Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) relate: "When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made camp (during a journey), the Muhajirun would stay close to him. The narrator relates: Once we made camp; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slept and we also slept. At some point in the night, Mu'adh and I woke up. We looked, but we did not see the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator says: We set out in search of him. Meanwhile we heard a sound like the sound of a millstone turning, and then he appeared in front of us. As he was coming, he looked and asked: 'What is the matter with you?' They said: 'When we woke up, we did not see you in the place where you were, and we feared that some harm might have befallen you, so we came looking for you.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'In my dream someone (an angel, or a message) came to me and gave me the choice that either He (that is, the Lord) would admit half of my Ummah into Paradise, or there would be intercession; so I chose intercession for them.' (The narrator relates:) We said: 'We ask you, by the right of Islam and the right of companionship, to include us too in your intercession.' So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for the two of them. The narrator relates: Some people gathered around the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and made a request like ours. When the number of people grew large, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I will intercede for everyone who dies in a state in which he does not associate anyone as a partner with Allah.'"
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded something similar.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب البعث / 18488
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ حسن
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه البزار فى المسند (3463) اخرجه الطبراني فى المعجم الكبير (163/20) اخرجه احمد فى المسند (232/5) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 21520»