حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَسَدُ بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاوِيَةُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الزَّاهِرِيَّةِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي كَثِيرُ بْنُ مُرَّةَ قَالَ: دَخَلْتُ الْمَسْجِدَ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ، فَوَجَدْتُ عَوْفَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ الأَشْجَعِيَّ جَالِسًا فِي حَلْقَةٍ مَادًّا رِجْلَيْهِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ، فَلَمَّا رَآنِي قَبَضَ رِجْلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي: تَدْرِي لأَيِّ شَيْءٍ مَدَدْتُ رِجْلَيَّ؟ لَيَجِيءَ رَجُلٌ صَالِحٌ فَيَجْلِسَ.
It is narrated from Kathir bin Murrah, may Allah have mercy on him, that I entered the mosque on the day of Jumu'ah and saw that Sayyiduna 'Awf bin Malik Ashja'i, may Allah be pleased with him, was sitting in a circle, and he had stretched his legs out in front of him. When he saw me, he drew his legs together, then said to me: Do you know why I had stretched out my legs? It was so that a righteous man might come and sit down.