Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 4212 — Allah the Blessed and Exalted protecting

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "I never intended any evil among the shameful deeds of the people of the time of Ignorance, except merely twice in my whole life, and on both occasions Allah Almighty protected me from them. One night I said to a young man of Quraysh, who was with me in the upper part of Makkah grazing the goats of his family: 'Look after my goats as well, so that tonight I may go into Makkah and spend the night in storytelling and gathering as other young men do.' He said: 'Very well.' So I set out, and when I reached the nearest of the houses of Makkah, I heard the sounds of singing, the beating of tambourines and flutes. I asked: 'What is going on?' The people said that such-and-such a man of Quraysh had married such-and-such a woman, also of Quraysh. I became so absorbed in the pleasure of that singing and those sounds that sleep overcame me, and nothing woke me except the heat of the sun. Then I returned to my companion, and he asked: 'What did you do?' I told him the whole story. Then on another night I said the same to him and he agreed. I set out again, heard the same sounds and received the same answer. I again became absorbed in those sounds until my eyes closed, and only the sunshine woke me. Then I returned to my companion, and he asked: 'What did you do?' I said: 'I did nothing at all.'" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah, after that I never even intended any of the evil deeds of the time of Ignorance, until Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, honoured me with His prophethood."
I (Ibn Hajar) say: Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated it in this way in the Sirah, and this chain is very fine and eminent. I have not found this report in any other musnad except this Musnad of Ishaq. This hadith is hasan (good) and connected (muttasil), and all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).