Sayyiduna Abu al-Tufayl Amir bin Wathilah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man passed by some people and greeted them with salam, and the people returned his greeting. When he had gone past them, one man among them said: "By Allah! I dislike this man for the sake of Allah." The people of the gathering said: "By Allah! You have said an evil thing. By Allah! I will certainly inform him about this." Then they said to one of their own: "O so-and-so! Get up and tell him about this!" Their messenger went to the other man and told him what that man had said. So the man turned back and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: "O Messenger of Allah! I passed by a gathering of Muslims among whom was so-and-so. I greeted them and they returned the greeting. When I had gone past them, one of them came to me and told me that so-and-so had said: 'By Allah! I hate this man for the sake of Allah.' O Messenger of Allah! Please summon him and ask him why he hates me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) summoned the second man and asked him about what the first man had told him (peace and blessings be upon him). The second man admitted it and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I did say this about him." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why do you hate him?" The second man replied: "I am his neighbour and I know about him. By Allah! I have never seen him offer any prayer; he only offers the obligatory prayer, which every righteous and sinful person offers." The first man said: "O Messenger of Allah! Ask him whether he has ever seen me delay the prayer beyond its appointed time, or make a mistake in performing ablution for it, or make a mistake in its bowing (ruku') or prostration (sujud)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the second man, and he replied: "No! By Allah! (That is, I have never seen him do that.)" Then the second man said: "By Allah! I have never seen him keep (any voluntary) fast; he only fasts this particular month which every righteous and sinful person fasts." The first man said: "O Messenger of Allah! Ask him whether he has ever seen me neglect it or fall short in any of its due." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the second man, and he replied: "No! (That is, I have never seen him do that.)" Then the second man said: "By Allah! I have never seen him give anything to a beggar, nor have I ever seen him spend anything from his wealth in the way of Allah, except for this zakah which every righteous and sinful person pays." The first man said: "O Messenger of Allah! Ask him whether I have ever concealed anything of the zakah, or ever haggled with the person who came to collect it." The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the second man about this, and he replied: "No!" Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Get up! I think he is better than you."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded it, and Ahmad's narrators are thiqat (trustworthy) and thabt (firmly reliable).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الصلاة / 1601
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح۔
Hadith Takhrij«مسند احمد بن حنبل مسند الانصار ، حديث ابى الطفيل عامر بن واثلة 23195 ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 23291»