—to Me belong all dominion and all praise.” When he says, “There is no god but Allah, and there is no power nor strength except through Allah,” He says, “My servant has spoken the truth: there is no god but I, and there is no power nor strength except through Me. Whoever is granted these words at the time of his death will not be touched by the Fire.”

It was recorded by al-Tirmidhī (2/253), Ibn Mājah (3794), Ibn Ḥibbān (2325), Abū Yaʿlā in his Musnad (344–345), and ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd in al-Muntakhab min al-Musnad (104/1—al-Ẓāhiriyyah), through several routes from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Agharr Abū Muslim, who testified that Abū Hurayrah and Abū Saʿīd both testified that the Prophet said this. The wording is Ibn Mājah’s, who added that Abū Isḥāq said: “Then al-Agharr said something that I did not understand.” I said to Abū Jaʿfar, “What did he say?” He replied, “Whoever is granted these words at the time of his death will not be touched by the Fire.”

Al-Tirmidhī said: “A good, singular hadith. Shuʿbah also narrated from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Agharr Abū Muslim, from Abū Hurayrah and Abū Saʿīd, a hadith similar in meaning to this one; however, Shuʿbah did not attribute it to the Prophet. Bundār narrated this to us: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us from Shuʿbah with this.”

I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic, for Shuʿbah was among those who heard from Abū Isḥāq before his memory deteriorated. Nor does its being attributed to the Companion impair it, since such a statement cannot be made merely on the basis of personal reasoning, as is apparent. It is further supported by the fact that Abū Isḥāq was corroborated in attributing it to the Prophet. ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd said: Muṣʿab ibn Miqdām narrated to us: Isrāʾīl narrated to us from Abū Jaʿfar al-Farrāʾ, from al-Agharr, with a report like that of Abū Isḥāq, except that he added: “Whoever says them during his illness and then dies will not enter the Fire.” This is a good chain of transmission. Its narrators are trustworthy and are among Muslim’s narrators, apart from Abū Jaʿfar al-Farrāʾ; he too is trustworthy, as stated in al-Taqrīb.

1391 — “When the deceased is buried—or, he said, ‘when one of you is buried’—two angels, black and blue-eyed, come to him. One is called al-Munkar and the other al-Nakīr. They ask, ‘What did you used to say about this man?’ He replies, ‘What he himself used to say: He is the servant of Allah and His Messenger. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muḥammad is His servant