Musnad Ahmad

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: On the day of Friday, there comes such an hour that if a Muslim servant attains it while he is standing and offering prayer and asking Allah for goodness, then Allah surely grants him that thing. And Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) indicated with his hand while describing the brief state of that hour. When Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away, I thought in my heart, "By Allah! If I go to Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), I will surely ask him about this hour; perhaps he knows about it." So, once I went to him and saw that he was straightening sticks. I asked him, "O Abu Saeed! What are these sticks that I see you straightening?" He replied, "These are the sticks in which Allah has placed blessings for us. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to like them and would keep them hidden. We would straighten them and bring them to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Once, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw spit on the Qiblah side of the mosque. At that time, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had one of these sticks in his hand. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cleaned it with that stick and said: When any of you is in prayer, he should not spit in front of him, for his Lord is in front of him; rather, he should spit to his left or under his foot." Then, that very night, there was a heavy rain. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out for the Isha prayer, suddenly there was a flash of lightning, and in it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Hazrat Qatadah bin Nu'man (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, "Qatadah! What was the need to come at this hour of the night (in this rain)?" He replied, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I knew that very few people would come for the prayer today, so I thought I should join the prayer." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "When you have finished praying, stop until I pass by you." So, after finishing the prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Hazrat Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) a stick and said, "Take this; it will give you light ten steps ahead and ten steps behind. Then, when you enter your house and see the shadow of a person in any corner, before he speaks, strike him with this stick, for he will be a devil." So he did as instructed, and for this reason, we like these sticks. I asked, "O Abu Saeed! Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us a hadith regarding the hour of Friday. Do you know about this hour?" He replied, "I had asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this hour, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'At first, that hour was shown to me, but then it was made to be forgotten, just like Laylatul Qadr.'" Abu Salamah says: Then I left from there and went to Hazrat Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him).