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»
Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported this from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) (perhaps Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) was also present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at that time, or perhaps Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) told him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shirk among you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant. The narrator states: We said: O Messenger of Allah! Shirk is only that someone other than Allah is worshipped (Abd al-Malik, a narrator, is in doubt, or perhaps the words are:) or that someone else is called upon along with Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Siddiq! May your mother lose you! Shirk among you will be more hidden than the crawling of an ant. Shall I not tell you of a phrase that will remove the small and the great (shirk)? (Here the narrator is in doubt about the word, but its meaning is the same.) I said: Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Recite this three times every day: 'O Allah! I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating anyone with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for that of which I have no knowledge.' Shirk is that you say: Allah Almighty and so-and-so gave to me. And nidd (setting up a rival) is that a person says: Had it not been for so-and-so, so-and-so would have killed me."
Abu Ya'la recorded it as the narration of Layth bin Abi Sulaym from Abu Muhammad from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him). Layth is a mudallis; as for Abu Muhammad, if he is the one who narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), or the one who narrates from Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), then Ibn Hibban declared him thiqah (trustworthy), and if he is someone other than these two, I do not know him. The rest of its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الزهد / 17670
Sayyiduna Ma'qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) states: I was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) together with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) (the narrator is in doubt, or perhaps the words are:) Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) told me about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shirk among you is more hidden than the crawling of an ant. Then he said: Shall I not guide you to something that will remove its small and its great (that is, every kind of shirk)? Say: 'O Allah! I seek refuge in You from associating anyone with You while I know it, and I seek Your forgiveness for that of which I have no knowledge.'"
Abu Ya'la recorded it from his teacher Amr bin al-Husayn al-Uqayli, and he is matruk (abandoned).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الزهد / 17671