Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the statement of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him): One night we were sitting with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) talking, until our conversation became lengthy, then we returned to our homes. The next morning, when we presented ourselves before the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: Last night, the followers from among the people of the Prophets and their nations were presented before me. One Prophet came with three people from his nation. Another Prophet came with a group from his nation. Another Prophet came with a few people from his nation. Another Prophet came with no one from his nation, until Musa bin Imran (peace be upon him) appeared before me with a crowd of Bani Israel. When I saw these people, I liked their abundance. I asked: O my Lord! Who are these people? The Lord said: These are your brother Musa bin Imran and his people. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Meanwhile, a small mountain of Makkah was filled with people’s faces. I asked: Who are these people, O my Lord? He said: This is your Ummah. I was asked: Are you pleased? I replied: O my Lord, I am pleased. O my Lord, I am pleased. Then I was told: Along with these people, seventy thousand will enter Paradise without any reckoning.

The narrator says: At that moment, Sayyiduna Ukasha bin Mihsan (may Allah be pleased with him), who belonged to Banu Asad bin Khuzaymah, stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), pray to your Lord that He includes me among them. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed: O Allah, include him among them. The narrator says: Then another man stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), pray to Allah that He includes me among them. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ukasha has preceded you in this matter. The narrator states: Then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: May my parents be sacrificed for you! If you are able to be among those seventy thousand, then do so. And if you are unable and fall short in this regard, then at least be among those on the small mountain (who were shown to me in the dream), for I saw among them people who were fighting with each other.

The narrator states: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I hope that my followers from my Ummah will be one fourth of the people of Paradise. The narrator says: We said Allahu Akbar. Then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I hope they will be one third. The narrator says: We said takbeer, then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I hope they will be half, so we said takbeer. Then the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse:“A multitude from the former generations and a multitude from the later generations.”

The narrator states: Then the Muslims began to discuss about those seventy thousand people. They said: We think that it refers to those who were born in the era of Islam and practiced its commands throughout their lives, until they died as Muslims. The narrator says: Their words reached the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so he said: It is not so, rather they are those who do not seek ruqyah (spiritual healing through non-Shari’ah words), do not cauterize themselves, do not seek omens, and rely upon their Lord.

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The word“Akrina”means we have postponed.