(1) The hadith narrated from Ubāda ibn al-Sāmit—may Allah be pleased with him—is found in *Sunan Abī Dāwūd*, 4/311 (Book of the Sunnah, chapter “Concerning Divine Decree”). Its wording is: “... Ubāda ibn al-Sāmit said to his son: ‘... I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say: “Indeed, the first thing Allah created was the Pen. He said to it, ‘Write.’ It asked, ‘My Lord, what shall I write?’ He said, ‘Write the decrees governing everything until the Hour comes.’” My son, I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say: “Whoever dies adhering to anything other than this is not of me.”’” The hadith is also narrated from him—may Allah be pleased with him—in two places in *Sunan al-Tirmidhī*: 3/310–311 (Book of Divine Decree, a chapter therein), where al-Tirmidhī said, “This is a *gharīb* hadith”; and 5/96 (Book of Tafsīr, *Sūrat Nūn wa-l-Qalam* [Nūn and the Pen]), where al-Tirmidhī said, “This is a *hasan sahih gharīb* hadith,” and it is also narrated from Ibn Abbās. The hadith is likewise found in *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 5/317. (2) N and M read: “a span of time by His power.” (3) This is part of a lengthy hadith narrated from Abū Bakra—may Allah be pleased with him—found in several places in *Sahīh al-Bukhārī*, including: 9/133 (Book of Tawhīd, chapter on the saying of Allah Most High, “Faces on that Day will be radiant”); 7/100 (Book of Sacrifices, chapter “Those Who Say That al-Adhā Is on the Day of Sacrifice”); and 4/107 (Book of the Beginning of Creation, chapter “What Has Been Related concerning Seven Earths”), where the hadith begins, “Time has come full circle...” It is also found in *Sahīh Muslim*, 3/1305–1306 (Book of Qasāma, chapter “The Emphatic Prohibition against Bloodshed...”), where it begins, “Indeed, time...” It is further found in *Sunan Abī Dāwūd*, 2/265 (Book of Pilgrimage Rites, chapter “The Sacred Months”), and *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 5/37, where it begins, “Behold, time...”