When the Hadith says a person is an arms length from paradise and then what is written overtakes him so he does actions of people of hell and enters it etc., does this mean he dies a non-Muslim and therefore enters hellfire? Or does it mean he days a sinful Muslim and temporarily enters hellfire?
Wa alaikum salaam
This section of the Hadith you quoted elaborates on a concept previously mentioned in the same Hadith, that of the Shaqiyy and the Sa'id. The Shaqiyy or the wretched person is he who dies on disbelief and the Sa'id or the felicitous person is he who dies on faith. Note that the narration of Imam Muslim of this same Hadith adds the words 'fi ma yabdu' - as appears to others' This means that the person will do the actions of the people of Paradise (i.e. it appears such but the state of their hearts is not so).
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
Yusuf Weltch
This section of the Hadith you quoted elaborates on a concept previously mentioned in the same Hadith, that of the Shaqiyy and the Sa'id. The Shaqiyy or the wretched person is he who dies on disbelief and the Sa'id or the felicitous person is he who dies on faith. Note that the narration of Imam Muslim of this same Hadith adds the words 'fi ma yabdu' - as appears to others' This means that the person will do the actions of the people of Paradise (i.e. it appears such but the state of their hearts is not so).
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
Yusuf Weltch