Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 13957

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw in a dream that two angels came to him. One of them sat at his feet and the other sat at his head. The angel who was sitting at his feet said to the one at his head: Describe the example of him and of his Ummah! He said: The example of him and of his Ummah is like that of travellers who reach a place at the edge of a desert. They have no provisions with which to cross that desert, nor anything with which to go back from that place. While they are in this state, a man comes to them wearing a Yemeni striped garment. He says: What do you think, if I take you to green, lush meadows and water-filled pools, will you follow me? They answer: Yes! He takes them to the green, lush meadows and the water-filled pools, and they eat and drink there and grow plump. Then the man says to them: When I met you, you were in that state, and you agreed with me that if I took you to green, lush meadows and pools, you would follow me. They say: Indeed. The man says: Ahead of you are meadows that are greener and lusher than these, and pools that are better than these, so follow me! A group says: By Allah, he is telling the truth; we will follow him. And a group says: We are content with this, and we will stay here.
Imam Ahmad, al-Tabarani and al-Bazzar recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).