Abu Ghalib, the man with the staff, whose name was Hazawwar

Abu Ghalib said: When the heads of the Kharijites were brought and set up on the steps of Damascus, Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) came. When he saw them, his eyes filled with tears, then he said: "These are the dogs of the Fire, the dogs of the Fire. These are the worst of the slain beneath the canopy of the sky, and the best of the slain beneath the canopy of the sky are those whom these people killed." I said: Then why are you weeping? He said: "Out of pity for them; they were among the people of Islam." I said: Did you say this from your own opinion, or is it something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "I would never be so bold; rather, it is something I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once, not twice, not three times (but many times)." And he counted many times. Then he recited this verse: "On the Day when some faces will be white and some faces will be black" [Al Imran: 106] until he reached: "they will abide therein forever" [Al Imran: 107]; and he also recited: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are precise" [Al Imran: 7] until he reached: "those of understanding". Then he took me by the hand and said: "Indeed, they are numerous in your land, so may Allah protect you from them."

Abu Ghalib said: I was walking with Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was riding his donkey, until we reached the steps of Damascus, and there were some heads set up there. He asked: What are these heads? It was said: These are the heads of the Kharijites, brought from Iraq. At that he said: "The dogs of the Fire, the dogs of the Fire" - three times - "the worst of the slain beneath the sky" - he said it three times - "the best of the slain is the one whom they killed" - he said it three times - "glad tidings to the one who killed them and to the one whom they killed" - he said it three times. Then he wept, and I said: O Abu Umamah, why are you weeping? He said: "Out of pity for them; they were among the people of Islam, then they went out of Islam." Then he recited: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are precise - they are the foundation of the Book" [Al Imran: 7] until he finished the verses. Then he recited: "And do not be like those who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them" [Al Imran: 105] until he reached: "they will be in the mercy of Allah, abiding therein forever" [Al Imran: 107]. I said: O Abu Umamah, are these the ones? He said: "Yes." I said: Is this something you are saying from your own opinion, or something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "I would never be so bold" - three times - "I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once or twice, but seven times." Then he put his finger in his ears and said: "Otherwise, may these two be made deaf."

Abu Ghalib said: I was in Syria when al-Muhallab sent seventy heads of the Kharijites, and they were set up at the door of the mosque. I was on the roof of my house when Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by on his way to the mosque. When he stopped by them, his eyes filled with tears and he said: "Subhan Allah, what Satan does to the children of Adam!" - three times. He said: "The dogs of Hell, the worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky" - three times. Then he said: "The best of the slain beneath the shade of the sky are those whom they killed" - three times. Then he turned to me and said: "O Abu Ghalib, you are in the land of these people; they are numerous here, so may Allah protect you from them. Do you recite the surah in which Al Imran is mentioned?" I said: Certainly; I saw that your eyes were shedding tears. He said: "I wept out of pity for them; they were among the people of Islam." Then he recited: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are precise" [Al Imran: 7] until he reached: "seeking discord and seeking its interpretation" [Al Imran: 7], and he said: In the hearts of these people there was deviation, so Allah made them deviate. Then he recited: "And do not be like those who became divided" [Al Imran: 105] until he reached: "Did you disbelieve after your faith?" [Al Imran: 106]. I said: O Abu Umamah, are these the ones? He said: "Yes." I said: O Abu Umamah, do you say this from your own opinion, or is it something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "I would never be so bold" - three times - "rather, it is something I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once or twice, but six times."
Then he said: "The Children of Israel split into seventy-one sects - or he said: seventy-two sects - and this Ummah will exceed them by one sect; all of them will be in the Fire except the greatest body (al-sawad al-a'zam)." I said: O Abu Umamah, do you not see what they are doing? He said: "Upon them is the burden placed upon them, and upon you is the burden placed upon you; if you obey him, you will be rightly guided."

Abu Ghalib said: I saw Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) when he saw the heads of the Kharijites on the steps of Damascus, and he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The dogs of the people of the Fire, the dogs of the people of the Fire, the dogs of the people of the Fire." Then he wept and said: "The worst of the slain beneath the canopy of the sky, and the best of the slain are those whom they killed." Abu Ghalib said: I said to him: Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: I would never be so bold; I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once, not twice, not three times (but many times).

Abu Ghalib said: I was in Damascus when seventy heads of the Kharijites were brought and set up on the steps of Damascus. Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), came, entered the mosque and prayed as much as he wished. When he came out he wept, then said: "The dogs of the people of the Fire." Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others that are ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous of it" [Al Imran: 7]. Then he recited: "On the Day when some faces will be white and some faces will be black; as for those whose faces turn black (it will be said to them): Did you disbelieve after your faith? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve" [Al Imran: 106]. So these are those people. I said: O Abu Umamah, is this something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or are you saying it from your own opinion? He said: "I would never be so bold; I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once, not twice, not three times, but up to seven times."

Abu Ghalib said: The heads of the Kharijites were brought and set up on the steps of Damascus. Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) looked at them while they were set up and said: "These are the worst of the slain beneath the sky" - three times - "glad tidings to the one who killed them, and glad tidings to the one whom they killed." I said: O Abu Umamah, do you say this from your own opinion, or is it something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "I would never be so bold" - three times - "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say it."

A similar hadith is also narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him).

Abu Ghalib narrates: I was in Damascus on the roof of a house when Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by me, so I followed him. We came to the heads of the Khawarij that had been set up on the steps of the mosque, and he said: "The worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky, and the best of the slain are those whom they killed." I said: Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "Yes, by the Lord of the Ka'bah; yes, by the Lord of the Ka'bah" — several times — then he began to weep. I said: Are you weeping, when you have said what you said? He said: I feel pity for them; they are people who wanted something but did not attain it. Listen, you are in a land where they are many, so may Allah protect you from them.

Abu Ghalib narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Khawarij were mentioned before him, and he said: "The dogs of Hell." The people said: Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "I could never be so bold as to say something I have not heard."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Khawarij are the dogs of the people of Hell."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We used to call the misguided people of innovation the dogs of Hell."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the heads of the Khawarij and said: "The worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky." I said: Is this something you say from your own opinion, or something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "Had I not heard it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once, or twice, or three times — up to seven times — I would not have narrated it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will exit from Islam just as an arrow passes through the game, and you will not return to it until the arrow returns to its notch. These are the dogs of Hell."

Humayd bin Mihran said: I asked Abu Ghalib about this verse: "It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses that are precise — they are the foundation of the Book — and others that are ambiguous," up to "seeking its interpretation" [Al Imran: 7]. He said: Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are the Khawarij." And I asked him about this verse: "As for those whose faces turn black, (it will be said to them): Did you disbelieve after your faith? Then taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve" [Al Imran: 106]. He said: Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) "that they are the Khawarij."

Abu Ghalib narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), regarding the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "O you who believe, do not take as intimates those other than yourselves; they will spare no effort to harm you. They wish for your distress. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater. We have made clear to you the signs, if you would use reason" [Al Imran: 118]. He said: "They are the Khawarij."

Zakariyya bin Yahya, the cane-seller, said: I asked Abu Ghalib about the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish that they had been Muslims" [Al-Hijr: 2]. He said: Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This verse was revealed about the Khawarij: when they see Allah's pardon of the Muslims, and of the Ummah and the Jama'ah, they will say: 'Would that we had been Muslims.'"

Abu Ghalib narrates: I went out with Sayyiduna Abu Umamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) to the mosque of Damascus. When we reached the door, there were some of the heads of the Khawarij. When he looked at them he wept and said: "What has Satan done!" — three times — "The dogs of Hell" — three times. Then he said: "The worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky" — three times — "the one whom they killed was the best of the slain beneath the shade of the sky." I said: O Abu Umamah, are you saying this yourself, or is it something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "I could never be so bold. Do you read the verses at the beginning of Surah Al Imran?" "As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous of it" [Al Imran: 7] — this was revealed about them; until you read the verse in the middle of Surah Al Imran: "On the Day when some faces will turn white and some faces will turn black" [Al Imran: 106] — this too was revealed about them. I said: O Abu Umamah, why are you weeping? He said: "These people were believers" — or he said: "were Muslims."

Abu Ghalib narrates: I was in Syria, and Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Sudayy bin Ajlan (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), was also there, and he was my friend. Then the heads of the Khawarij were brought, and he narrated a hadith similar to this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Abu Ghalib said: I was in Damascus in the time of Abd al-Malik when the heads of the Khawarij were brought and set up on wooden poles. I came to see whether there was anyone among them whom I knew, and there I saw Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him). I went near him and looked at the poles, and he said: "The dogs of Hell" — three times — "the worst of the slain beneath the sky, and those whom they killed are the best of the slain beneath the sky" — he said this three times. Then he began to weep. I said: O Abu Umamah, why are you weeping? (He said:) They were upon our own religion; then I remembered the end they are heading towards tomorrow. I said to him: Is this something you say from your own opinion, or something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "Had I not heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once, or twice, or three times — up to seven times — I would not have narrated it to you. Do you not read this verse in Surah Al Imran?" "On the Day when some faces will turn white and some faces will turn black" [Al Imran: 106] to the end of the verse, "And as for those whose faces turn white, they will be in the mercy of Allah; they will abide therein forever" [Al Imran: 107]. Then he said: "The Jews split into seventy-one sects: seventy in Hell and one in Paradise. The Christians split into seventy-two sects: seventy-one sects in Hell and one in Paradise. And this Ummah will split into seventy-three sects: seventy-two in Hell and one in Paradise." We said: Describe them to us. He said: "Al-Sawad al-A'zam (the greatest body)."

A hadith similar to this is also narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Children of Israel split into seventy-two sects, and this Ummah will split just as the Children of Israel split, but with one sect more. All of them will be in Hell except al-Sawad al-A'zam (the greatest body)." We said: O Abu Umamah, is there not enough room in al-Sawad al-A'zam? He said: "By Allah, we disapprove of what you do."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The Children of Israel split into seventy-one sects, and my Ummah will exceed them by one sect. All of them will be in Hell except al-Sawad al-A'zam (the greatest body)."

Abu Ghalib said: Seventy heads of the Azariqah (Khawarij) were brought and kept on the steps of Damascus for seven days. Three days passed, and on the fourth day Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) came and prayed two rak'ahs beside a pillar, then said: "The dogs of Hell" — three times — "the worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky; the best of the slain beneath the shade of the sky are those whom they killed." I said: O Abu Umamah, is this something you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or do you say it from yourself? He said: "I could never be so bold. Rather, I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) not once or twice, but up to seven times."

Abu Ghalib said: The heads of the Khawarij were brought and set up on the steps of Damascus. People began looking at them, and I too went out to look at them. Then Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) came riding a donkey, wearing a Sunbulani shirt. He looked at them and said: "What has Satan done to this Ummah?" — he said it three times — "These are the worst of the slain beneath the shade of the sky; the best of the slain beneath the shade of the sky are those whom these killed. These are the dogs of Hell" — he said it three times. Then he wept, and then he went away. Abu Ghalib said: I followed him and said: I heard you say something earlier; is it your own saying? He said: "Subhan Allah! I could never be so bold. Rather, I heard this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) many times." I said to him: I saw you weeping. He said: "Out of pity for them; they were once among the people of Islam." Then he said to me: "Do you read (the Qur'an)?" I said: Certainly. He said: "Then read from Surah Al Imran." I read, and he said: "Do you not hear Allah saying: As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous of it [Al Imran: 7]? There was deviation in the hearts of these people, so Allah caused them to deviate. Read near the start of the hundredth (verse)." I read until I reached the verse: "On the Day when some faces will turn white and some faces will turn black. As for those whose faces turn black, (it will be said to them): Did you disbelieve after your faith?" [Al Imran: 106]. I said: O Abu Umamah, are these the people? He said: "Yes, these are the people." No one narrated this hadith from Khulayd bin Da'laj except al-Walid.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from Khaybar with two slaves. He gave one of them to Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Do not beat him, for I have been forbidden from beating those who pray, and I have seen him praying." And he gave a slave to Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Treat him well." So he freed him. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What became of the slave I gave you?" He said: You ordered me to treat him well, so I freed him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Through the intercession of one man from my Ummah, more people than the tribes of Rabi'ah and Mudar will be brought out of Hell."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Through the intercession of one man from my Ummah, more people than the number of the tribe of Mudar will enter Paradise. A man will intercede for his household, and his intercession will be according to his deeds."

Abu Ghalib narrates: I asked Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) about the voluntary (nafl) prayer, and he said: "For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) it was nafl (additional), and for you it is a virtue."

Abu Ghalib narrates: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "No Muslim hears the call to prayer (adhan) and gets up to perform ablution (wudu) except that he is forgiven with the first drop of that water that falls from his palm; and after that drop Allah forgives all his past sins. Then he stands for his prayer, and it is nafl (additional) for him." I said: O Abu Umamah, did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: "By the One who sent him (peace and blessings be upon him) as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, (I heard it) not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, not ten times (but even more than that)." And he gestured by closing (the fingers of) his hand again and again.

Abu Ghalib narrates: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "When you complete the ablution on its proper places, you sit down forgiven. Then if you pray, it will be a virtue and a reward for you; and if you remain seated, you are still sitting forgiven." A man said to him: O Abu Umamah, if he stands up and prays, will it be nafl (additional) for him while he remains caught up in sins and errors? He said: "It will indeed be a virtue and a reward for you."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whenever a Muslim performs ablution and completes his ablution on its proper places, his sins come out from his ears, his eyes, his body and his feet, and his prayer becomes a fadl (an extra good deed) for him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray nine rak'ahs of witr. Then, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) grew older and gained weight, he began praying seven rak'ahs of witr, and he would pray two rak'ahs with two prostrations while seated, in which he recited Surah al-Zalzalah, Surah al-Kafirun and Surah al-Ikhlas.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two rak'ahs seated after witr, in which he recited Surah al-Zalzalah and Surah al-Kafirun.

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray nine rak'ahs of witr; then, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) felt it heavy upon him, he began praying seven rak'ahs of witr."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No people go astray after having been upon guidance except that they are given argumentativeness." Then he recited this verse: "They did not present it to you except for argument; rather, they are a quarrelsome people" [Al-Zukhruf: 58].

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When you pass by a land whose inhabitants have been destroyed, pass through it quickly."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you pass by a land whose inhabitants Allah has destroyed, pass through it quickly."

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution, he would run his fingers through his beard.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution with half a mudd of water.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to us leaning on a staff. When we saw him (peace and blessings be upon him), we stood up, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not do as the non-Arabs do, standing up for one another."
We said: We would love for you to supplicate for us. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, forgive us, have mercy on us, be pleased with us, accept from us, admit us into Paradise, save us from the Fire, and set right all our affairs." We said: We would love for you to supplicate for us further. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Has not all good been gathered in this?"