhabitants of the heaven beneath them glorify, until the glorification reaches the inhabitants of the lowest heaven. Those nearest the bearers of the Throne ask, ‘What has your Lord said?’ They are informed, and then the dwellers of the heavens ask one another until the report reaches the lowest heaven. The jinn snatch the information and pass it to their allies; whatever they convey exactly as they heard it is the truth, but they pad it and add to it.¹

20- A sound, well-established hadith from Abu Hurayrah states that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When Allah loves a servant, He calls Gabriel and says: ‘I love My servant, so love him.’ Gabriel proclaims it among the bearers of the Throne, and the rustling of the bearers reaches the inhabitants of the heavens. The folk of the seventh heaven then love him, followed by each successive heaven, until the announcement reaches the lowest heaven. It is then relayed to the earth, and the people of the earth come to love him as well.”