A man narrates: We had loaded up some goods for Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), intending to give them to him. When we came to al-Rabadhah and asked about him, we did not find him, and we were told that he had gone for Hajj. So we came to the town, that is, Mina. Once, while we were with him, he was told: "Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) has prayed four rak'ahs." He expressed strong displeasure at this and said harsh words about it, and he stated: "I prayed behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed two rak'ahs; and I prayed behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) (and they too prayed only two rak'ahs)." Then Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and prayed four rak'ahs. It was said to him: "You objected to the Commander of the Believers about this earlier, and then you did the same thing yourself?" He said: "Disagreeing (with the ruler of the time) is more serious. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us and said: 'After me there will be rulers; do not humiliate them. Whoever intends to humiliate them has removed the collar of Islam from his neck. The repentance of such a person will not be accepted until he fills the breach he has made, and he will not be able to do so, and then he comes back and joins those who support that ruler.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us that we should not be overpowered in three things: that we enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and teach the people the Sunnahs."
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator who is not named. The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الخلافة / 9091
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ ضعیف
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه احمد فى المسند (165/5) ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 20949»