Volume 6, Book 60, Number 223:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, “When Allah has ordained some affair in the Heaven, the angels beat with their
wings in obedience to His statement, which sounds like a chain dragged over a rock.” (‘Ali and other
sub-narrators said, “The sound reaches them.”) “Until when fear is banished from their (angels)
hearts, they (angels) say, ‘What was it that your Lord said? They say, ‘The truth; And He is the Most
High, the Most Great.’ (34.23) Then those who gain a hearing by stealing (i.e. devils) will hear Allah’s
Statement:– ‘Those who gain a hearing by stealing, (stand one over the other like this).
Volume 6 – 1029 / 1700
SAHIH BUKHARI VOLUME 6 > BOOK 60: PROPHETIC COMMENTARY ON THE QUR’AN (TAFSEER OF THE PROPHET (PBUH))
(Sufyan, to illustrate this, spread the fingers of his right hand and placed them one over the other
horizontally.) A flame may overtake and burn the eavesdropper before conveying the news to the
one below him; or it may not overtake him till he has conveyed it to the one below him, who in his
turn, conveys it to the one below him, and so on till they convey the news to the earth. (Or probably
Sufyan said, “Till the news reaches the earth.”) Then the news is inspired to a sorcerer who would
add a hundred lies to it. His prophecy will prove true (as far as the heavenly news is concerned). The
people will say. ‘Didn’t he tell us that on such-and-such a day, such-and-such a thing will happen?
We have found that is true because of the true news heard from heaven.”