488 – My father (i.e. Imām Ahmad) – rahimahullāh – narrated to me (and said): Yahyā bin Sa’īd narrated to us, from Sufyān (who said): Mansūr and Sulaymān narrated to me, from Ibrāhīm, from ’Ubaydah, from ‘Abdullāh (i.e. Ibn Mas‘ūd RA) that a Jew came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
“O Muhammad. Verily Allāh holds the heavens upon a Finger. And the earths upon a Finger. And the soil upon one Finger. And the mountains upon one Finger. And the creations upon one Finger. Then He will say: ‘I am the King.’”
So the Prophet ﷺ laughed until his molar teeth became visible. And he recited:
“They did not estimate Allāh His true estimate.” (Al-An’ām 6:91)
My father (i.e. Imām Ahmad) said: Yahyā said: Fudayl ibn ‘Iyyād said: “So the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ laughed because he was surprised by him and confirming him (in what he said).”
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489 – I heard my father (i.e. Imām Ahmad) – rahimahullāh – (say): Yahyā bin Sa’īd narrated the hadīth of Sufyān to us, from al A’mash, from Mansūr, from Ibrāhīm, from ’Ubaydah, from ’Abdullāh (i.e. Ibn Mas‘ūd RA), from the Prophet ﷺ:
“That Allāh will hold the heavens upon one Finger.”
My father – rahimahullāh – said: “Yahyā began to show with his fingers.” And my father showed me how he began to show with his fingers, putting one finger upon another finger until he came to the last of them.
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490 – My father narrated to me (and said) from Yūnus, from Mansūr bin al Mu’tamir, from Ibrāhīm, from ‘Abīdah al Salmānī, from ‘Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd (radiAllāhu ’anhu) who said:
A rabbi came to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and said: “O Muhammad or O Messenger of Allāh. Verily Allāh – ‘azza wa jalla – on the Day of Judgment will put the heavens upon one Finger, and the earth upon one Finger, and the mountains and the trees upon one Finger, and the water and the soil upon one Finger and the rest of the creation upon one Finger. Then He will shake them all and say: ‘I am the King.’”
So the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ laughed until his molar teeth became visible, confirming the saying of the rabbi. Then the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ recited:
“And they did not estimate Allāh His true estimate. And the whole earth will be in His Grasp on the Day of Judgment.” (Az-Zumar 39:67)
Until the end of the verse.
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491 – ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Umar narrated to us (and said): Abū Mu’āwiyah narrated to us, from al A‘mash, from Ibrāhīm, from ‘Alqamah, from ‘Abdullāh (Ibn Mas‘ūd) who said:
“A man from the people of the Book came to the Prophet ﷺ.”
And he mentioned the (same) meaning as the hadīth of Mansūr, from Ibrāhīm, from ‘Abīdah al Salmānī, from ‘Abdullāh bin Mas’ūd (radiAllāhu ‘anhu), from the Prophet ﷺ.
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492 – Another chain to Ibrāhīm onwards with the same meaning.
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493 – ‘Abdullāh bin ’Umar narrated to me (and said): ‘Imrān bin ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from ‘Atā bin al Sāib, from Abū al Duhā, from Ibn ‘Abbās (radiAllāhu ‘anhu) who said:
A Jew passed by the Prophet ﷺ, so the Prophet ﷺ said to him: “O Jew, frighten us.”
So he said: “O Abū al Qāsim. How will it be on a day when the earth will be upon this, the heavens upon this, and the water upon this, and the creation upon this.” Meaning His Fingers.
Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited:
“And they did not estimate Allāh His true estimate. And the whole earth will be in His Grasp on the Day of Judgment. And the heavens will be folded up in His Right Hand.” (Al Zumar 39:67)
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494 – My father – rahimahullāh – narrated to me (and said): Husayn bin Hasan narrated to us (and said): Abū Kudaynah narrated to us, from ‘Atā, from Abū al Duhā, from Ibn ‘Abbās (radiAllāhu ‘anhumā) who said:
A Jew passed by the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ while he was sitting, and said: “What do you say, O Abū Al-Qāsim, about a day where Allāh will put the heaven upon this – and he pointed with his index finger – and the earths upon this, and the mountains upon this, and the rest of the creation upon this.” And he began to show it with his fingers.
So Allāh – ‘azza wa jalla – revealed the verse:
“They did not estimate Allāh His true estimate.” (Al An’ām 6:91)
Until the end of the verse.
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495. Ahmad bin Ibrāhīm narrated to me (and said): I heard Wakī’ say:
“We submit to these ahādīth just as they came and we do not say: ‘How this and why is this’. For example, like the hadīth of Ibn Mas’ūd: ‘Verily Allāh – ‘azza wa jalla – holds the heavens upon a Finger and the mountains upon a Finger.’ And the hadīth that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The heart of the son of Ādam is between two Fingers from the Fingers of Ar- Rahmān.” And similar to it among the ahādīth.”
Al Sunnah by Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal