Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us this hadith. He (peace be upon him) is truthful and has been affirmed. He (peace be upon him) said:“The seed of every person is kept in his mother’s womb for forty days, then it remains as a clot of blood for the same period, then it remains as a lump of flesh for the same period. Then Allah sends an angel to it with four things and commands him to write down its deeds, its lifespan, its provision, and whether it will be wretched or blessed. Then the angel breathes the soul into it.”

Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“By the One in Whose hand is my soul, a man may do the deeds of the people of Hell until there is only a handspan between him and Hell, then what has been written overtakes him, and he does the deeds of the people of Paradise and enters it. And a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is only a handspan between him and Paradise, then what has been written overtakes him, and he does the deeds of the people of Hell and enters it.”