1219 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said, “I was informed by Sayyār; Jaʿfar narrated to us; Abū ʿImrān al-Jawnī narrated to us, from Nauf al-Bikālī, who said:

A believing man and an unbelieving man once set out to fish. The unbeliever would cast his net while invoking his idols, and the catch would come to him in abundance; the believer would cast his net while mentioning Allah – Exalted is He – yet nothing would come. They went on like that until sunset. Then the believer caught a fish, grasped it with his hand, but it writhed and fell back into the water. So the believer returned with nothing, whereas the unbeliever returned and his boat was full.

The believer’s angel was distressed and said, “My Lord, Your servant, this believer who calls upon You, has come back with nothing, while Your servant, the unbeliever, has returned and his boat is filled.”

Allah – Exalted is He – said to the believer’s angel, “Come.” He showed him the believer’s dwelling in Paradise and said, “What harm can befall My believing servant after he attains this?” Then He showed him the dwelling of the unbeliever in the Fire and said, “Will anything he gained in the world avail him?”

The angel replied, “No, by Allah, my Lord.”