Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 3426

Usayr bin Jabir narrates that a companion of mine in Kufah said to me: "Would you like to see a (special) man?" I said: "Yes." He said: "This is his path," and by this he meant Uways al-Qarani. He said: "I think he will pass by here now." So we sat waiting for him. When he passed, we saw a man wearing a worn-out wrap (a threadbare sheet), with people following behind him. He would turn to the people and forbid them sternly, but they would not stop. We too went along with the people until he entered the mosque of Kufah, and we entered as well. He went to a pillar and prayed two rak'ahs, then turned his face towards us and said: "O people! What is the matter between me and you, that you follow at my heels in every street? I am a weak human being; I have some need of my own and I cannot fulfil it because of you. May Allah have mercy on you, do not do this; whoever has some business with me, let him come and meet me here (in the mosque)." The narrator said: Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had (once) asked a delegation that came to him: "Has there come to you a man from Qaran whose circumstances are such and such?" That companion said to Uways: "The Commander of the Believers mentioned you favourably, but he had not told us this." Uways said: "That mention of his is not something by which I would seek to reach you." Uways took a firm pledge from that man that he would not tell this to anyone else. Then Uways said: "Three kinds of people attend this gathering: a believer with understanding, a believer who does not have deep understanding, and a hypocrite. Their likeness in this world is that of rain that comes down from the sky to the earth: when it falls on a green, lush and fruit-bearing tree, it increases the beauty of its leaves, its freshness and the sweetness of its fruit. And when it falls on a green, flourishing tree that has no fruit, it increases its freshness and the beauty of its leaves, and it comes to bear fruit and catches up with its sister. And when it falls on dry, broken stubble (brushwood), it breaks it to pieces and destroys it." Then he recited this verse: "And We send down of the Qur'an that which is healing and mercy for the believers, and it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss." [Surah al-Isra': 82] "No one sits with this Qur'an except that he rises from it either with some increase (in faith) or some decrease (in loss); so the decree of Allah is that it is healing and mercy for the believers and loss for the wrongdoers." (Then he supplicated:) 'Allahummarzuqni shahadatan tasbiqu kishratuha adhaha, wa amnuha faza'aha, tujibul-hayata war-rizq' (O Allah, grant me a martyrdom whose smile comes before its pain and whose security overcomes its fear, and which brings about (true) life and provision). After that he fell silent. Usayr said: My companion asked: "How did you find this man?" I said: "My desire for him has only increased, and I will not leave him now." So we stayed with him, and only a short time had passed when the order came from the Commander of the Believers, Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), for the dispatch of an army (for the Battle of Siffin). That man with the wrap (Uways) joined it, and we too went out with him. We travelled with him and camped with him until we reached the enemy. Ibn al-Mubarak said: Hammad bin Salamah narrated from al-Jurayri, from Abu Nadrah, from Usayr bin Jabir, that the caller of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) called out: "O horsemen of Allah! Mount and receive glad tidings." Uways al-Qarani drew his sword, broke its scabbard and threw it away, then began calling out: "O people! Stand firm, stand firm, so that your faces may shine (with success); you will not turn back from here until you see Paradise." He kept saying this and advancing, when suddenly an arrow came and pierced his heart, and he grew cold right there (was martyred), as though he had died long ago. Hammad said: We buried him there in the earth.
This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, and they did not record it with this wording. Usayr bin Jabir is one of the Mukhadramun; he was born in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and is one of the eminent companions of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).