Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Sayyiduna Hanzalah Asadi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was among your scribes, narrates that I met Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). He said to me: “Hanzalah! How are you?” I said: “Hanzalah has become a hypocrite.” He said: “Subhan Allah! (He was greatly surprised) What are you saying?” I said: “(The reality is that) when we are with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he admonishes us about Paradise and Hell (so much so that) it seems as if we are seeing Paradise and Hell with our own eyes. But when we leave the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and sit among our families, children, and wealth, we forget many things.” Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “By Allah! We also experience this complaint.” So I and Abu Bakr set out and reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: “O Messenger of Allah! Hanzalah has become a hypocrite.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: “How is that?” I said: “When we are with you and you admonish us about Paradise and Hell (then our spiritual state becomes such that) it is as if we are seeing Paradise and Hell with our own eyes, but when we leave your presence and become occupied with our families and possessions, we forget (such states).” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By Him in Whose hand is my soul! If you were to remain in the same state as you are with me and remain engaged in the remembrance of Allah, the angels would come to shake hands with you on your beds and in your streets. But Hanzalah! (Situations keep changing) sometimes it is like this and sometimes like that.” He repeated this sentence three times.