Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 12214

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to the Arabs from an evil that has drawn near: there will be trials like pieces of the dark night, in which a man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever by the evening. People will sell their religion for a paltry worldly gain, and the one who holds fast to his religion will be like one holding an ember in his fist (the narrator is unsure; perhaps the wording is:) holding thorns." In a narration the wording is: "holding a branch of thorns." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
Abu Dawud and others recorded it, with the wording: "The one who holds fast to his religion" from there to the end.
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains Ibn Lahi'ah, in whom there is weakness, and the rest of its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: the remaining hadiths related to this chapter will come in the chapter on patience.