Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. `Ali b. al-Husayn b. Musa b. Babuwayh al-Qummi narrated to us. He said: Ahmad b. Ziyad b. Ja`far al-Hamadani narrated to us. He said: Ali b. Ibrahim b. Hashim narrated to us from his father Ibrahim b. Hashim from Ahmad b. al-`Abbas and al-`Abbas b. `Amr al-Faqimi. They said: Hisham b. al-Hakam narrated to us from Thabit b. Harmaz from al-Hasan b. Abi'l Hasan from Ahmad b. `Abd al-Hamid from `Abdullah b. `Ali. He said: I carried belongings from Basra to Egypt and I placed it [there]. In one of the paths, I came across a tall elderly man who was very dark, bald, with white hair and a white beard, wearing two gowns – one white and the other black. So, I said: Who is this? So, they said: This is Bilal, the mu'adhin of the Messenger of Allah (s). So, I took my tablets and gave them to him. I greeted him, then I said: Peace be unto you, O shaykh. So, Bilal said: And also with you. I said: May Allah bestow His mercy upon you. Narrate to me that which you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (s). So, Bilal said: Do you know who I am? He said: You are Bilal, the mu’adhin of the Messenger of Allah (s). So, Bilal and the man wept, until the people came to them and joined them in weeping. Then, he said: O boy! What country are you from? I said: I am from the people of Iraq. He said: Wow. Then, he was silent for a moment. Then, he said: Write, O Iraqi brother. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “The mu’adhins are the trustees of the believers over their prayers, their fasting, their flesh and their blood. They do not ask a thing of Allah except that He grants it to them, nor do they intercede in a thing except that their intercession is accepted.” I said: Tell me more, may Allah grant you mercy. He said: Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Whomever sincerely gives adhan for forty years, Allah will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with the righteous and accepted deeds of forty saints.” I said: Tell me more, may Allah grant you mercy. He said: Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I head the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Whomever gives adhan for twenty years, Allah will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with a light like that of the sky.” I said: Tell me more, may Allah grant you mercy. He said: Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I head the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Whomever gives adhan for ten years, Allah will have him reside with Ibrahim the Friend in his dome, or in his rank.” I said: Tell me more, may Allah grant you mercy. He said: Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Whomever gives adhan for one year, Allah will raise him on the Day of Resurrection with all of his sins forgiven, even if they were the size of Mount Uhud.” I said: Tell me more, may Allah grant you mercy. He said: Yes, so memorize, and do, and be sincere. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Whomever gives adhan for one prayer for the sake of Allah and to attain the nearness of Allah in faith and sincerity, Allah will forgive all of his past deeds, and He will grant him protection in what remains of his life, and He will gather him with the martyrs in Paradise.” I said: Tell me more, may Allah grant you mercy. He said: Beware, O boy! You have broken my heart. He wept and I wept Then, he said Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will gather the people upon one plane. Then, Allah will send angels of light to the mu’adhins. With them will be standards and banners of light. They will come forth on riding animals – their front will be of green aquamarine, and their sacks will be of strong musk. The mu’adhins will ride them, and they will stand on them as they are led by the angels. They will call the adhan at the top of their voice. Then, he wept heavily until I sobbed and wept. When he went quiet, I said: What are you crying about? He said: Woe to you – you reminded me of things. I heard my beloved and my elite one (s) say: “By He who raised me in truth as a prophet! They will pass by the creation, standing on their animals, saying: ‘Allah is the Greatest! Allah is the Greatest!’ When they say that, I will hear my Nation noising about.” So, Usama b. Zayd asked about this noising about – what is it? He said: “Noising about is glorification, praise, and saying ‘la ilaha illallah’. When they say: ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah’, my Nation will say: ‘He is the one that we would worship in this world.’ So, it will be said: ‘You have spoken the truth.’ When they say: ‘I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’, my Nation will say: ‘This is the one who came to us with the message of our Lord. We believed in him without seeing him.’ So, it will be said to them: ‘You have spoken the truth. This is the one who brought the message of your Lord to you; so, you became believers in him. It is a right upon Allah that He gathers you with your Prophet, so that he may take them to their houses [in Paradise], in which there is that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has imagined.’” Then, he looked to me and said to me: If you are able – and there is no power except by Allah – to become a mu'adhin before you die, then do so. So, I said: May Allah have mercy on you! Grace me and inform me, for I am poor and needy. Give me what you have heard from the Messenger of Allah, for you have seen him and I have not seen him. Describe to me what the Messenger of Allah (s) described to you of the buildings of Paradise. He said: Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “The fences of Paradise are made of gold, silver, and ruby. Its mortar is of musk and its embellishments are of red, green, and yellow sapphire.” I said: What about its gates? He said: Its gates are different. The Gate of Mercy is of red sapphire. I said: What about its door pulls? He said: Woe to you, leave me, for I have given you excess. I said: I will not leave you until you give me what you heard from the Messenger of Allah (s) regarding that. He said: Write, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. As for the Gate of Patience, it is a small gate with a single door, which is of red sapphire, and it has no door pull. As for the Gate of Thanks, it is of white sapphire, it has two gates – between which is a journey of five hundred years – and it noises its yearning, saying: “O Allah! Bring me my people.” I said: Do gates talk?! He said: Yes. The Majestic and Noble will give them the power of speech. As for the Gate of Calamity—. I said: Isn't the Gate of Calamity the same as the Gate of Patience? He said: No. I said: Then what is calamity? He said: Adversity, illnesses, diseases, and leprosy. It is a gate of yellow sapphire and it has one door. How few are those who will enter through it! I said: May Allah have mercy on you. Tell me more and grace me, for I am poor. He said: O boy! I have given you excess. As for the Greatest Gate, the righteous servants will enter through it – and they are the people of asceticism, piety, and those who desire for Allah and seek harmony in Him. I said: May Allah have mercy on you. When they enter Paradise, what will they do? He said: They will traverse two rivers in rows on boats of sapphire and paddles of pearl. In them will be angels of light with very green garments. I said: May Allah have mercy on you. Is there such a thing as green light? He said: The garments themselves are green, but therein is light from the light of the Lord of the Worlds. They will walk on both sides of that river. I said: What is the name of that river? He said: The Paradise of Safety. I said: Are there any others? He said: Yes – the Paradise of Eden, which is in the middle of Paradise. As for the Paradise of Eden, its fence is of red sapphire, and its gravel is pearl. I said: Are there any others? He said: Yes – the Paradise of Heaven. I said: What is its fence like? He said: Woe to you, leave me, for you have troubled my heart. I said: Rather, you have done that to me. I will not leave you until you compete the description for me and inform me of its fence. He said: Its fence is light. So, I said: What about its rooms? He said: They are from the light of the Lord of the Worlds. I said: Tell me more, may Allah have mercy on you. He said: Woe to you. It is up to this point that the Messenger of Allah (s) has left us with. Blessed are you, for you have attained some of this description; and blessed is whoever that believes in this. I said: May Allah have mercy on you. I, by Allah, am from the believers of this. He said: Woe to you. Whoever believes or approves of this truth and path, he will not desire this world or its frills; and he will hold himself to account. I said: I am a believer in that. He said: You have spoken the truth; but get closer and stay on target. Do not despair. Do, but do not overburden yourself. Have hope, be fearful, and be careful. Then, he wept and inhaled thrice. We thought that he had died. Then, he said: May my mother and father be sacrificed for you! Had Muhammad (s) seen you, his eye would have filled with joy when he saw you ask about this description. Then, he said: Hurry, hurry, work, work, and beware of overburdening yourself. Then, he said: Woe to you. Let me be in this undone state. So, I said to him: You are in an undone state. May Allah reward you with Paradise, as you have done what you have been obliged to do. Then, he bid me farewell, and said to me: Fear Allah, and give to the Nation of Muhammad (s) what I have given you. So, I said: I will do so, God-willingly. He said: May Allah maintain your religion, increase you in piety, and assist you in obeying Him by His will.