English Translation

Arim and 'Affan told us, they said: Mu'tamir told us, he said: my father said: Abu Tamimah told me, from 'Amr — perhaps he said al-Bikali — 'Amr relating from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. 'Amr said: 'Abdullah said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent me out. He said: So we set off until I came to such-and-such a place, and he drew a line for me and said to me, "Stay within this; do not go out of it, for if you go out you will perish." He said: So I stayed within it. He said: Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, went a stone's throw away or a little further, or as he said. Then he mentioned certain beings resembling the Zutt [a dark-skinned people] — 'Affan said, or as 'Affan said, if Allah wills — having no clothes on them, and I could not see their private parts; they were tall, with little flesh on them. He said: So they came and began to press in upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He said: And the Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, began reciting to them. He said: And they began coming to me, seeming to circle around me and confront me. 'Abdullah said: I was struck with intense terror because of them. He said: So I sat down, or as he said. He said: Then when the line of dawn broke, they began to leave, or as he said. He said: Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came heavy and in pain, or almost in pain, from what they had done to him. He said, "Indeed I find myself heavy," or as he said. So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, placed his head in my lap, or as he said. He said: Then some beings came wearing white, tall garments, or as he said, while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had dozed off. 'Abdullah said: I was struck with terror because of them, more intense than the terror I felt the first time. Arim said in his account: Then some of them said to others, "This servant has indeed been given something good," or as they said, "his eyes are asleep" — or he said "his eye" — or as they said — "but his heart is awake." Then — Arim and 'Affan said — some of them said to others, "Come, let us set forth a parable for him," or as they said. Some of them said to others, "You set forth a parable and we will interpret it, or we set one forth and you interpret it." So some of them said to others, "His parable is that of a master who built a fortified structure, then sent out to the people with food," or as he said, "and whoever did not come to his food," or he said, "did not follow him, he punished him severely," or as they said. The others said, "As for the master, he is the Lord of all the worlds; as for the structure, it is Islam; and the food is Paradise; and he is the one calling to it, so whoever follows him will be in Paradise." Arim said in his account, or as they said, "and whoever does not follow him will be punished," or as he said. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, woke up and said, "What did you see, O son of Umm 'Abd?" 'Abdullah said, "I saw such-and-such." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Nothing of what they said was hidden from me." The Prophet of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "They are a group of angels," or he said, "they are from among the angels," or as Allah willed.