Lu'lu' wal-Marjan

Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was distributing the spoils of war at the place of Ji‘irrana when a man (Dhul-Khuwaisira) said to him, "Be just, O Messenger of Allah." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "If I do not act justly, then who will? You are indeed wretched."

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent some gold (from Yemen) to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and he distributed it among four men: Aqra' bin Habis Hanzali, then from the Mujashi' tribe; 'Uyainah bin Badr Fazari; Zaid Tai from the Banu Nibhan; and Alqamah bin 'Alathah 'Amiri from the Banu Kilab. Upon this, some people from the Quraysh and the Ansar became angry and said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has given to the chiefs of Najd but has ignored us." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I only give to them to reconcile their hearts (because they have only recently embraced Islam)." Then a man came forward whose eyes were deep-set, cheeks were prominent, forehead was raised, beard was thick, and head was shaved. He said, "O Muhammad, fear Allah!" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "If I do not obey Allah, then who will? Allah Almighty has sent me as a trustworthy person on the face of the earth. Do you not consider me trustworthy?" Upon this man's insolence, a companion sought permission to kill him—I think it was Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid—but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from doing so. Then the man began to leave, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "From the progeny of this man—or (he said) after this man, from his people—such people will arise who will be false Muslims. They will recite the Qur'an, but the Qur'an will not go beyond their throats. They will leave the religion just as an arrow leaves the bow. They will kill the Muslims and leave the idolaters. If I live until that time, I will kill them as the people of 'Ad were killed (by the punishment of Allah), so that not a single one of them remains."

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that from Yemen, Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) sent to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) some gold nuggets in a leather bag tanned with lote tree leaves. The dust (from the mine) had not yet been cleaned off them. The narrator said that then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed that gold among four men: 'Uyainah bin Badr, Aqra' bin Habis, Zayd bin Khayl, and the fourth was either Alqamah or 'Amir bin Tufayl. One of your companions said regarding this, "We were more deserving of this gold than these people." The narrator said that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) learned of this, he said, "Do you not trust me, even though that Allah who is in the heavens has trusted me, and His revelation comes to me morning and evening?" The narrator said that then a man whose eyes were deeply set, cheeks were prominent, forehead was raised, beard was thick, head was shaved, and he was lifting his lower garment, stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah, fear Allah!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Woe to you! Am I not the most deserving among the people of the earth to fear Allah?" The narrator said that then that man went away. Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O Messenger of Allah! Should I not strike his neck?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "No, perhaps he prays." Upon this, Sayyiduna Khalid said, "Many of those who pray claim Islam with their tongues, but it is not in their hearts." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I have not been commanded to search the hearts of people, nor to cut open their bellies." The narrator said that then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards that (hypocrite), and he was going away with his back turned. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "From his progeny will come a people who will recite the Book of Allah with beautiful voices, but it will not go beyond their throats. They will leave the religion just as an arrow passes through the prey." (Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id says) And I think he also said, "If I am present in their time, I will kill them as the people of Thamud were killed."

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that I heard the Noble Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "A people will arise among you such that you will consider your own prayer insignificant compared to their prayer, your fasting insignificant compared to their fasting, and your deeds insignificant compared to their deeds. They will also recite the Qur'an, but the Qur'an will not go beyond their throats. They will go out of the religion just as an arrow passes through its prey (and so cleanly that the one who shoots the arrow looks at its tip and finds no trace (of blood, etc.) on it, looks above it and finds nothing, looks at the feathers and finds nothing, except that there may be some doubt in the bowstring)."

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that we were present in the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was distributing (the spoils of the Battle of Hunayn). At that moment, a man from Banu Tamim named Dhu al-Khuwaysirah came and said, "O Messenger of Allah, be just!" Upon hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Woe to you! If I do not act justly, then who in the world will act justly? If I become unjust, then I too will be destroyed and ruined." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O Noble Prophet, allow me regarding this man, I will strike his neck." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Leave him. From his progeny will arise people such that you will consider your prayers insignificant compared to their prayers (apparently), and you will consider your fasts insignificant compared to their fasts. They will recite the Qur'an, but it will not go beyond their throats. These people will exit the religion just as a strong arrow passes through an animal. If the arrowhead is examined, nothing (such as blood, etc.) will be found on it. Then if its sinew is examined, at the place where the arrowhead enters the root, nothing will be found there either. If its nadi (the wood fitted in the arrow) is examined, no trace will be found there either. Similarly, if its feathers are examined, nothing will be found there either, even though the arrow has passed through filth and blood. Their sign will be a black man whose one arm will be raised like a woman's breast or like a piece of flesh, and it will be moving. These people will rebel against the best group of Muslims." Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I bear witness that I heard this hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I bear witness that Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) fought against them (i.e., the Khawarij). At that time, I was also with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he had that man searched for (whom the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had described as the sign of that group). Eventually, he was brought, and when I saw him, his entire appearance was exactly as described by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."