1017—Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman informed us; Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawi informed us, who said: Suwayd—meaning Ibn Sa'id—narrated to us; Sawwar ibn Mus'ab narrated to us, from Abu Hamza, from Miqsam, from Ibn Abbas, who said:

Al-Aqib and al-Sayyid, who were the two leading Christians of Najran, came and spoke vehemently before the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, concerning the divine decree. The Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, remained silent and gave them no reply until they departed. Then Allah, Most High, revealed: “Are your disbelievers better than those, or do you have immunity in the Scriptures?” [al-Qamar 54:43]—that is, those before you who disbelieved and denied His signs. “Or do they say, ‘We are a united force, sure to prevail’?” [al-Qamar 54:44]—up to His saying: “And We have destroyed your like before.” [al-Qamar 54:51] That is, those before you who disbelieved and denied the divine decree. “So is there any who will take heed?” [al-Qamar 54:15]—meaning, one who remembers. ⦗632⦘ “And everything they did is recorded in the Scriptures.” [al-Qamar 54:52] The former is the Mother of the Book. “And every small and great thing is inscribed.” [al-Qamar 54:53] That is, written—until the end of the surah.

He said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, then came out, ascended the pulpit, and praised Allah and extolled Him. He then extended his right hand and said: “In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy: a book from Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy, for the people of Paradise, containing their names, the names of their fathers, their tribes, and their clans, encompassing the first of them to the last. None of them will be taken away, nor will any be added to them. Your Lord has finished the matter.

“He may lead the people of felicity along the path of wretchedness until it is said, ‘It is as though they are them—indeed, they are them! How much they resemble them—indeed, they are them!’ Then what Allah had decreed beforehand for them of felicity comes to them, so they perform the deeds of the people of Paradise and enter it before their death by no more than the interval between two milkings of a she-camel.

“And He may lead the people of wretchedness along the path of the people of felicity until it is said, ‘It is as though they are them—indeed, they are them! How much they resemble them—indeed, they are them!’ Then what Allah had decreed beforehand for them comes to them, so they perform the deeds of the people of the Fire and enter it, even if it be before their death by no more than the interval between two milkings of a she-camel.

“Thus, the person of Paradise is sealed with the deeds of the people of Paradise, even if he performs the deeds of the people of the Fire; and the person of the Fire is sealed with the deeds of the people of the Fire, even if he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise.”

Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Deeds are judged by their endings.”