Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 112

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) states: Once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seated in a gathering. Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) came to him and sat before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He placed both his palms on the knees of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about Islam! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Islam is that you submit yourself to Allah, and that you bear witness that there is no god but Allah Almighty, He alone is God, He has no partner, and that Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. He asked: When I do that, will I have become a Muslim? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When you do that, you will be a Muslim. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about faith! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Faith is that you believe in Allah Almighty, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, the prophets, death and life after death, and that you believe in Paradise, Hell, the Reckoning and the Scale, and that you believe in destiny of every kind, good or bad. He said: When I do that, will I be a believer? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When you do that, you will be a believer. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, what is meant by ihsan (excellence)? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ihsan means that you act for Allah Almighty as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He sees you. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Tell me, when will the Hour come? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Subhan Allah (Glory be to Allah)! There are five things of the unseen which no one knows except Allah Almighty (Allah Almighty has said:) "Indeed, with Allah Almighty alone is the knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs; and no one knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no one knows in which land he will die. Indeed, Allah Almighty is All-Knowing, All-Aware." (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:) But if you wish, I will tell you some signs that will appear before it. He said: Very well, O Messenger of Allah! Tell me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When you see that a slave-woman has given birth to her mistress (the narrator is unsure, or perhaps the words were:) to her master, or you see the builders competing with one another in constructing tall buildings, and you see that those who did not even have shoes, who were hungry and destitute, have become the rulers of the people, then these matters will be among the signs and portents of the (approach of the) Hour. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Those people of buildings, who have no shoes on their feet, who are hungry and destitute, who is meant by them? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Arib (the destitute).
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and al-Bazzar recorded something similar, except that in Imam al-Bazzar's narration the words are: "Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the form of a pale, haggard traveller." In Imam Ahmad's chain there is a narrator, Shahr bin Hawshab.