He said: When the Day of Resurrection arrives, the people of the guardianship of Allah will be brought forth, and they will stand before Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, in three categories. He said: A man from the first category will be brought, and He will say: "My servant, why did you perform deeds?"

He will say: "O Lord, You created Paradise and its trees, its fruits, its jewelry, and its delights, and what You have prepared therein for the people of Your obedience; so I kept my nights awake and my days thirsty out of longing for it." He says: Then Allah, the Exalted, will say:

"My servant, you only acted for the sake of Paradise. This is Paradise, so enter it, and it is part of My bounty toward you that I shall free you from the Fire."

He said: Then he and those with him shall enter Paradise. He said: Then a man from the second category will be brought, and He will say: "My servant, why did you perform deeds?" He will say: "O Lord, You created a Fire, and You created its chains, its blazing flame, its scorching heat, its black smoke, and what You have prepared therein for the people of Your punishment and the people of Your disobedience; so I kept my nights awake and my days thirsty out of fear of it." He says: "My servant, you only acted out of fear of the Fire, so I have freed you from the Fire, and it is part of My bounty toward you that I shall admit you into My Paradise." Then he and those with him shall enter Paradise. Then a man from the third category will be brought, and He will say: "My servant, why did you perform deeds?" He will say: "O Lord, out of love for You and longing for You. By Your might, I have kept my nights awake and my days thirsty out of longing for You and love for You." Then He, the Blessed and Exalted, will say: "Here I am, look at Me." Then He says: "It is part of My bounty toward you that I shall free you from the Fire, permit you to enter My Paradise, grant you the visitation of My angels, and greet you with My own Self." Then he and those with him shall enter Paradise.

His saying, the Exalted: "But most of them do not give thanks."

16563 - My father narrated to us, Hisham ibn Khalid narrated to us, Shu'ayb ibn Ishaq narrated to us, Sa'id narrated to us, from Qatadah regarding His saying: "But most of them do not give thanks," he said: The believer indeed gives thanks for the blessings of Allah upon him and upon His creation.

16564 - And from Qatadah, he said: It was mentioned to us that Abu al-Darda' used to say: "O how many people are thankful for the blessing of someone else while they themselves are blessed without knowing it, and O how many people are carriers of understanding without being people of understanding."

His saying, the Exalted: "And indeed, your Lord knows what their breasts conceal and what they declare."

16565 - Muhammad ibn Sa'd informed us in what he wrote to me, my father narrated to me, my paternal uncle narrated to me, my father narrated to me from his father, from Ibn 'Abbas regarding His saying: "He knows what their breasts conceal and what they declare," he says: He knows what they did by night and by day.