Imam al-Sha'bi narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went with his uncle Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) to those seventy men of the Ansar who were at al-Aqabah beneath the tree. He said: "Let one of you speak, and let him not speak at length, for there may be spies of the idolaters watching you; if they come to know about you, they will cause you trouble." One of them, namely Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "O Sayyiduna Muhammad! Settle whatever you wish for your Lord, and settle whatever you wish for yourself and your companions, and then tell us what reward we will receive from Allah Almighty and from you if we do so." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Regarding my Lord, I say this to you: Worship Him and do not associate anyone with Him. And regarding myself and my companions, I say this to you: You are to give us shelter, help us and protect us from everything from which you protect yourselves." They asked: "If we do this, what will we receive?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will receive Paradise." They said: "Then this is settled."
Ahmad recorded it thus as a mursal narration, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih. After it, Ahmad recorded a chain up to Imam al-Sha'bi, from Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Uqbah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), and then recorded a narration similar to it. He narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was the youngest of them. Its chain contains a narrator, Mujalid, in whom there is weakness; if Allah wills, his hadith is hasan (good).