One of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was on his deathbed, and he spoke three phrases: “Would that it had been new”. He slept briefly then woke up and said “Would that it had been far.” He slept briefly and woke up and said: “Would that it had been complete.” After that his soul departed. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to ask him about these words. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “One day this man was walking and he had an old garment with him. He came across a poor person who was complaining about the bitter cold, so he gave him the garment. As he was dying, he saw a palace in Paradise, and the Angels of death said to him: ‘This is your palace.’ He said: ‘For which deed of mine is it?’ They said to him: ‘Because one night you gave the garment in charity to a poor person.’ The man said, ‘It was old and worn out. What would it have mattered to us if it had been new? Would that it had been new.’ One day he was going to the mosque, and he saw a paralyzed man who wanted to go to the mosque, so he carried him to the mosque. When he was dying, he saw a palace in Paradise, and the Angels of death said to him: ‘This is your palace.’ He said: ‘For which deed of mine is it?’ They said to him: ‘Because you carried a paralyzed man to pray in the mosque.’ The man said: ‘The mosque was nearby. What would it have mattered to us if it had been far away? Would that it had been far away.’ One day he was walking and he had with him part of a round of bread. He came across a poor person who was hungry, so he gave him a piece of it. When he was dying, he saw a palace in Paradise. The Angels of death said to him: This is your palace. He said: ‘For which of my deeds is it?’ They said to him: ‘Because you gave in charity part of a round of bread to a poor person.’ The man said: ‘It was part of a round. What would it have mattered to us if it had been complete? Would that it had been complete.’
I want to know whether this is a hadeeth (prophetic narration) and whether it is saheeh (authentic), because I cannot reply to these words until I am certain whether it is sound or not. May Allah reward you with the highest Firdaws (Paradise).
Praise be to Allah.
The words
mentioned in the question are not a hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) and they are not the words of any of the
Sahabah (Companions) or Tabi’een (Successors). In fact, in our research we
did not find it in any of the books of the scholars, classical or modern,
saheeh or da’eef (weak). It is most likely to be one of the fabrications
that are in circulation among people. Perhaps some of the later writers
fabricated it and attributed it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him), and how many such reports there are nowadays, and Allah is the
one whose help we seek. Many people have had the audacity to commit this
grave and major sin, the sin of fabricating hadeeths and falsely attributing
them to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
What every Muslim
must do is be aware of these fabricated reports, and strive to warn people
against them, and not help to spread them. Rather they must help to erase
them from gatherings and chat rooms, and replace them with the many sound
hadeeths which encourage giving charity and being kind to the poor and
needy.
The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It is sufficient
lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears.” Narrated by Muslim in
the Introduction to his Saheeh.
And Allah knows
best.