Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Hawalah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was seated in the shade of a "dawmah" (a kind of tree), and with him was a scribe to whom he was dictating. He asked: "O Ibn Hawalah, shall I not have something written for you?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me (will be right)." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from me. Here the narrator named Isma'il once reported these words: The first time he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Hawalah, shall we write you (that is, write something for you)?" I said: "I do not know, O Messenger of Allah, what it should be." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from me. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to his scribe and began dictating to him. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "O Ibn Hawalah, shall we not write for you?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah Almighty and His Messenger choose for me (will be appropriate)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from me; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to the scribe and continued dictating to him. The narrator says: I looked, and in that writing Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was mentioned, and from this I realised that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) could only be mentioned in connection with something good. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Hawalah, shall we not have something written for you?" I said: "Yes." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn Hawalah, what will you do in the time of trials, when those trials emerge from the sides of the earth like the horns of cattle?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me (will be right)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then what will you do when, after the first trial, a second trial comes, compared to which the first trial is like the leap of a rabbit?" I said: "I do not know; whatever Allah and His Messenger choose for me (will be right)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Follow this man!" (The narrator says:) At that time a man was passing by there with his face covered. I went, running, and I put my hand on his shoulder, turned him towards the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked: "This one?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes." (The narrator says:) And he was Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الفتن - أعاذنا الله منها / 11991
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ حسن
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (109/4) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 16556»