Musnad Ahmad

Qais bin ‘Abad says that, out of eagerness to meet the noble companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), I once traveled to Madinah Munawwarah. Of all of them, the one I most wished to meet was none other than Hazrat Ubayy bin Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him). So, when the iqamah was called and Hazrat ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came out with the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), I stood in the first row. At that moment, a man came, looked at the faces of all the people, and recognized everyone except me. He moved me aside and stood in my place. I could not concentrate on my prayer, not knowing how I performed it. After the prayer, he said to me, “Son! Do not take it badly. I did not do this out of ignorance, but the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed us to stand in the rows closest to him. When I looked at the people, I recognized everyone except you.” Then he narrated a hadith, during which I saw the people’s necks turn toward him with such attention as I had never seen toward anything else. He said, “I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) say: ‘By the Lord of the Ka‘bah, the people of authority and decision have perished. Remember, I do not grieve for them; rather, I grieve for those Muslims who perished because of them.’” Later, I found out that the man was indeed Hazrat Ubayy bin Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him).