Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: A man named Nabhan apostatized three times. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, give me power over Nabhan in such a way that there is a black rope around his neck." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned, and there was Nabhan coming in front of him; he had been seized and a black rope had been put around his neck. The people brought him to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the sword in his blessed (right) hand and held the rope in his left hand in order to kill him. A man from the Ansar said: "O Messenger of Allah! It would be fitting if you kept him away from yourself." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) handed the sword to that man and said: "Go and strike off his neck." As he began to take him away, Nabhan started laughing and said: "Do you want to kill a man who says that there is no god but Allah and that Sayyiduna Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?" So he was let go.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy), except that the case of Muhammad bin al-Marzuban, the teacher of al-Tabarani, is different: I have not seen him mentioned in Mizan al-I'tidal or in any other book.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الحدود والديات / 10580
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ ضعیف
Hadith Takhrij«أخرجه المعجم الأوسط للطبراني برقم: 7629»