It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) — who is truthful and believed — told us this hadith: "The creation of each one of you is gathered in the womb of his mother for forty days, then he is a clot of blood for the same period, then a lump of flesh for the same period, then an angel is sent to him and breathes the soul into him. Then he is commanded with four things: his provision, his lifespan, his deeds, and whether he will be wretched or blessed. By the One besides whom there is no deity! One of you may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is only a cubit between him and Paradise, but what has been written overtakes him, and he performs the deeds of the people of Hell and thus enters it. And one of you may perform the deeds of the people of Hell until there is only a cubit between him and Hell, but what has been written overtakes him, and he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise and thus enters it."