as an account of what he, peace and blessings be upon him, did; and Abu al-Zubayr explicitly stated in it that he heard it directly. Perhaps the basis of the hadith is that he, peace and blessings be upon him, stoned with such pebbles and commanded that it be done; thus, some narrated this, while others narrated that.

1438 — “The soil of Paradise is white fine flour.”

Ahmad (3/361) narrated it from Mujalid, from al-Shabi, from Jabir ibn Abd Allah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the Jews: “I am going to ask them about the soil of Paradise, which is white fine flour.” So he asked them, and they said: “It is a loaf, O Abu al-Qasim.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: “A loaf is made from fine flour.”

I say: Its narrators are trustworthy and are among the narrators of the two Sahih collections, apart from Mujalid—namely, Ibn Said—who is not strong. Al-Haythami said in al-Majma (10/399): “Ahmad narrated it, and its narrators are those of the Sahih, apart from Mujalid; yet more than one scholar declared him trustworthy.” Al-Suyuti also cited the hadith in al-Jami al-Kabir (no. 2956), reporting it from Abu al-Shaykh in al-Azamah, on the authority of Jabir, with the wording: “The land of Paradise is a white loaf.”

It is further corroborated by the hadith of Abu Said al-Khudri, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “On the Day of Resurrection, the earth will be one loaf, which the Almighty will turn over in His Hand as one of you turns over his loaf while travelling, as a provision of welcome for the people of Paradise.” Then a Jewish man came and said: “May the Most Merciful bless you, O Abu al-Qasim! Shall I not tell you of the provision of welcome for the people of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection?” He said: “Certainly.” He said: “The earth will be one loaf,” just as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had said. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then looked at us and laughed until his molar teeth became visible. He then said: “Shall I not tell you of their condiment?” He said: “Their condiment will be balam and nun.” They asked: “What are these?” He replied: “A bull and a fish, from the extra lobe of whose liver seventy thousand will eat.” It was narrated by al-Bukhari (11/313–315, Fath) and Muslim (8/128).

1439 — “Shoot, O sons of Ishmael, for your father was an archer.”

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Zafarani narrated it in Fawa'id Abi Shu'ayb (82/1), from