Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Rabi’ bin ‘Umaylah says: Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us such an excellent hadith that we found it beautiful after the Qur’an and the traditions of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When the time of the Children of Israel was prolonged and their hearts became hardened, they themselves compiled a book which pleased their hearts and was sweet to their tongues, and at that time, the truth was only what revolved around their desires. They threw the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they knew nothing of it. Then (there came a time when) they said: Present this (self-made) book to the Children of Israel; if they follow you, do not say anything to them, and if they oppose, then kill them. But someone said: No, rather do this: send a message to such-and-such scholar; if he follows you, then after him no one will differ. They sent someone to him and called him. He took a page, wrote the Book of Allah on it, then placed it in a horn, hung it around his neck, put on clothes over it, and came to them. They presented their (fabricated) book to him and said: Do you believe in this? In response, he pointed to his chest, that is, to the book inside the horn, and said: I believe in this; why should I not believe in this? (His intention was the book hidden in the horn, not their self-made book, but they did not understand his words.) In any case, they left him alone. He had some companions who used to sit in his gathering. When he died, they came and removed his clothes, and there they saw a horn in which was a book. Now (they understood the real truth and) said: When this man said, ‘I believe in this book, and why should I not believe in it,’ his intention was the book in the horn (which is the truth). So the Children of Israel split into seventy-three or seventy-four sects; the best among them were those who were the companions and followers of the man with the horn.”