Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Unais (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to Khalid bin Sufyan bin Nubaiah al-Hudhali. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had received information that he was gathering an army against him, and he was present between the valley of ‘Urnah and ‘Arafat. The Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered me, “Go and kill him.” He says, I asked, “O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), give me some sign by which I may recognize him?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When you see him, a shiver will come over you. Even if I do not give you any other sign, it will not harm you.” (Meaning, this sign alone is sufficient.) He says, he was a tall man with long hair. He says, I set out until when I reached near him, the time for ‘Asr prayer had come. He says, I thought, I fear that something may happen between me and him that would cause me to delay my prayer. So I performed my prayer with gestures while walking. Then I reached him. By Allah, as soon as I saw him, a shiver came over me, and he was walking with his women, so I began to walk alongside him. He asked, “Who are you?” I said, “I am an Arab man. I have heard that you are gathering an army against that man (Muhammad, peace be upon him), so I have come to you regarding this matter.” He said, “Indeed, I am engaged in this work.” He says, I said in my heart, “Soon you will find out.” He says, I walked with him for a while, until when I found the opportunity, I struck him with my sword and finished him off, and he became cold (i.e., dead). Then I returned to Madinah and presented myself to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and narrated the whole incident to him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave me a staff. I took that staff and left the Prophet (peace be upon him), and my friends and companions asked me, “What is this that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has given you?” He says, I replied, “It is a staff (stick).” They said, “What will you do with it? Why did you not ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) why he gave it to you and what you should do with it? Go and ask him.” He says, I went back to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked, “O Messenger of Allah, why did you give me this staff?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “This will be a sign between you and me on the Day of Resurrection, and on that day very few people will have a staff.” He says, he hung that staff with his sword, and he never parted from it. He kept it with him all his life, and when his death approached, he instructed us to bury it with him. His son said, “By Allah, I myself placed it with him in his shroud.”