Abu Ali, who belonged to Banu Kahil, states: Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) addressed us in a sermon and said: O people! Strive to guard yourselves against this shirk, for it is more hidden than the crawling of an ant. Then Abdullah bin Hazn and Qays bin al-Mudarib stood up before him, and both of them said: By Allah! Either you will produce proof of what you have said, or we will go to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), whether we are given permission or not. Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I will give proof of what I said. One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us in a sermon and said: "O people! Guard yourselves against this shirk, for it is more hidden than the crawling of an ant." Then the person whom Allah willed said to him: How can we guard ourselves against it, when it is more hidden than the crawling of an ant, O Messenger of Allah? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Say: "O Allah! Indeed we seek refuge in You from knowingly associating anyone (with You), and we seek Your forgiveness for that which we do not know."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; Ahmad's narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except for Abu Ali, and Ibn Hibban declared him thiqah (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الزهد / 17669
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ حسن
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (403/4) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 19109»