Paradise and Hellfire were presented to me, and I have never seen anything like today in terms of good and evil. If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much

Chapter: Respecting Him And Not Asking Him Unnecessary Questions

Authentic hadith of Sahih Muslim Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih Muslim 2359a

حَدَّثَنَا مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلاَنَ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ قُدَامَةَ السُّلَمِيُّ، وَيَحْيَى بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ اللُّؤْلُؤِيُّ، - وَأَلْفَاظُهُمْ مُتَقَارِبَةٌ قَالَ مَحْمُودٌ حَدَّثَنَا النَّضْرُ بْنُ شُمَيْلٍ، وَقَالَ الآخَرَانِ، أَخْبَرَنَا النَّضْرُ، - أَخْبَرَنَا شُعْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ أَنَسٍ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ بَلَغَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ أَصْحَابِهِ شَىْءٌ فَخَطَبَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏

عُرِضَتْ عَلَىَّ الْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ فَلَمْ أَرَ كَالْيَوْمِ فِي الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ وَلَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلاً وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا ‏"

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was informed about something regarding his Companions, so he delivered a sermon and said:

"Paradise and Hellfire were presented to me, and I have never seen anything like today in terms of good and evil. If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much." He said: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not experience a day more difficult than that. He said: They covered their heads and made sounds of grief. He said: Then ‘Umar stood up and said: We are pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Islam as a religion, and with Muhammad as a Prophet. He said: Then that man stood up and said: Who is my father? He said: "Your father is so-and-so." Then the following verse was revealed: {O you who believe, do not ask about things that, if they were made known to you, would only cause you hardship.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 101]

Reported by Muslim (No. 2359a), Al-Bukhari (No. 4621, 6486), Ibn Majah (No. 4191) and Ahmad (No. 12394, 12539, 12713, 12720, 13140, 13334).

Explanation

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was informed about something regarding his Companions, namely that they had been asking him too many questions, and he became upset and delivered a speech and said: Paradise and Hellfire were presented to me; I have never seen anything as good as what I saw today in Paradise, nor as evil as what I saw today in Hellfire. If you had seen what I saw and knew what I knew from what I saw today and before, you would have felt great compassion, and your laughter would have been few and your crying would have been abundant. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There was no day harder for his Companions than that day. They covered their heads, and there was a sound of weeping, with a nasal tone coming from their noses due to the intensity of their crying. ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: We are pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Islam as a religion, and with Muhammad as a Prophet. He said: Then that man stood up and said: Who is my father?

He said: "Your father is so-and-so." Then the following verse was revealed: {O you who believe, do not ask about things which, if they are made known to you, would only cause you hardship.} [Surat al-Mā’idah: 101]

Lessons

It is recommended to cry out of fear of Allah's punishment and not to laugh excessively, as it indicates heedlessness and a hard heart.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were deeply affected by the sermon, and they were greatly fearful of Allah's punishment.
It is recommended to cover the face when weeping.
Al-Khattābi said: This Hadīth is about those who ask out of affectation or obstinacy in matters that are not necessary. As for those who ask due to necessity, such as a matter that one needs clarification on, there is no sin or blame upon it.
The encouragement to remain steadfast in obeying Allah, to avoid His disobedience, and not violate His boundaries.
It indicates the permissibility of anger during admonition and teaching.

Explanation in Arabic

بَلَغَ رسولَ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن أصحابه شيء، وهو أنهم أكثروا عليه المسألة، فغضب وخطب فقال:

عرضت علي الجنة والنار؛ فلم أر خيرًا أكثر مما رأيته اليوم في الجنة، ولا شرًّا أكثر مما رأيته اليوم في النار، ولو رأيتم ما رأيت، وعلمتم ما علمت مما رأيته اليوم وقبل اليوم لأشفقتم إشفاقًا بليغًا، ولقلَّ ضحككُم، وكثر بكاؤكم.

قال أنس رضي الله عنه:

فما أتى على أصحابه صلى الله عليه وسلم يوم أشد منه، وغطّوا رءوسهم ولهم صوت فيه غنة يخرج من الأنف من شدة البكاء.

فقام عمر رضي الله عنه فقال:

رضينا بالله ربًا، وبالإسلام دينًا، وبمحمد نبيًا.

قال: فقام ذاك الرجل، فقال: من أبي؟

قال: «أَبُوكَ فُلَانٌ»، فَنَزَلَتْ:

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ}

[المائدة: 101].

استحباب البكاء خوفًا من عقاب الله، وعدم إكثار الضحك؛ لأنه يدل على الغفلة وقسوة القلب.
تأثر الصحابة رضي الله عنهم بالموعظة، وشدة خوفهم من عقاب الله عز وجل.
استحباب تغطية الوجه عند البكاء.
قال الخطابي: هذا الحديث فيمن سأل تكلُّفًا أو تعنُّتًا فيما لا حاجة به إليه، فأما من سأل لضرورة بأن وقعت له مسألة فسأل عنها فلا إثم عليه ولا عتب.
الحث على الاستقامة على طاعة الله، والبعد عن معاصي الله، والوقوف عند حدود الله.
فيه جواز الغضب عند الموعظة والتعليم.

Classical commentary

An-Nawawi — Sharh Sahih Muslim

قَوْله صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( عُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ الْجَنَّة وَالنَّار , فَلَمْ أَرَ كَالْيَوْمِ فِي الْخَيْر وَالشَّرّ , وَلَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَم لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلًا , وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا ) فِيهِ أَنَّ الْجَنَّة وَالنَّار مَخْلُوقَتَانِ , وَقَدْ سَبَقَ شَرْح عَرْضهمَا. وَمَعْنَى الْحَدِيث لَمْ أَرَ خَيْرًا أَكْثَر مِمَّا رَأَيْته الْيَوْم فِي الْجَنَّة , وَلَا شَرًّا أَكْثَر مِمَّا رَأَيْته الْيَوْم فِي النَّار , وَلَوْ رَأَيْتُمْ مَا رَأَيْت , وَعَلِمْتُمْ مَا عَلِمْت مِمَّا رَأَيْته الْيَوْم , وَقَبْل الْيَوْم , لَأَشْفَقْتُمْ إِشْفَاقًا بَلِيغًا , وَلَقَلَّ ضَحِكُكُمْ , وَكَثُرَ بُكَاؤُكُمْ. وَفِيهِ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا كَرَاهَة فِي اِسْتِعْمَال لَفْظَة ( لَوْ…

Scholar	Grade	Applies to	Work
Muslimd. 261 AH	Authenticصحيح	The hadith	صحيح مسلم No. 2359

Grades of other versions (2)

AuthenticAl-Albani صحيح — صحيح الجامع (4002)
Al-Bazzar لا نعلم رواه إلا النضر بن شميل، وروح بن عبادة، عن شعبة — البحر الزخار (13/490)

Other versions

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 4621

The Prophet (ﷺ) delivered a sermon the like of which I had never heard before. He said, "If you but knew what I know then you would have laughed little and wept much." On hearing that, the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) covered their faces and the sound of their weeping was heard. A man said, "Who…

لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلاً وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا ‏"

Narrated by Anas ibn Mālik

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 6486

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If you knew that which I know, you would laugh little and weep much."

‏لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلاً وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا‏"‏

Narrated by Anas ibn Mālik

Authentic Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sunan Ibn Majah 4191

“If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.”

"‏ لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ مَا أَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيلاً وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيرًا ‏"

Narrated by Anas ibn Mālik

Not graded Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Musnad Ahmad 12394