Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Thalabah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Abu Qilabah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The messenger who asked Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me: I ask you by Allah, do you know that during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), people were of three types: those who were believers both inwardly and outwardly, those who were disbelievers both inwardly and outwardly, and those who were outwardly believers but inwardly disbelievers. The narrator says: Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Indeed, it was so. He said: So I ask you by Allah, which of these three types were you? The narrator says that he (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: Certainly, I was a believer both inwardly and outwardly. I was a believer. Abu Ishaq (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I met Hazrat Abdullah bin Ma’qil (may Allah have mercy on him) and I said: Indeed, some of the righteous people criticize me for saying, “I am a believer.” So Hazrat Abdullah bin Ma’qil (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Surely, you have failed and are deprived if you are not a believer.

Hazrat Musa bin Muslim al-Shaybani, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates that Ibrahim al-Taymi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is not harmful for any one of you to say, "I am a believer." By Allah, if he is truthful, Allah will not punish him for speaking the truth, and if he is lying, then the punishment for disbelief is more severe than the punishment for lying.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that a man asked Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him): "Are you a believer?" He (may Allah have mercy on him) replied: "I hope so."

Hazrat Harith bin Umairah al-Zubaidi narrates that when the plague spread in Syria, Hazrat Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) stood at the place of Homs to deliver a sermon and said: This plague is a mercy from your Lord, and a supplication of your Prophet ﷺ, and the death of the righteous people before you. O Allah! Grant the family of Mu’adh their full share of it. The narrator says: When he (may Allah be pleased with him) descended from the pulpit, a man came and informed him: Indeed, Abdur Rahman bin Mu’adh has been afflicted with the plague. So he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. The narrator says: Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) went towards him. The narrator says: When Abdur Rahman saw him coming, he said: Indeed, this is the truth from your Lord, so never be among those who doubt. The narrator says: Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) recited this verse: You will surely find me, if Allah wills, among the patient. The narrator says: Then the family of Mu’adh died one by one until Hazrat Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) was the last of them. The narrator says: Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) was also afflicted with the plague. So Harith bin Umair al-Zubaidi came to him. The narrator says: Hazrat Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) fell unconscious. When he (may Allah be pleased with him) regained consciousness, Harith was weeping, so Hazrat Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: What has made you weep? Harith said: I am weeping over the loss of knowledge that will be buried with you. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If you are a seeker of knowledge, then there is no problem. So seek it from Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), and from ‘Uwaymir Abu al-Darda, and from Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said: Beware of the mistakes of the scholar. Harith says: I asked: How will I recognize his mistake? (May Allah grant you health.) He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Surely, the truth has a light by which it is recognized. The narrator says: Then Hazrat Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away, and Harith set out towards Kufa for the sake of Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him). When he reached his door, he saw a group of the companions of Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) debating at the door. The narrator says: They were conversing among themselves until they said, O brother from Syria: Are you a believer? He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Yes! Then they asked: Are you among the people of Paradise? He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Indeed, I have committed some sins, I do not know what Allah has decided about those sins, so if I knew that my sins had been forgiven, I would surely tell you that indeed I am among the people of Paradise. The narrator says: While we were in this state, Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us, so his companions said to him: Are you not amazed at our Syrian brother who claims to be a believer but does not claim to be among the people of Paradise? The narrator says: Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If I say one of the two, I will also say the other. So Harith said: Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return! May Allah have mercy on Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him)! He (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Woe to you, which Mu’adh? They said: Mu’adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). He (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: What did he say? Harith said: Beware of the mistakes of the scholar. So I swear by Allah that O Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), you are mistaken. There is no faith except that we believe in Allah, and in His angels, and in His books, and in His messengers, and in the Last Day, and in Paradise and Hell, and in resurrection after death, and in the scale, and we have some sins, we do not know what Allah has decided about them, so if we know that our sins have been forgiven, we will surely say that we are among the people of Paradise. So Hazrat Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You have spoken the truth. By Allah, I was mistaken.