Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I taught the people of al-Suffah writing and the recitation of the Qur'an. A man among them gave me a bow as a gift. I said: It is not wealth, and I will shoot with it in the cause of Allah. I will certainly go to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him (peace and blessings be upon him) about it. I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! A man has given me a bow in return for writing and the Qur'an; it is not wealth, and I will shoot with it in the cause of Allah? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you would like to be collared with a collar of fire, then accept it."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الإجارة / 11681
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If it pleases you to wear a collar of fire, then take a wage for teaching writing."
Ali bin al-Madini (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its chain is entirely known except for al-Aswad bin Tha'labah, for we know nothing from him except this hadith.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الإجارة / 11682
In one narration the wording is: I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! What is your view about it? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is an ember of fire that you have hung between your shoulders."
There is disagreement over this hadith concerning Ubadah bin Nusay, and the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas and Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with them) has a more authentic chain than it. It has also been narrated through another, broken (munqati') chain from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الإجارة / 11683
Atiyyah bin Qays al-Kilabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) taught a man the Qur'an, and he brought him a bow from Yemen. He asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If you take it, it is as if you have taken a bow of Hell."
It has also been narrated through another, weak chain from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الإجارة / 11684
It is reported from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever takes a bow for teaching the Qur'an, Allah will collar him with a bow of fire."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الإجارة / 11685
Duhaym (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The hadith of Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), "Whoever wears a bow (taken) for teaching the Qur'an", has no basis.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الإجارة / 11686