عَنْ جَابِرٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهٖ إِنَّهُ إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ وَ سَكَنَ أَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ الْجَنَّةَ وَ أَهْلَ النَّارِ النَّارَ مَكَثَ عَبْدٌ فِي النَّارِ سَبْعُونَ خَرِيفاً وَ الْخَرِيفُ سَبْعُونَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ يَسْأَلُ اللهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ يُنَادِيهِ فَيَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ لَمَّا رَحِمْتَنِي فَيُوحِي اللهُ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ إِلَى جَبْرَئِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ اهْبِطْ إِلَى عَبْدِي فَأَخْرِجْهُ فَيَقُولُ جَبْرَئِيلُ وَ كَيْفَ لِي بِالْهُبُوطِ فِي النَّارِ فَيَقُولُ اللهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى إِنِّي قَدْ أَمَرْتُهَا أَنْ تَكُونَ عَلَيْكَ بَرْداً وَ سَلَاماً قَالَ فَيَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ فَمَا عِلْمِي بِمَوْضِعِهِ فَيَقُولُ إِنَّهُ مِنْ جُبٍّ مِنْ سِجِّينٍ فَيَهْبِطُ جَبْرَئِيلُ إِلَى النَّارِ فَيَجِدُهُ مَعْقُولًا عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فَيُخْرِجُهُ فَيَقِفُ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَيَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى يَا عَبْدِي كَمْ لَبِثْتَ فِي النَّارِ تُنَاشِدُنِي فَيَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ مَا أُحْصِيهِ فَيَقُولُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ لَهُ أَمَا وَ عِزَّتِي وَ جَلَالِي لَوْ لَا مَنْ سَأَلْتَنِي بِحَقِّهِمْ عِنْدِي لَأَطَلْتُ هَوَانَكَ فِي النَّارِ وَ لَكِنَّهُ حَتْمٌ عَلَى نَفْسِي أَنْ لَا يَسْأَلَنِي عَبْدٌ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ إِلَّا غَفَرْتُهُ لَهُ مَا كَانَ بَيْنِي وَ بَيْنَهُ وَ قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ الْيَوْمَ ثُمَّ يُؤْمَرُ بِهِ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ
Jabir reports from Imam Abu Ja’far (al-Baqer) (peace be on him) from his father vide his ancestors (peace be on him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him and his progeny) said, “On the Day of Judgment, when the people of Paradise will settle in Paradise and the people of hell in hell, a man will stay in hell for seventy seasons while each season is seventy years. Thereafter, he will ask Allah – Mighty and Majestic be He – and call out to Him, saying, ‘O Lord! I ask You for the right of Muhammad and His Household that You have mercy on me’. Allah – Mighty be His Majesty – will reveal to Jibraeel (peace be on him), ‘Go to My servant and bring him out (from hell)’. Jibraeel (peace be on him) will ask, ‘How can I go down in the hell-fire?’ Allah – Blessed and High be He – will reply, ‘Indeed, I have ordered it (hell-fire) to be safe and cold for you’. Again, Jibraeel (peace be on him) will reason, ‘O Lord! But I don’t know his place (i.e. where is he in hell). ’ Allah will inform, ‘He is in a well of Sijjeen’. Thus, Jibraeel (peace be on him) will descend in the hell-fire and will find him tied on his face and will bring him out. He will stand in front of Allah – Mighty and Majestic be He. Allah – the High – will ask him, ‘O My servant! How long were you in fire crying out to me?’ He will respond, ‘O Lord! I cannot enumerate it.’ Allah – Mighty and Majestic be He – will tell him, ‘I swear by My Might and My Majesty! Had it not been for those with whose right you asked Me, I would have prolonged your disgrace in the Hell-fire. But I have made it obligatory on Myself that none will ask Me for the right of Muhammad and his Household but that I will forgive him for all the sins that he has committed against Me. And indeed, today I have forgiven you’. Thereafter, he will be ordered to go to Paradise’.”
References:
1. Al-Amaali of al-Shaikh al-Mufeed (r.a.), p. 218, H. 6, 25th Majlis
2. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 27, p. 312, H. 5
Notes:
1) From the mercy of Allah the High is that those who will go to Paradise will never come out of it but those who go to Hell have the option to come out of it, albeit with some terms and conditions
2) The fire becoming cold and safe for Jibraeel (peace be on him) like it became for Prophet Ibrahim (peace be on him) proves that effect of anything does not belong to it essentially except with the permission of Allah the Almighty
3) The essence of the narration is that if a person asks Allah the High for anything whether in this world or the Hereafter, his plea will be accepted immediately.
4) “…for all the sins that he has committed against Me.” This phrase shows that only those sins that he has committed against Allah will be forgiven and not those in which he has trampled upon the rights of the people. 5) Another important point in the narration is the selection of Hazrat Jibraeel (peace be on him) by Allah the High to perform this task of removing this sinner from the hell-fire. It should be noted that Hazrat Jibraeel (peace be on him) is from the most proximate angels of Allah. So the question arises as to why Allah has selected him for this task of bringing out a sinner from the hell-fire? Any other angel could have carried out this lowly task? The answer is simple: Since the sinner has invoked the Holy Prophet and His household (peace be on them all), this invocation carries tremendous significance in the eyes of the Creator. Hence, now this sinner and this task is no longer lowly. Rather, it has become extremely important in the eyes of Allah the Almighty.