the first two. He will say: “My Lord, bring me near to this one, so that I may shelter in its shade and drink from its water. I will ask You for nothing else.” He will say: “O son of Adam, did you not pledge to Me that you would ask Me for nothing else?” He will say: “Yes, my Lord; this is the one thing I will ask You for, and nothing else.” Yet his Lord will excuse him, for He sees what the man cannot bear to be without. So He will bring him near to it. Once He brings him near to it, he will hear the voices of the people of Paradise, and he will say: “My Lord, admit me into it!”

He will say: “O son of Adam, what will make you cease asking? Would it please you if I gave you the world and the like of it with it?” He will say: “My Lord, are You mocking me when You are the Lord of the worlds?” Ibn Masʿūd then laughed and said: “Will you not ask me what I am laughing at?” They said: “What are you laughing at?” He said: “This is how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed.” They said: “What are you laughing at, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “At the laughter of the Lord of the worlds when he said: ‘Are You mocking me when You are the Lord of the worlds?’” He will say: “I am not mocking you, but I am able to…”