I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, "The bridge will be placed across the middle of Hell. Upon it are thorns like the thorns of the Saadan plant. Then the people will be permitted to cross. Some will pass through safely as Muslims, some will cross but be wounded, some will pass through safely, some will be detained and then cast headlong into it.When Allah has finished judging His servants, the believers will miss certain men who had been with them in the world, who used to pray as they prayed, give zakat as they gave it, fast as they fasted, perform Hajj as they performed it, and go on military expeditions as they did. They will say, 'Our Lord, there were servants from among Your servants who were with us in the world. They prayed our prayer, gave our zakat, fasted our fast, performed our Hajj, and went on our expeditions, yet we do not see them.'He will say, 'Go to the Fire, and whoever you find of them there, bring them out.'"He said, "They will find them seized by the Fire according to the measure of their deeds. Some will have been taken up to their feet, some up to the middle of their shins, some up to their breasts, some up to their knees, some up to their waists, and some up to their necks, but the Fire will not have touched their faces. They will pull them out of it and cast them into the Water of Life."It was asked, "Messenger of Allah, what is the Water of Life?"He said, "It is the bathing of the people of Paradise. They will then sprout like seedlings sprout."On one occasion he said, "Just as a seedling sprouts in the silt left by a flood. Then the Prophets will intercede for everyone who bore witness sincerely that there is no god but Allah, and they will bring them out of it."He said, "Then Allah will show His tender mercy upon those who remain in it. He will not leave in it any servant in whose heart is the weight of a grain of faith without bringing him out of it."
سمعت رسول الله ﷺ: يقول: يوضع الصراط بين ظهري جهنم، عليه حسك كحسك السعدان، ثم يستجيز الناس، فناج مسلم، ومجروح به، ثم ناج ومحتبس به منكوس فيها، فإذا فرغ الله عز وجل من القضاء العباد يفقد المؤمنون رجالا كانوا معهم في الدنيا يصلون بصلاتهم، ويزكون بزكاتهم، ويصومون صيامهم، ويحجون حجهم، ويغرون غزوهم، فيقولون: أي ربنا عباد من عبادك كانوا معنا في الدنيا يصلون صلاتنا، ويزكون زكاتنا، ويصومون صيامنا ويحجون حجنا، ويغزون غزونا، لا نراهم؟ فيقول: اذهبوا إلى النار فمن وجدتم فيها منهم فأخرجوه. قال: فيجدونهم قد أخذتهم النار على قدر أعمالهم، فمنهم من أخذته إلى قدميه ومنهم من أخذته إلى نصف ساقيه، ومنهم من أخذته إلى ثدييه، ومنهم من أخذته إلى ركبتيه، ومنهم من أزرته، ومنهم من أخذته إلى عنقه، ولم تغش الوجوه، فيستخرجونهم منها، فيطرحون في ماء الحياة. قيل: يا رسول الله، وما الحياة؟ قال: غسل أهل الجنة، فينبتون نبات الزرعة. وقال مرة فيه: كما تنبت الزرعة في غثاء السيل. ثم يشفع الأنبياء في كل من كان يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله مخلصا، فيخرجونهم منها، قال: ثم يتحنن الله برحمته على من فيها، فما يترك فيها عبدا في قلبه مثقال حبة من إيمان الا أخرجه منها.
Reported by Ahmad (11081) —and this is his wording— Ibn Khuzayma in Tawhid (648), Ibn Majah (4280) in an abridged form, and Hakim (4/585-586), all of them by way of Muhammad bin Ishaq, who said, Ubaydullah bin Mughira bin Muayqib narrated to me, from Sulayman bin Amr bin Abdul-Atwari, one of Banu Layth, who had been an orphan raised in the care of Abu Saeed, who said, I heard Abu Saeed say... and he related the hadith.Hakim said, "It is sahih according to the criterion of Muslim, though the two of them did not report it."I say, its chain is hasan, because it contains Muhammad bin Ishaq, who has clearly stated that he heard it directly. As for Hakim's statement that it is "sahih according to the criterion of Muslim," this is a mistake on his part, because Muslim did not report from either Ubaydullah bin Mughira bin Muayqib or his teacher Sulayman bin Amr bin Abdul-Atwari, even though both of them are trustworthy.