What is the authenticity of this story :
The Prophet (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) said :
You will see appear a man of Paradise. Thereupon, a man with a wet beard appeared. One Sahabi wanted to know the secret of this man, this man said to him: I never slept with rancour for others.
Answer
The full Hadith is as follows:
Sayyiduna Anas (radiyallahu ‘anhu) says:
“We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu’alayhi wasallam) when he said: “A man who is from the inmates of Jannah is about to arrive.” Soon thereafter, a Sahabi (radiyallahu’anhu) came in, with his shoes in his left hand and the water of wudu dripping from his beard.
When the gathering ended, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘As (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) followed this person (with the motive of learning the reason for him being blessed with such a glad tiding)
He said to him: “I have taken an oath that I will not go home for three days. Is it possible for you to accommodate me for this time?”
The Sahabi agreed. Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr stayed with him for three days, but noticed nothing extraordinary in his routine. i.e, he never engaged in additional voluntary deeds as expected.
However, whenever this Sahabi (radiyallahu ‘anhu) would go to bed at night, he would recite some form of dhikr, then sleep till fajr. Furthermore, during these three days he did not hear him utter any word besides good.
Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) says: “After three nights I almost deemed his deeds as “nothing so special”. I approached him and explained that my real motive for staying with him was to discover the special act that he may be engaging in, which warranted his guarantee of Jannah.” Then I asked him: “How did You achieve such a rank?”
He said: “I have no special deeds beside whatever You have seen during your stay.” I accepted this and was about to leave when he exclaimed: “O, Yes! there is something. I do not harbour any evil or malice in my heart against any fellow Muslim. I am not jealous over whatever good Allah bestows upon any of them.”
Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) said: “That is precisely the reason for You reaching such a lofty status.”
(Musnad Ahmad, vol.3 pg.166 & Sunan Nasai, Hadith: 10633. Hafiz Ibn Kathir -rahimahullah- has declared the chain of Nasai as authentic, in accordance to the standards of Imams Bukhari and Muslim. refer: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah: 59, Ayah: 9)
We often look for extraordinary deeds to acquire success, when the solution lies in the basics…
See here for more on this topic.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best,
Answered by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar