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Jesus in the Hadiths of Bukhari

Explanatory Notes:

All hadiths in the database consulted are one paragraph. For readability, lengthy hadiths are broken into short paragraphs. Any text in a hadith contained within round brackets () is that of the translator unless in italics. Except for paragraph breaks and the correction of obvious typos, the hadiths are presented as is.

Hadiths are sometimes referred to as Traditions of the Prophet. Hadiths, the sayings and example of the Prophet Muhammad are the second holiest scriptures in Islam and are an integral part of Islamic law i.e. the Sharia. For example, the Koran in revelation 4:34 grants the husband the right to beat his wife, but it is a saying of the Prophet which pretty much guarantees the wife-beater immunity from prosecution.

Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.

Abu Dawud 11.2142

The hadiths presented here are from the Sahih Al-Bukhari collection (translated by M. Mohsin Khan). All Bukhari hadiths are considered authentic i.e. the absolute truth beyond the shadow of a doubt. To question their veracity is to invite accusations of heresy and all that entails for a Muslim.

The hadiths all contain a reference to Jesus, but, of course, there are inevitably all about God's latest and greatest. The lesser prophets in their inferior roles not only magnify the greatness of the greatest of them all but leave no doubt that the ultimate spokesperson of the Almighty was also His favourite.

For both believers and non-believers, to even hint at a shred of doubt that what is described in many hadiths may not be the product of a first-rate psychosis-free mind is to invite a horrible death. Don't let the lack of a coherent storyline and apparent nonsense in the hadiths lead you to jump to death-defying conclusions.

Muslim protesters march towards the Danish embassy in London

The Ottawa Citizen, Saturday February 6, 2006

Cartoon protests

Remember what T.E. Lawrence wrote in the Seven Pillars of Wisdom about the believers he met.

They were a people of primary colours, or rather of black and white … They were a dogmatic people, despising doubt, our modern crown of thorns. They did not understand our metaphysical difficulties, our introspective questioning. They only knew truth and untruth, belief and unbelief, without our hesitating retinue of finer shades.

This people was black and white not merely in clarity, but in apposition. Their thoughts were at ease only in extremes … they never compromised; they pursued the logic of several incompatible opinions to absurd ends, without perceiving the incongruity.

What is an incongruity or nonsense to you is no such thing to people described by Lawrence.

A Precocious Newborn

Jesus was one of only three people who were born with the gift of gab.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "None spoke in cradle but three: (The first was) Jesus, (the second was), there a man from Bani (Children of) Israel called Juraij. While he was offering his prayers, his mother came and called him.

He said (to himself), 'Shall I answer her or keep on praying?’

(He went on praying) and did not answer her, his mother said, ‘O Allah! Do not let him die till he sees the faces of prostitutes.’

So while he was in his hermitage, a lady came and sought to seduce him, but he refused. So she went to a shepherd and presented herself to him to commit illegal sexual intercourse with her and then later she gave birth to a child and claimed that it belonged to Juraij.

The people, therefore, came to him and dismantled his hermitage and expelled him out of it and abused him.

Juraij performed the ablution and offered prayer, and then came to the child and said, 'O child! Who is your father?'

The child replied, 'The shepherd.'

(After hearing this) the people said, 'We shall rebuild your hermitage of gold,' but he said, 'No, of nothing but mud.'

(The third was the hero of the following story) A lady from Bani Israel was nursing her child at her breast when a handsome rider passed by her.

She said, 'O Allah! Make my child like him.'

On that the child left her breast, and facing the rider said, 'O Allah! Do not make me like him.'

The child then started to suck her breast again.

(Abu Huraira further said, ‘As if I were now looking at the Prophet sucking his finger (in way of demonstration.’)

After a while the people passed by, with a lady slave and she (i.e. the child's mother) said, 'O Allah! Do not make my child like this (slave girl)!’

On that the child left her breast and said, 'O Allah! Make me like her.'

When she asked why, the child replied, 'The rider is one of the tyrants while this slave girl is falsely accused of theft and illegal sexual intercourse.’"

Bukhari 55.645

In the Koran only Jesus is mentioned as fully conversant from birth.

The Penultimate Prophet

Narrated Abu Huraira:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "I am the nearest of all the people to the son of Mary, and all the prophets are paternal brothers, and there has been no prophet between me and him (i.e. Jesus)."

Bukhari 55.651

A Slave like Me and a Brother

Narrated Ubada:

The Prophet said, "If anyone testifies that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His Slave and His Apostle, and thatJesusis Allah's Slave and His Apostle and His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a Spirit created by Him, and that Paradise is true, and Hell is true, Allah will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he had done even if those deeds were few."

Junada, the sub-narrator said, "Ubada added, 'Such a person can enter Paradise through any of its eight gates he likes."

Bukhari 55.644

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one." 

Bukhari 55.652

Double the reward for believing in both Jesus and the Prophet, as all Muslims must.

Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari:

Allah's Apostle said, "If a person teaches his slave girl good manners properly, educates her properly, and then manumits and marries her, he will get a double reward. And if a man believes in Jesus and then believes in me, he will get a double reward. And if a slave fears his Lord (i.e. Allah) and obeys his masters, he too will get a double reward." 

Bukhari 55.655

Contradictory Testimony as to what Jesus Looked Like

If it was not for the Prophet Muhammad and Jesus, if only for a brief moment, sharing a plane of existence, we would not have any eyewitness account of what Jesus, the man, looked like.

That meeting occurred on the faithful night when Gabriel loaned his noble flying steed, Al-Burak, so God's Messenger could fly up to heaven for a private audience with the Almighty for whom He was the mouthpiece here below.

The appearance of Jesus is mentioned in at least three recollections of this auspicious get-together between God and his greatest and last spokesperson during which they negotiated the number of daily prayers. In one recollection Jesus has lank hair.

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

The Prophet said, "On the night of my Ascent to the Heaven, I saw Moses who was a tall brown curly-haired man as if he was one of the men of Shan'awa tribe, and I sawJesus, a man of medium height and moderate complexion inclined to the red and white colors and of lank hair … "

Bukhari 54.462

In another recollection of the one blessed with an alleged prodigious memory to compensate for being an illiterate perhaps and therefore not able to take notes about what he saw in the hereafter or was told by residents, many who should not have been there but in their graves awaiting Judgement Day, Jesus' hair is not "long, limp, and straight", the meaning of lank, but curly.

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

…  The Prophet mentioned the night of his Ascension and said, "The prophet Moses was brown, a tall person as if from the people of the tribe of Shanu'a. Jesus was a curly-haired man of moderate height." …

Bukhari 55.608

A curly-haired man with a broad chest:

Narrated Ibn Umar:

The Prophet said, "I saw Moses, Jesus and Abraham (on the night of my Ascension to the heavens). Jesus was of red complexion, curly hair and a broad chest. Moses was of brown complexion, straight hair and tall stature as if he was from the people of Az-Zutt." 

Bukhari 55.648

The Prophet may have confused Jesus with Ad-Dajjal, the false messiah, who, it is said, had curly hair.

Narrated Abdullah:

The Prophet mentioned the Massiah (sic) Ad-Dajjal in front of the people saying, Allah is not one eyed while Messsiah (sic), Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a bulging out grape. While sleeping near the Ka'ba last night, I saw in my dream a man of brown color the best one can see amongst brown color and his hair was long that it fell between his shoulders. His hair was lank and water was dribbling from his head and he was placing his hands on the shoulders of two men while circumambulating the Ka'ba.

I asked, 'Who is this?'

They replied, 'This is Jesus, son of Mary.'

Behind him I saw a man who had very curly hair and was blind in the right eye, resembling Ibn Qatan (i.e. an infidel) in appearance. He was placing his hands on the shoulders of a person while performing Tawaf around the Ka'ba.

I asked, 'Who is this? '

They replied, 'The Masih, Ad-Dajjal.'"

Bukhari 55.649

Confusion reigned!

Narrated Salim from his father:

No, By Allah, the Prophet did not tell that Jesus was of red complexion but said, "While I was asleep circumambulating the Ka'ba (in my dream), suddenly I saw a man of brown complexion and lank hair walking between two men, and water was dropping from his head.

I asked, 'Who is this?'

The people said, 'He is the son of Mary.'

Then I looked behind and I saw a red-complexioned, fat, curly-haired man, blind in the right eye which looked like a bulging out grape.

I asked, 'Who is this?'

They replied, 'He is Ad-Dajjal.'

The one who resembled to him among the people was Ibn Qatar."

Az-Zuhri said, "He (i.e. Ibn Qatan) was a man from the tribe Khuza'a who died in the pre-lslamic period."

Bukhari 55.650

In one recollection the Prophet seems to associate Jesus' red complexion to a difficult bowel movement just before they met.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "On the night of my Ascension to Heaven, I saw (the prophet) Moses who was a thin person with lank hair, looking like one of the men of the tribe of Shanua; and I saw Jesus who was of average height with red face as if he had just come out of a bathroom … "

Bukhari 55.607

The implication that people in Paradise still need to relieve themselves is doubly weird considering what God's Messenger said about the suppression of bodily functions in those fortunate enough to be admitted into Allah's Paradise.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky.

They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloe wood will be used in their centers. Their wives will be houris.

All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in stature), sixty cubits tall."

Bukhari 55.544

Jesus on Judgement Day

So Near and Yet So Far

The Prophet Muhammad is like most prophets, a predictor of the past. The Koran he revealed on behalf of an omnipotent creator is all about what came before, with the exception of the prediction that is the bread and butter, and a safe bet, of conjecturers of what is to come, Judgement Day.

Like most Dark Age prophets, God's latest and greatest warned that the Day was imminent. At least that is what he was led to believe in the Book he delivered on His behalf.

The official predictions of the End Times found in the Koran tend to be of a general nature except for its implied immediacy. The Prophet's sayings fill in the blanks, such as Jesus' role in Allah's End Times extravaganza.

How these additional details were transmitted is not obvious.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from non-Muslims, who are in the protection, of the Muslim government). Then there will be abundance of money and nobody will accept charitable gifts."

Bukhari 34.425

Perhaps seeking to give himself some breathing space, it is not "shortly descent" but when the "Hour" will be established.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the Jizya tax. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it (as charitable gifts)."

Bukhari 43.656

During his time here, the Koran will be his guide. Go figure!

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said "How will you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Quran and not by the law of Gospel"

Bukhari 55.658

Jesus, after defeating the forces of evil during the End of Days, will marry, have children and live to a ripe old age. On his death he will be buried in Mecca next to the Prophet Muhammad. His real death will be one of the more sane signs that the Day is imminent. One of the weirdest has to be the swaying "buttocks of the women of the tribe of Daus"

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established till the buttocks of the women of the tribe of Daus move while going round Dhi-al-Khalasa."

Dhi-al-Khalasa was the idol of the Daus tribe which they used to worship in the pre Islamic Period of Ignorance.

Bukhari 88.232

Jesus is mentioned earlier on in the Judgement Day proceedings, just after the Judge has made his appearance and dressed a naked Abraham.

With this formality out of the way, and leaving everyone else standing around naked for the time being, the Judge will turn his attention to the companions of His greatest spokesperson during his days as a mortal, an indication perhaps of the esteem in which He holds this exceptional unschooled messenger of His.

Some will be forced to the right, by His angels it is assumed, others to the left. Remember, during the Dark Ages when all this was revealed, good was associated with the right and evil with the left, therefore it makes sense that the Prophet would reveal that those destined for Hell would be asked or forced to move to the left. As to whose left, Allah is assumed, despite the confusion in might create for many in the crowd facing forward, towards the Throne, who will assume it is to their left or their right they are asked to move.

But I digress.

God's Messenger will not plead with the god, for whom he did so so much, to save his former companions knowing full well what being taken "to the left" in the following hadith means. He will abandon them to their fate using a quote he attributes to Jesus as justification.

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

Allah's Apostle said:

"You will be resurrected (and assembled) bare-footed, naked and uncircumcised."

The Prophet then recited the Divine Verse: "As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it: A promise We have undertaken. Truly we shall do it." (21.104)

He added, "The first to be dressed will be Abraham. Then some of my companions will take to the right and to the left (Hell-Fire).

I will say: 'My companions!

It will be said, 'They had been renegades since you left them.'

I will then say what the Pious Slave Jesus, the son of Mary said: 'And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them; when You did take me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if you forgive them, You, only You are the All-Mighty the All-Wise.'" (5.117-118)

Narrated Quaggas: "Those were the apostates who renegade from Islam during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr who fought them".

Bukhari 55.656

In the next account where Jesus is quoted, we find out what "They had been renegades" means. They tried to improve the perfect religion. Heretical behavior perhaps, but, not apostasy as insinuated by Quaggas:

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

The Prophet delivered a sermon and said, "You (people) will be gathered before Allah (on the Day of Resurrection) bare-footed, naked and uncircumcised."

(The Prophet then recited): 'As We began the first creation We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise We have undertaken and truly We shall do it.' and added, "The first man who will be dressed on the Day of Resurrection, will be Abraham. Lo! Some men from my followers will be brought and taken towards the left side, whereupon I will say, 'O Lord, (these are) my companions!'

It will be said: 'You do not know what new things they introduced (into the religion) after you.'

I will then say as the righteous pious slave, Jesus, said, 'I was a witness over them while I dwelt among them... (to His Statement) and You are the Witness to all things.' (5.117)

Then it will be said, '(O Muhammad) These people never stopped to apostate since you left them." 

Bukhari 60.264

A shorter version:

Narrated Ibn Abbas:

The Prophet said, "You will be gathered (on the Day of Resurrection) and some people will be driven (by the angels) to the left side (and taken to Hell) whereupon I will say as the pious slave (Jesus) said: "And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them...the ALMIGHTY, the All Wise." (5.117-118)

Bukhari 60.150

Jesus and the Intercession Round

When the curtain lifts on Judgement Day, one of the many surreal scenes described by God's Messenger and His Mentor is the believers – men, women and children – milling around in their billions (trillions if Allah waits much longer to bring an end to His Creation) when they spot the prophets, including the greatest of them all and the merely adequate like the one who defeated the forces of evil on Allah behalf.

They will seek them out hoping they have some influence with the Judge and will plead their case when He deigns make an appearance.

The choice will fall, after a process of elimination, on the last and greatest and the favourite of Allah who was preemptively forgiven all his sins including those he had yet to commit. Nothing needing to intercede on his own behalf, the greatest of them all will then makes his way – in one hadiths to Allah's House – to plead the case for a limited number of believers starting with those who have expressed the most blessing on him every time his name was mentioned. The frequent blesser, however, may not need the Prophet's intercession.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal reported that the companion of Muhammad, Abu Talhah al-Ansari said:

One morning the Messenger of Allah was in a cheerful mood and looked happy.

They said, 'Oh Messenger of Allah, this morning you are in a cheerful mood and look happy.'

He said, Of course, just now someone [an angel] came to me from my Lord [Allah] and said, 'Whoever among your Ummah sends Salah upon you, Allah will record for him ten good deeds and will erase for him ten evil deeds, and will raise his status by ten degrees, and will return his greeting with something similar to it.'"

But that is not the incongruity here. The strangeness is that the judgement round where the guilty are actually sent to Hell after sentencing as yet to begin, yet, the Messenger will journey to Hell to bring out of the fire those who technically have yet to be judged.


There are six lengthy accounts in the Bukhari collection about this opening act of Judgement Day where Jesus is mentioned which, for lack of a better expression, I call the Intercession Round. All six accounts are presented in full because, apart from providing an insight into the mind of the storyteller, each offers additional tidbits of information.

Like revelations in the Koran, it is nearly impossible to present hadiths that do not refer to a known historical event, as is the case here, in the order they were communicated.  

In my ordering, in the first three recollections, all the lesser prophets decline to intervene with the Judge claiming they are unfit for such a task. In the first, the believers among the crowd of all the people who have ever lived and died waiting to be judged will get together and spontaneously come to the same conclusion.

Narrated Anas:

The Prophet said, "On the Day of Resurrection the Believers will assemble and say, 'Let us ask somebody to intercede for us with our Lord.'

So they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the father of all the people, and Allah created you with His Own Hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.'

Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this (i.e. intercession for you).'

Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, 'Go to Noah, for he was the first Apostle, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.'

They will go to him and Noah will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do what he had no knowledge of, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, 'Go to the Khalil-r-Rahman (i.e. Abraham).'

They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Moses, the slave to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Torah.'

So they will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say, 'Go to Jesus, Allah's Slave, His Apostle and Allah's Word and a Spirit coming from Him.

Jesus will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad the Slave of Allah whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.'

So they will come to me and I will proceed till I will ask my Lord's Permission and I will be given permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in Prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed.' (Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.'

I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede for) whom I will admit into Paradise. Then I will come back again to Allah, and when I see my Lord, the same thing will happen to me. And then I will intercede and Allah will fix a limit for me to intercede whom I will let into Paradise, then I will come back for the third time; and then I will come back for the fourth time, and will say, 'None remains in Hell but those whom the Quran has imprisoned (in Hell) and who have been destined to an eternal stay in Hell.'"

Abu Abdullah said: 'But those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned in Hell,' refers to the Statement of Allah: "They will dwell therein forever." (16.29)

Bukhari 60.3

In the previous hadith the believers got together on their own, in the next, Allah said He gathered them together. In the Koran, He did this through the use of a trumpet.

36:51 And the Trumpet is blown, then behold how from their graves, unto their Lord, they slink away.

36:52 They will say: “Woe betide us; whoever has roused us from our sleep? This is what the All-Compassionate has promised, and the Messengers have spoken the truth.”

36:53 It was only a single cry, and behold they were all brought before Us.

In both hadiths, billions spontaneously came to the same conclusion about seeking someone to intercede with the Judge.

The most glaring incongruity in the next hadith is the Prophet revealing that there is a get-out-of Hell phrase that, when said by those who have an atom's worth of faith (the narrator compares the atom to the size on ant), Allah will remove them from the Fire.

If shouting La ilaha illal-lah (there is no deity but God) gets a believer out Hell why does the Prophet even bother with his to-Hell-and-back treks. The mystery deepens. Look to the next to last hadith in this series for a possible explanation.

Narrated Anas:

The Prophet said, "Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, 'Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.'

Then they will go to Adam and say, 'O Adam! Don't you see the people (people's condition)? Allah created you with His Own Hands and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all the things. Please intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.'

Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking' and mention to them the mistakes he had committed, and add, "But you'd better go to Noah as he was the first Apostle sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.'

They will go to Noah who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention the mistake which he made, and add, 'But you'd better go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.'

They will go to Abraham who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, 'But you'd better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly'

They will go to Moses who will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, 'You'd better go to Jesus, Allah's slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.'

They will go to Jesus who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, but you'd better go to Muhammad whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).'

So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in (prostration) before Him and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, 'O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit whom I will admit into Paradise.

I will come back again, and when I see my Lord (again), I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, 'O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise, I will return again, and when I see my Lord, I will fall down (in prostration) and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He wishes, and then He will say, 'O Muhammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will then praise my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me, and then I will intercede. Allah will allow me to intercede (for a certain kind of people) and will fix a limit to whom I will admit into Paradise.

I will come back and say, 'O my Lord! None remains in Hell (Fire) but those whom Qur'an has imprisoned therein and for whom eternity in Hell (Fire) has become inevitable.'"

The Prophet added, "There will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a barley grain.

Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of a wheat grain.

Then there will come out of Hell (Fire) everyone who says: 'La ilaha illal-lah,' and has in his heart good equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant)."

Bukhari 93.507

In the next reiteration, it is the Judge taking his time to make an appearance that causes the assembled to seek the prophets' intercession. The lesser prophets, with Jesus again the standout exception, provide additional information about the sin they committed for which they fear the Judge's Wrath. Also, it seems that the Judge in this hadith has yet to leave His home requiring the Prophet to make His way there to begin his plea for mercy for some of his followers.

Narrated Anas:

The Prophet said, "The believers will be kept (waiting) on the Day of Resurrection so long that they will become worried and say, "Let us ask somebody to intercede far us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from our place.

Then they will go to Adam and say, 'You are Adam, the father of the people. Allah created you with His Own Hand and made you reside in His Paradise and ordered His angels to prostrate before you, and taught you the names of all things will you intercede for us with your Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours?

Adam will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking.' He will mention his mistakes he had committed, i.e., his eating off the tree though he had been forbidden to do so.  He will add, 'Go to Noah, the first prophet sent by Allah to the people of the Earth.'

The people will go to Noah who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking' He will mention his mistake which he had done, i.e., his asking his Lord without knowledge.' He will say (to them), 'Go to Abraham, Khalil Ar-Rahman.'

They will go to Abraham who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking. He would mention three words by which he told a lie, and say (to them). 'Go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and spoke to, directly and brought near Him, for conversation.'

They will go to Moses who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking. He will mention his mistake he made, i.e., killing a person, and will say (to them), 'Go to, Allah's slave and His Apostle, and a soul created by Him and His Word.' (Be: And it was.)

They will go to Jesus who will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking but you'd better go to Muhammad the slave who's past and future sins have been forgiven by Allah.'

So they will come to me, and I will ask my Lord's permission to enter His House and then I will be permitted.

When I see Him I will fall down in prostration before Him, and He will leave me (in prostration) as long as He will, and then He will say, 'O Muhammad, lift up your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted, and ask (for anything) for it will be granted:'

Then I will raise my head and glorify my Lord with certain praises which He has taught me. Allah will put a limit for me (to intercede for a certain type of people) I will take them out

(Qatada said: I heard Anas saying that, the Prophet said, "I will go out and take them out of Hell …) and make them enter Paradise."

Bukhari 93.532v

In the following, we are informed that God's Messenger will make four trips to Hell and back. But, you should already know that if you counted the back-and-forth trips to Hell in hadith 93.507

Narrated Anas:

Allah's Apostle said, "Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us request someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.'

Then they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the one whom Allah created with His Own Hands, and breathed in you of His soul, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you; so please intercede for us with our Lord.'

Adam will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, and will remember his sin, and will say, 'Go to Noah, the first Apostle sent by Allah'

They will go to him and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking', and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Abraham whom Allah took as a Khalil.

They will go to him (and request similarly).

He will reply, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Moses to whom Allah spoke directly.'

They will go to Moses and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking,' and will remember his sin and say, 'Go to Jesus'

They will go to him, and he will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad as Allah has forgiven his past and future sins.'

They will come to me and I will ask my Lord's permission, and when I see Him, I will fall down in prostration to Him, and He will leave me in that state as long as (He) Allah will, and then I will be addressed. 'Raise up your head (O Muhammad)! Ask, and your request will be granted, and say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.'

Then I will raise my head, and I will glorify and praise my Lord with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede, Allah will fix a limit for me (i.e., certain type of people for whom I may intercede), and I will take them out of the (Hell) Fire and let them enter Paradise.

Then I will come back (to Allah) and fall in prostration, and will do the same for the third and fourth times till no-one remains in the (Hell) Fire except those whom the Qur'an has imprisoned therein." (The sub-narrator, Qatada used to say at that point, "...those upon whom eternity (in Hell) has been imposed.")

Bukhari 76.570

Tales told around the campfire tend to expand and change with each retelling and this may be the case here where we learn that the story was actually told around a campfire. The heat from the fire may have reminded the storyteller that it was the heat from the sun that drove the milling crowd, not only the believers in this iteration, to seek someone who could intercede for them with God.

The most interesting tidbit in this recollection is the Prophet revealing, towards the very end of his rambling, that the distance between the seven gates of Paradise is 805.4 miles or 1,296 km.

The reason why the lesser prophets will not intercede in this account has to do with an extremely angry deity. They too have committed sins – including Jesus who still can't seem to remember what they were – for which, unlike Allah's last and greatest, have not been absolved beforehand.

It may not be that Jesus cannot remember a sin because Satan failed to breach the placenta with his two fingers (Satan has only two fingers!!!) he never committed any.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "When any human being is born. Satan touches him at both sides of the body with his two fingers, except Jesus, the son of Mary, whom Satan tried to touch but failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead." 

Bukhari 54.506

In any event, it's everyone for himself!

The sun, said the Prophet, at sunset, goes and prostrates itself beneath Allah's Throne, but on Judgement Day its prostration will not be accepted leaving plenty of room for anyone else to kneel and kiss the ground beneath the Throne without risking being burnt to a cinder.

In the next iteration, where Jesus is mentioned, we learn that the Prophet, like the sun, will prostrate himself beneath God's Throne whose size can be approximated from the size of Allah as given in the Koran.

39:67 They have not recognized Allah’s true measure. The whole earth shall be in His grasp and the heavens shall be rolled up in His Right Hand on the Day of Resurrection. Glory be to Him, and may He be exalted above what they associate with Him.

What about the hadith where God's Messenger visited Allah's House to plead for mercy for his followers? Perhaps Allah was sitting on the Throne in His house when the Prophet came calling. Remember Lawrence's observation about believers being oblivious to what non-believers might consider conflicting absurdities, and leave it at that.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Some (cooked) meat was brought to Allah Apostle and the meat of a forearm was presented to him as he used to like it.

He ate a morsel of it and said, "I will be the chief of all the people on the Day of Resurrection. Do you know the reason for it? Allah will gather all the human being of early generations as well as late generation on one plain so that the announcer will be able to make them all-hear his voice and the watcher will be able to see all of them. The sun will come so close to the people that they will suffer such distress and trouble as they will not be able to bear or stand.

Then the people will say, 'Don't you see to what state you have reached? Won't you look for someone who can intercede for you with your Lord?'

Some people will say to some others, 'Go to Adam.'

So they will go to Adam and say to him. 'You are the father of mankind; Allah created you with His Own Hand, and breathed into you of His Spirit (meaning the spirit which he created for you); and ordered the angels to prostrate before you; so (please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are? Don't you see what condition we have reached?'

Adam will say, 'Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. He forbade me (to eat of the fruit of) the tree, but I disobeyed Him. Myself! Myself! Myself! (has more need for intercession). Go to someone else; go to Noah.'

So they will go to Noah and say (to him), 'O Noah! You are the first (of Allah's Messengers) to the people of the earth, and Allah has named you a thankful slave; please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?'

He will say.' Today my Lord has become angry as He has never become nor will ever become thereafter. I had (in the world) the right to make one definitely accepted invocation, and I made it against my nation. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Abraham.'

They will go to Abraham and say, 'O Abraham! You are Allah's Apostle and His Khalil from among the people of the earth; so please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?'

He will say to them, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will ever become thereafter. I had told three lies (Abu Haiyan (the sub-narrator) mentioned them in the Hadith) Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Moses.'

The people will then go to Moses and say, 'O Moses! You art Allah's Apostle and Allah gave you superiority above the others with this message and with His direct Talk to you; (please) intercede for us with your Lord Don't you see in what state we are?'

Moses will say, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before, nor will become thereafter, I killed a person whom I had not been ordered to kill. Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Jesus'

So they will go to Jesus and say, 'O Jesus! You are Allah's Apostle and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?'

Jesus will say. 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, 'Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad.'

So they will come to me and say, 'O Muhammad ! You are Allah's Apostle and the last of the prophets, and Allah forgave your early and late sins. (Please) intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?"

The Prophet added, "Then I will go beneath Allah's Throne and fall in prostration before my Lord. And then Allah will guide me to such praises and glorification to Him as He has never guided anybody else before me.

Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad Raise your head. Ask, and it will be granted. Intercede It (your intercession) will be accepted.'

So I will raise my head and Say, 'My followers, O my Lord! My followers, O my Lord'.

It will be said, 'O Muhammad! Let those of your followers who have no accounts, enter through such a gate of the gates of Paradise as lies on the right; and they will share the other gates with the people."

The Prophet further said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the distance between every two gate-posts of Paradise is like the distance between Mecca and Busra (in Sham)."

Bukhari 60.236

Anas bin Malik (or simply Anas as he is identified here as a narrator was the longest lived of the Companions of the Prophet. He was perhaps not yet a teenager when he was accepted into the Prophets household as a servant.

He was approximately 34 years of age when God's Messenger died. He then joined the war against those who rebelled against Muslim rule and later the on-going wars of conquest which made believers like him rich beyond their wildest dreams.

In his declining years he settled in a palatial home in Basra where we encounter him one last time when visitors ask him to repeat what the Prophet said about intercession.

In this last remembrance of what God's Messenger said about the intervention round where Jesus is mentioned we are told by Anas that the people will surge towards each other like waves (there is no mention of women and children being trampled to death).

We are also informed that Allah gave his Messenger generous size limit as to the faith of those he was allowed to rescue from Hell's Fire, starting with the size of a barley grain, then a small ant and finally settling on the size of the " lightest mustard seed" for the Prophet's last trip to the hottest place in the known Universe.

Jesus said that faith the size of mustard seed could move a mountain:

"Because of your little faith," He told them. "For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, Move from here to there,' and it will move."

Mathew 17:20

In the end faith the size of mustard seed proved capable of moving an implacable god to show mercy.

Narrated Ma'bad bin Hilal Al'Anzi:

We, i.e., some people from Basra gathered and went to Anas bin Malik, and we went in company with Thabit Al-Bunnani so that he might ask him about the Hadith of Intercession on our behalf.

Behold, Anas was in his palace, and our arrival coincided with his Duha prayer.

We asked permission to enter and he admitted us while he was sitting on his bed. We said to Thabit, "Do not ask him about anything else first but the Hadith of Intercession."

He said, "O Abu Hamza! There are your brethren from Basra coming to ask you about the Hadith of Intercession."

Anas then said, "Muhammad talked to us saying, 'On the Day of Resurrection the people will surge with each other like waves, and then they will come to Adam and say, 'Please intercede for us with your Lord.'

He will say, 'I am not fit for that but you'd better go to Abraham as he is the Khalil of the Beneficent.'

They will go to Abraham and he will say, 'I am not fit for that, but you'd better go to Moses as he is the one to whom Allah spoke directly.'

So they will go to Moses and he will say, 'I am not fit for that, but you'd better go to Jesus as he is a soul created by Allah and His Word.' (Be: And it was).

They will go to Jesus and he will say, 'I am not fit for that, but you'd better go to Muhammad.'

They would come to me and I would say, 'I am for that.'

Then I will ask for my Lord's permission, and it will be given, and then He will inspire me to praise Him with such praises as I do not know now. So I will praise Him with those praises and will fall down, prostrate before Him.

Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for your will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will say, 'O Lord, my followers! My followers!'

And then it will be said, 'Go and take out of Hell (Fire) all those who have faith in their hearts, equal to the weight of a barley grain.'

I will go and do so and return to praise Him with the same praises, and fall down (prostrate) before Him.

Then it will be said, 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will say, 'O Lord, my followers! My followers!'

It will be said, 'Go and take out of it all those who have faith in their hearts equal to the weight of a small ant or a mustard seed.'

I will go and do so and return to praise Him with the same praises, and fall down in prostration before Him.

It will be said, 'O, Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to, and ask, for you will be granted (your request); and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will say, 'O Lord, my followers!'

Then He will say, 'Go and take out (all those) in whose hearts there is faith even to the lightest, lightest mustard seed. (Take them) out of the Fire.'

I will go and do so."'

When we left Anas, I said to some of my companions, "Let's pass by Al-Hasan who is hiding himself in the house of Abi Khalifa and request him to tell us what Anas bin Malik has told us."

So we went to him and we greeted him and he admitted us. We said to him, "O Abu Said! We came to you from your brother Anas Bin Malik and he related to us a Hadith about the intercession the like of which I have never heard."

He said, "What is that?"

Then we told him of the Hadith and said, "He stopped at this point (of the Hadith)."

He said, "What then?"

We said, "He did not add anything to that."

He said, Anas related the Hadith to me twenty years ago when he was a young fellow. I don't know whether he forgot or if he did not like to let you depend on what he might have said."

We said, "O Abu Said! Let us know that."

He smiled and said, "Man was created hasty. I did not mention that, but that I wanted to inform you of it. Anas told me the same as he told you and said that the Prophet added, 'I then return for a fourth time and praise Him similarly and prostrate before Him me the same as he 'O Muhammad, raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted (your request): and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.'

I will say, 'O Lord, allow me to intercede for whoever said, 'None has the right to be worshiped except Allah.'

Then Allah will say, 'By my Power, and my Majesty, and by My Supremacy, and by My Greatness, I will take out of Hell (Fire) whoever said: 'None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.'''

Bukhari 93.601

In the introduction to hadith 93.507, I said to look to the last hadith in this series for a clarification, among other things, for the comparison to the size of one's faith to a seed and an ant. An explanation could be the advocate paraphrasing the Judge or vice versa in this hadith.

As to the get-out-of-Hell secret words:  "there is no deity but God". It is similar enough to 'None has the right to be worshiped except Allah.' that both should be acceptable to even the most insecure deity should you find yourself in need of one or both of them to end the pain of burning for an eternity.

Jesus and Ezra Together

When the Judgement phase of Judgement Day finally gets underway, Jesus will come forward to testify against those who did not believe he was a Messenger of Allah and those who believed he was more than a simple mortal.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non-Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it."

Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e. Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." (4.159)

Bukhari 55.657

During the Judgement phase, Allah, in the following hadith will, as he does in His Koran, accuse the Jews of also believing He shares power with a son, in this instance a progeny by the name of Ezra.

9:30 The Jews say: “Ezra is the son of Allah”, and the Christians say: “The Messiah is the son of Allah.” That is their statement, by their mouths; they emulate the statement of the unbelievers of yore. May Allah damn them; how they are perverted!

The Jews used to "confer the title of 'son of God' to a person whose piety has placed him in a very near relationship to God." Encyclopedia of Judaism

6:1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

Ezra is such a figure having brought the Torah back to Jerusalem from Babylon.  It does not in any way imply that the person is a direct descendent of the Almighty.

Either Allah confused the meaning of sons of God in Genesis or heard the Jews referring to one of their own as a son of God and assumed the worse.

Nothing gets Allah madder than saying his is not all omnipotent all on His own, which is why, as His Messenger reminds us, He will cause the perverts who make such a claim to fall into the Fire.

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:

During the lifetime of the Prophet some people said: O Allah's Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?"

The Prophet said, "Yes; do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun at midday when it is bright and there is no cloud in the sky?"

They replied, "No."

He said, "Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon on a full moon night when it is bright and there is no cloud in the sky?"

They replied, "No."

The Prophet said, "(Similarly) you will have no difficulty in seeing Allah on the Day of Resurrection as you have no difficulty in seeing either of them. On the Day of Resurrection, a call-maker will announce, "Let every nation follow that which they used to worship."

Then none of those who used to worship anything other than Allah like idols and other deities but will fall in Hell (Fire), till there will remain none but those who used to worship Allah, both those who were obedient (i.e. good) and those who were disobedient (i.e. bad) and the remaining party of the people of the Scripture.

Then the Jews will be called upon and it will be said to them, 'Who do you use to worship?'

They will say, 'We used to worship Ezra, the son of Allah.'*

It will be said to them, 'You are liars, for Allah has never taken anyone as a wife or a son. What do you want now?'

They will say, 'O our Lord! We are thirsty, so give us something to drink.'

They will be directed and addressed thus, 'Will you drink,' whereupon they will be gathered unto Hell (Fire) which will look like a mirage whose different sides will be destroying each other. Then they will fall into the Fire.

Afterwards the Christians will be called upon and it will be said to them, 'Who do you use to worship?'

They will say, 'We used to worship Jesus, the son of Allah.'

It will be said to them, 'You are liars, for Allah has never taken anyone as a wife or a son,'

Then it will be said to them, 'What do you want?'

They will say what the former people have said.

Then, when there remain (in the gathering) none but those who used to worship Allah (Alone, the real Lord of the Worlds) whether they were obedient or disobedient.

Then (Allah) the Lord of the worlds will come to them in a shape nearest to the picture they had in their minds about Him.

It will be said, 'What are you waiting for?' Every nation have followed what they used to worship.'

They will reply, 'We left the people in the world when we were in great need of them and we did not take them as friends. Now we are waiting for our Lord Whom we used to worship.' Allah will say, 'I am your Lord.' They will say twice or thrice, 'We do not worship any besides Allah.' "

Bukhari 60.105


The Almighty's greatest spokesperson's observations about Judgement Day very much mimic the confusion found in what he communicated from Allah about that most ominous of days in the Koran.

Recommended: The Islamic Hereafter.


Say What?

The Son of God would not have needed to ask:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, 'Did you steal?, He said, 'No, by Allah, except Whom there is None who has the right to be worshipped' Jesus said, 'I believe in Allah and suspect my eyes."

Bukhari 55.653

Waraqa