Hadith 425: ʿAbd Allah related to us; my father related to me; Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Salām narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil narrated to me; Wahb ibn Munabbih narrated to me:
Ezekiel was among those whom Nebuchadnezzar led away captive together with Daniel from Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). Ezekiel said that while he was sleeping on the bank of the Euphrates an angel came to him, seized him by the head, and carried him until he set him down in a treasury chamber of Bayt al-Maqdis.
Ezekiel continued: I raised my head toward the sky and saw the heavens parted beneath the Throne. The Throne and those around it appeared to me, and I looked at them through that opening. Whenever I looked at the Throne I saw it overshadowing the heavens and the earth; whenever I looked at the heavens and the earth I saw them hanging from the underside of the Throne.
The bearers of the Throne were four angels, each angel having four faces: a human face, an eagle’s face, a lion’s face, and an ox’s face. Amazed by them, I looked at their feet and found them in the very depths of the earth, resting upon wheels that revolve and are studded with eyes.
In front of the Throne stood an angel with six wings, their color like sulphur. He has remained in that station from the moment Allah created creation until the Hour will be established; he is Gabriel. Beneath him I saw an angel who was the greatest creature I had ever beheld; he is Michael, the deputy in charge of the angels of heaven.
Angels were circling the Throne from the time Allah created creation until the Hour, saying, “Quddūs, quddūs—our Lord Allah, whose majesty fills the heavens and the earth!” Lower than them were other angels, each with six wings: two covering his face from the light, two covering his body, and two with which he flies—these are the angels brought near. Beneath them were angels, some in prostration and some standing, remaining thus since Allah created creation until the Hour. Still lower were angels who have been in prostration since Allah created creation; when the trumpet is blown they will raise their heads, and when they look at the Throne they will say, “Glory be to You! We did not extol You as You truly deserve.”
Then I saw the Throne descend through that opening until it exactly filled it. I was carried to the space between heaven and earth, and it filled all that lay between them; then it passed through the Gate of Mercy, perfectly matching its width. I was taken on to the Mosque, fitting it exactly, and then to the Rock, fitting it exactly.
A voice called, “O son of Adam!” I was struck senseless and heard a sound the like of which I had never heard. I tried to gauge it; it was like an army gathered together, raising a single, mighty shout—indeed, even greater than that.
When I fell unconscious I heard, “Revive him, for he is weak, created of frailty.” Then it was said, “Go to your people; you are My vanguard among them, as the vanguard of an army. Whoever you call and who answers you and is guided by your guidance, you shall have a reward equal to his. Whoever you neglect until he dies astray, upon you shall be a sin equal to his, though that will not lessen their own burden in the least.”
The Throne was then raised up, and I was carried back until I was returned to the bank of the Euphrates.
While I was again asleep on the Euphrates’ bank, an angel came, took me by the head, and carried me until he set me beside Bayt al-Maqdis. There I found a basin of water so shallow that my foot could not pass through it. From there I was led into Paradise. Its trees lined the banks of its rivers; no leaf ever falls from them, nor does their fruit perish. On the same branch were unripe dates, fresh dates, ripe dates, and dates ready to be plucked.
I asked, “What is its clothing like?” He answered, “Garments like the husk of a walnut that open into whatever color their owner wishes.” I asked, “And its spouses?” They were displayed before me. I tried to measure the beauty of their faces; if the sun and the moon were joined together, the face of one of them would be brighter. The flesh of each one did not conceal her bone, nor did her bone conceal her marrow; and if her husband sleeps away from her and awakens, she is still a virgin.
I marvelled at that, and I was asked, “Do you marvel at this?” I said, “How could I not marvel?” He said, “Whoever eats of the fruits you have seen will live forever, and whoever marries from among these spouses will have every worry and grief cut off from him.”
Then he took me by the head and returned me to where I had been.
While I was sleeping on the bank of the Euphrates an angel came, seized me by the head, and carried me until he set me in a lowland where a battle had been fought. Ten thousand slain lay there; birds and beasts had scattered their flesh and dismembered their bodies. He said to me, “A people claim that when any one of them dies or is killed he escapes from me and my power departs from him. Call them.”
I called them, and every bone came to the joint from which it had been severed—no man knows his companion better than each bone knew the joint from which it had parted—until they were all assembled. Flesh then grew upon them, then veins, then the skin was stretched over them while I watched. He said, “Call for their spirits.” I called them, and each spirit came to the body from which it had departed.
When they had sat up he said, “Ask them: For what were you?” They said, “When we died and life left us, an angel named Michael came to us and said, ‘Bring your deeds and receive your recompense. Such is Our practice with you, with those before you, and with those who will come after you.’ He examined our deeds and found that we worshipped idols. So worms were given power over our bodies and our spirits were made to feel their torment, and grief was unleashed upon our spirits and our bodies were made to feel its pain. We were thus punished continually until you called us.”
Then the angel carried me and brought me back to where I had been.