Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he was on a rooftop and saw the people moving away, so he asked: What is the matter with the people? They told him: They are moving away (to escape) from the plague. He said: O plague, take me! O plague, take me! O plague, take me! His nephew said to him: Death is being wished for, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not wish for death, for it cuts off deeds, and it does not bring a man back so that he may repent."
He said: I fear lest six things overtake me, which I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mention: "Injustice in judgement, taking bloodshed lightly, the rule of fools, severing ties of kinship, an abundance of police guards, and people putting forward a man who is neither the most knowledgeable of them nor the best of them, only so that he may sing the Qur'an to them."

Zadhan says: I was with Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) on a rooftop in Basrah. He saw the people loading their belongings to flee from the plague, and he said: O plague, take me to you! O plague, take me to you! O plague, take me to you! A cousin of his said: He has had the companionship of the Prophet; why then is he wishing for death? And I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Let none of you wish for death, lest his appointed time be cut off at that very moment."
And I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say that he (peace and blessings be upon him) feared these things for his Ummah: the selling of judgements, the rule of fools, an abundance of police guards, severing ties of kinship, taking bloodshed lightly, and the emergence of people who will take the Qur'an as musical instruments; they will put forward from among themselves a man who is not the most knowledgeable of them, and they will put him forward only so that he may sing it to them.

Zadhan narrates about Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) that we were with him on a rooftop of his, when some people passed by carrying their belongings. He asked: Who are these people? It was said: They are fleeing from the plague. He said: O plague, take me! O plague, take me! O plague, take me! A nephew of his, who had had the companionship of the Prophet, said: Is death being wished for? And I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Let none of you wish for death, for death is the end of the believer's deeds; he does not return so that he may repent." He said: O my nephew, I want to get ahead of the appearance of things that I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would happen at the end of time, and which he (peace and blessings be upon him) feared for his Ummah: "The rule of fools, an abundance of police guards, taking bloodshed lightly, severing ties of kinship, and the emergence of people who will take the Qur'an as musical instruments; they will put forward a man who is neither the most knowledgeable of them in religion nor the most learned, even though there will be among them those more knowledgeable and learned than him; yet they will put him forward only so that he may sing to them."

Zadhan (may Allah have mercy on him) says: We were with Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) on a rooftop, and he saw some people loading their belongings and moving away, so he asked: What is the matter with these people? It was said: They are fleeing from the plague. He said: O plague, take me to you! A cousin of his, who had had the companionship of the Prophet, said: Is death being wished for? And I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Let none of you wish for death." He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Hasten to do good deeds before six things come: the rule of fools, an abundance of police guards, the selling of judgements, taking bloodshed lightly, severing ties of kinship, and the emergence of people who will take the Qur'an as musical instruments; they will put forward one of their number to sing to them, even if he is the least knowledgeable of them."

Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) saw some people moving away and asked: What is the matter with them? The people said: They are fleeing from the plague. He said: O plague, take me to you! A cousin of his said to him: Are you wishing for death? He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Wish for death at the time of six traits: at the time of the rule of fools, the selling of judgements, taking bloodshed lightly, an abundance of police guards, severing ties of kinship, and the emergence of people who will take the Qur'an as musical instruments; they will put forward a man to sing to them, though he will not be the most knowledgeable of them." Sharik added 'Ulaym al-Kindi' to the chain.

Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "He (peace and blessings be upon him) feared six traits for his Ummah: the rule of children, an abundance of police guards, bribery in judgement, severing ties of kinship, taking bloodshed lightly, and the emergence of people who will take the Qur'an as musical instruments; they will put forward a man who is neither the most knowledgeable of them nor the best of them, and he will sing it to them."

A similar hadith is also narrated from Sayyiduna Abis al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).