Clarification about a Hadeeth where is stated that 70000 of this Ummah will enter Paradise
Fatwa No: 168523

Question

Sir I red in Sahi bukhari about 70,000 thousand even 7,00,000,00 Saliheen, who willbe having authority on the judgment of the day to pass his friends his followers Sir i just want to know about the same Hadith by your views with fully details Thanks. It is a complete chapter in Sahih Bukhari Thanks for your kind attention in advance.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.  I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.

If you refer to the Hadeeth (narration) by Sahl ibn Saad who said that the Prophet said: "Seventy thousand or seven hundred thousand from my nation will enter Paradise, [the narrator is not sure as to which of the two numbers is correct] and they will be holding on to one another until the first of them and the last of them has entered Paradise, and their faces will be [glittering] like the moon on a full moon night." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] In this Hadeeth there is no mention of followers or friends.

In case you refer to the Hadeeth which mentions that with every person from the seventy thousand, seventy thousand will enter with them, then this Hadeeth is neither reported by Al-Bukhari nor Muslim, but it was reported by Ahmad and others and its wording is: “(Allaah) gave me seventy thousand with every person from the seventy thousand.Ibn Hajar said, “There are two narrators in its chain of narration, one of whom is weak and the other is not mentioned.” Besides, Al-Arna’oot classified it as Dha’eef (weak) when classifying the Hadeeths of Musnad Imaam Ahmad. However, there are some other narrations, like the narration by At-Tirmithi which states that the Prophet was given seventy thousand with every thousand.

Ibn Hajar spoke about what is meant by ‘with every thousand’ [i.e. in their company] in different narrations and he said,

 “The meaning of ‘with every thousand’ (in their company) seventy thousand will enter, or with each person seventy thousand will enter, then it is probable that they will enter when they [the first ones] enter even though they do not have the same degree of deeds, like the Hadeeth which I already mentioned and which states ‘a person is with whom he likes’ and it is also probable that this companionship (with them) means entering Paradise without reckoning and that they will enter as a second group or after it and this one is the first group.

In all of this, there is evidence of the Grace of Allaah, His Favor, and His vast Mercy. An-Nawawi said in his interpretation of the Hadeeth by Muslim, “There is in it the greatness of the generosity which Allaah bestowed on His Prophet and his nation; may Allaah increase its excellence and honor.

On the other hand, we do not know what you mean by your statement that Al-Bukhari wrote a whole Chapter about this meaning. It might be that you mean that he wrote a Chapter and he mentioned this Hadeeth and other Ahaadeeth in it, and he titled the Chapter: “The evidence of group of Muslims entering Paradise without reckoning and without punishment.”

Allaah Knows best.

Related Fatwa