English Translation

Hasan b. Musa narrated to us, Shayban narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Uqbah b. Abd al-Ghafir, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "There was a man among those who passed before you, whom Allah had granted abundant wealth and children. When death approached him, he called his sons and said, 'What kind of father was I to you?' They said, 'The best of fathers.' He said, 'Then by Allah, he has never stored up any good with Allah at all. So when he dies, burn him until he becomes charcoal, then crush him, then scatter him' - meaning on a stormy day. He said: And the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'He took a pledge from them concerning that, by my Lord, and they did it - by my Lord - when he died, they burned him until he became charcoal, then crushed him, then scattered him on a stormy day.' His Lord said, 'Be,' and there he was, a man standing. His Lord said to him, 'What made you do what you did?' He said, 'My Lord, I feared Your punishment.' He said: By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, nothing else availed him except that Allah forgave him." Al-Hasan said once, "nothing else reached him except that Allah forgave him." Qatadah said: A man feared Allah's punishment, so Allah saved him from what he feared.