Hadith #546
Arabic Text
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ أَبِي النَّجُودِ عَنْ زِرِّ بْنِ حُبَيْشٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ أَقْرَأَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُورَةً مِنْ الثَّلَاثِينَ مِنْ آلِ حم يَعْنِي الْأَحْقَافَ قَالَ وَكَانَتْ السُّورَةُ إِذَا كَانَتْ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ثَلَاثِينَ آيَةً سُمِّيَتْ الثَّلَاثِينَ قَالَ فَرُحْتُ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَإِذَا رَجُلٌ يَقْرَؤُهَا عَلَى غَيْرِ مَا أَقْرَأَنِي فَقُلْتُ مَنْ أَقْرَأَكَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ فَقُلْتُ لِآخَرَ اقْرَأْهَا فَقَرَأَهَا عَلَى غَيْرِ قِرَاءَتِي وَقِرَاءَةِ صَاحِبِي فَانْطَلَقْتُ بِهِمَا إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ هَذَيْنِ يُخَالِفَانِي فِي الْقِرَاء
َةِ قَالَ فَغَضِبَ وَتَمَعَّرَ وَجْهُهُ وَقَالَ إِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ الِاخْتِلَافُ قَالَ قَالَ زِرٌّ وَعِنْدَهُ رَجُلٌ قَالَ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْكُمْ كَمَا أُقْرِئَ فَإِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ الِاخْتِلَافُ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ فَلَا أَدْرِي أَشَيْئًا أَسَرَّهُ إِلَيْهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَوْ عَلِمَ مَا فِي نَفْسِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ وَالرَّجُلُ هُوَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ
Isnad Chain
يحيى بن آدم
أبو بكر
عاصم بن أبي النجود
زر بن حبيش
عبد الله بن مسعود
الأحقاف
English Translation
It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) — via Yahya ibn Adam, from Abu Bakr, from 'Asim ibn Abi al-Najud, from Zirr ibn Hubaysh — that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: 'the Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught me a surah of the thirties from the family of Ha-Mim — meaning al-Ahqaf [46]. (A surah with more than thirty verses was called a surah of the thirties.) Then I went to the mosque and found a man reciting it differently from how I had been taught. I asked: Who taught you to recite it? He said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I asked another to recite it and he recited it differently from my recitation and his. We went together to the Prophet ﷺ and I said: O Messenger of Allah, these two differ from me in the recitation. He became angry and his face flushed and said: Indeed what destroyed those before you was disagreement. Zirr said: There was a man present with him. That man said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commands each of you to recite as he was taught, for it was disagreement that destroyed those before you. 'Abdullah said: I don't know whether this was something the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had privately told him, or whether he knew what was in the mind of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. That man was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah's blessings be upon him).'
Quran References
Reference: Musnad Ahmad, Book 11, Hadith 546
Sunnah.com ref: Musnad Ahmad 3784
Islam.wiki ID: IWH-40174