Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9208

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Accept the state stipends as long as they remain stipends. When they become a bribe against the religion, do not take them; but you will not give them up, for poverty and need will prevent you. Behold! The mill of Banu Marah kept turning, and then Banu Marah were killed. And the mill of Islam will keep turning, so turn with the command of the Book wherever it turns. Behold! The Book and the ruler will soon part ways, so do not part from the Book. Behold! Soon there will come over you rulers who will issue judgments for themselves that they will not issue in your favour. If you disobey them, they will have you killed, and if you obey them, they will lead you astray." The people said: "O Messenger of Allah! What then should we do?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(You should do) as the companions of Sayyiduna Isa bin Maryam (peace be upon him) did: they were sawn apart with saws and hung upon the gallows (they embraced death, but did not abandon the religion). To die in obedience to Allah Almighty is better than to live in disobedience to Allah Almighty."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; the narrator Yazid bin Marthad did not hear from Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him), and the narrator al-Wadin bin Ata was declared thiqah (trustworthy) by Ibn Hibban and others while a group declared him weak, and the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).