We set out to visit Anas bin Malik, seeking the intercession of Thabit. We reached him while he was performing the forenoon prayer. Thabit asked permission for us to enter, and we went in. Anas seated Thabit beside him on his couch.Thabit said to him, "Abu Hamza, your brothers from the people of Basrah are asking you to narrate to them the hadith of intercession."Anas said, Muhammad ﷺ reported to us, saying, "On the Day of Resurrection, people will surge against one another in waves. They will come to Adam and say to him, 'Intercede for your descendants.' He will reply, 'I am not the one for that. Go to Ibrahim , for he is the Friend of Allah.'So they will come to Ibrahim, and he will say, 'I am not the one for that. Go to Musa
, for he is the one to whom Allah spoke directly.'Then they will go to Musa, and he will say, 'I am not the one for that. Go to Isa
, for he is the spirit of Allah and His word.'Then they will go to Isa, and he will say, 'I am not the one for that. Go to Muhammad ﷺ.'So they will come to me, and I will say, 'I am the one for that.' I will set off and seek permission from my Lord, and permission will be granted to me. I will stand before Him and praise Him with words of praise that I cannot produce now, which Allah will inspire in me. Then I will fall down in prostration before Him.It will be said to me, 'Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.'I will say, 'My Lord, my ummah, my ummah!'It will be said, 'Go, and bring out from the Fire anyone in whose heart there is the weight of a grain of wheat or barley of faith.' So I will go and do so.Then I will return to my Lord and praise Him with those same praises, then fall down in prostration before Him. It will be said to me, 'Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.'I will say, 'My ummah, my ummah!'It will be said to me, 'Go, and bring out from the Fire anyone in whose heart there is the weight of a mustard seed of faith.' So I will go and do so.Then I will return to my Lord and praise Him with those same praises, then fall down in prostration before Him. It will be said to me, 'Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.'I will say, 'My Lord, my ummah, my ummah!'It will be said to me, 'Go, and bring out from the Fire anyone in whose heart there is the smallest, smallest, smallest weight of a mustard seed of faith.' So I will go and do so."This is the hadith that Anas reported to us. We left him, and when we reached the open ground, we said, "Why don't we turn aside to al-Hasan and greet him?" He was in hiding at the house of Abu Khalifah.So we entered upon him and greeted him. We said, "Abu Saeed, we have come from your brother Abu Hamza, and we have never heard a hadith like the one he narrated to us about intercession."He said, "Go on."So we narrated the hadith to him.He said, "Go on."We said, "He told us no more than that."He said, "He narrated it to us twenty years ago, when he was in the prime of his strength, and he has left out something. I do not know whether the old man forgot it, or whether he disliked telling it to you for fear that you would rely on it."We said to him, "Narrate it to us."He laughed and said, "Man was created of haste" [Anbiya 21:37]. I only mentioned this to you because I intended to narrate it to you."Then I will return to my Lord a fourth time and praise Him with those same praises, then fall down in prostration before Him. It will be said to me, 'Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, and you will be heard. Ask, and you will be given. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.'I will say, 'My Lord, give me permission concerning anyone who said, There is no god but Allah.'He will say, 'That is not for you,' or He will say, 'That is not up to you. But by My might, My majesty, My greatness, and My grandeur, I will surely bring out whoever said, There is no god but Allah.'"
انطلقنا إلى أنس بن مالك وتشفعنا بثابت، فانتهينا إليه وهو يصلي الضحى، فاستأذن لنا ثابت فدخلنا عليه وأجلس ثابتا معه على سريره فقال له: يا أبا حمزة، إن إخوانك من أهل البصرة يسألونك أن تحدثهم حديث الشفاعة قال: حدثنا محمد لله قال: إذا كان يوم القيامة ماج الناس بعضهم إلى بعض، فيأتون آدم فيقولون له: اشفع لذريتك، فيقول: لست لها، ولكن عليكم بإبراهيم عليه السلام فإنه خليل الله. فيأتون إبراهيم، فيقول: لست لها ولكن عليكم بموسى عليه السلام فإنه كليم الله، فيؤتى موسى فيقول: لست لها، ولكن عليكم بعيسى عليه السلام، فإنه روح الله وكلمته، فيؤتى عيسى فيقول: لست لها، ولكن عليكم بمحمد ﷺ فأوتى، فأقول: أنا لها فأنطلق فأستأذن على ربي فيؤذن لي فأقوم بين فأحمده بمحامد لا أقدر عليه الآن يلهمنيه الله ثم أخر له ساجدا فيقال لي: يا محمد ارفع رأسك، وقل يسمع لك، وسل تعطه، واشفع تشفع فأقول رب أمتي أمتي! فيقال: انطلق فمن كان في قلبه مثقال حبة من برة أو شعيرة من إيمان فأخرجه منها فأنطلق فأفعل، ثم أرجع إلى ربي فأحمده بتلك المحامد ثم أخر له ساجدا، فيقال لي: محمد ارفع رأسك، وقل يسمع لك، وسل تعطه، واشفع تشفع. فأقول: أمتي أمتي! فيقال لي: انطلق فمن كان في قلبه مثقال حبة من خردل من إيمان فأخرجه منها، فأنطلق فأفعل، ثم أعود إلى ربي فأحمده بتلك المحامد يديه أخر له ساجدا فيقال لي: محمد ارفع رأسك، وقل يسمع لك، وسل تعطه واشفع تشفع فأقول: يا رب أمتي أمتي! فيقال لي: انطلق فمن كان في قلبه أدنى أدنى أدنى من مثقال حبة من خردل من إيمان فأخرج من النار فأنطلق فأفعل. هذا حديث أنس الذي أنبأنا به فخرجنا من عنده، فلما كنا بظهر الجبان قلنا لو ملنا إلى الحسن، فسلمنا عليه، وهو مستخف في دار أبي خليفة. قال: فدخلنا عليه فسلمنا عليه، فقلنا: يا أبا سعيد، جننا من عند أخيك أبي حمزة فلم نسمع مثل حديث حدثناه في الشفاعة. قال: هيه! فحدثناه الحديث. فقال: هيه قلنا ما زادنا. قال: قد حدثنا به منذ عشرين سنة وهو يومئذ جميع ولقد ترك شيئا ما أدري أنسي الشيخ أو كره أن يحدثكم فتتكلوا. قلنا له: حدثنا فضحك وقال: {خلق الإنسن من عجل} [سورة الأنبياء: ٣٧]. ما ذكرت لكم هذا إلا وأنا أريد أن أحدثكموه: ثم أرجع إلى ربي في الرابعة فأحمده بتلك المحامد ثم أخر له ساجدا فيقال لي: محمد ارفع رأسك، وقل يسمع لك، وسل تعطه واشفع تشفع. فأقول: يا رب ائذن لي فيمن قال لا إله إلا الله. قال: ليس ذاك لك أو قال ليس ذاك إليك، ولكن وعزتي وكبريائي وعظمتي وجبريائي لأخرجن من قال: لا إله إلا الله.
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Tawhid (7510), and Muslim in the Book of Faith (193:326), both from the hadith of Hammad bin Zayd, who said, Mabad bin Hilal Anazi narrated to us, and he said, and then he mentioned it. The wording given is that of Muslim, and Bukhari's wording is similar. His statement, "gathered together," means having gathered together strength and memory.