it will be said, “O Muhammad, raise your head, ask and you shall be granted, intercede and your intercession will be accepted.” I shall then raise my head and say, “My community, O Lord—my community, O Lord.” It will be said, “O Muhammad, admit from your community those upon whom there is no reckoning through the right-hand gate of Paradise; they may join the other people at the remaining gates as well.” Then he added, “By Him in whose hand is my soul, the span between the two leaves of a single gate of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Hajar, or between Mecca and Busra.” Agreed upon.

[Explanation]
This lengthy narration, which the author—may Allah have mercy on him—placed at the end of his book Riyad al-Salihin, is related from Abu Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him. They were with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—at a banquet when the foreleg of a sheep was presented to him. He took a bite of it, for the foreleg pleased him—that is, the sheep’s foreleg, which the Prophet liked because its meat is the tastiest part: soft, quick to digest, and wholesome. After taking a bite he told them this astonishing, extensive ḥadīth and said, “I am the leader of the children of Adam on the Day of Resurrection.” There is no doubt that he—peace and blessings be upon him—is the leader of the children of Adam and the most noble of humankind in Allah’s sight. He then asked, “Do you know why that is?” They replied, “No, O Messenger of Allah.” So he proceeded to explain to them his honor and superiority—peace be upon him—over all the descendants of Adam.