I was sitting in a circle in the mosque of Madinah, and among them was a man of fine appearance, Abdullah bin Salam. He began telling them a beautiful narration. When he stood up, the people said, "Whoever wishes to look at a man from the people of Paradise, let him look at this man."I said to myself, "By Allah, I will follow him and find out where his house is."So I followed him until he had nearly left Madinah, then he entered his home. I asked permission to enter, and he granted it. He asked, "What do you need, son of my brother?"I said to him, "I heard the people say about you when you stood up, 'Whoever wishes to look at a man from the people of Paradise, let him look at this man,' and I was eager to be with you."He said, "Allah knows best who the people of Paradise are. But I will tell you why they said that. While I was sleeping, a man came to me and said, 'Get up.' He took my hand and I went with him. I found broad paths on my left, and I started to take one of them, but he said to me, 'Do not take those, for they are the paths of the people of the left.' Then there were broad, well-trodden paths on my right, and he said to me, 'Take this way.' He brought me to a mountain and said to me, 'Climb up.' Whenever I tried to climb, I fell back on my backside. I did this several times.Then he went on until he brought me to a pillar whose top was in the sky and whose base was on the earth, and at its top was a ring. He said to me, 'Climb to the top of this.' I said, 'How can I climb when its top is in the sky?' He took my hand and hoisted me up, and there I was, hanging on to the ring. Then he struck the pillar and it fell, but I remained holding on to the ring until morning.I came to the Prophet ﷺ and related the dream to him. He said, 'As for the paths you saw on your left, they are the paths of the people of the left. As for the paths on your right, they are the paths of the people of the right. As for the mountain, it is the abode of the martyrs, and you will not reach it. As for the pillar, it is the pillar of Islam. As for the ring, it is the handhold of Islam, and you will not cease to hold fast to it until you die.'"
كنت جالسا في حلقة في مسجد المدينة، قال: وفيها شيخ حسن الهيئة، وهو عبد الله بن سلام، قال: فجعل يحدثهم حديثا حسنا، قال: فلما قام، قال القوم: من سره أن ينظر إلى رجل من أهل الجنة فلينظر إلى هذا، قلت: والله لأتبعنه فلأعلمن مكان بيته، قال: فتبعته، فانطلق حتى كاد أن يخرج من المدينة، ثم دخل منزله، قال: فاستأذنت عليه، فأذن لي، فقال: ما حاجتك يابن أخي؟ قال: قلت له: سمعت القوم يقولون لك لما قمت: من سره أن ينظر إلى رجل من أهل الجنة فلينظر إلى هذا، فأعجبني أن أكون معك، قال: الله أعلم بأهل الجنة، وسأحدثك مم قالوا ذاك، إني بينما أنا نائم إذ أتاني رجل، فقال لي: قم، فأخذ بيدي فانطلقت معه، قال: فإذا أنا بجواد عن شمالي، قال: فأخذت لآخذ فيها، فقال لي: لا تأخذ فيها، فإنها طرق أصحاب الشمال، قال: فإذا جواد منهج على يميني، فقال لي: خذ ههنا فأتى بي جبلا، فقال لي: اصعد قال: فجعلت إذا أردت أن أصعد خررت على استي، قال: حتى فعلت ذلك مرارا، قال: ثم انطلق حتى أتى بي عمودا رأسه في السماء، وأسفله في الأرض، في أعلاه حلقة، فقال لي: اصعد فوق هذا، قال: قلت: كيف أصعد ورأسه في السماء؟ قال: فأخذ بيدي فزجل بي، قال: فإذا أنا متعلق بالحلقة، قال: ثم ضرب العمود فخر، قال: وبقيت متعلقا بالحلقة حتى أصحبت، قال: فأتيت النبي ﷺ فقصصتها عليه، فقال: أما الطرق التي رأيت عن يسارك فهي طرق أصحاب الشمال، قال: وأما الطرق التي عن يمينك فهي طرق أصحاب اليمين، وأما الجبل فهو منزل الشهداء، ولن تناله، وأما العمود فهو عمود الإسلام، وأما العروة فهي عروة الإسلام، ولن تزال متمسكا بها حتى تموت.