Hadith #597

Arabic Text

English Translation

Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd narrated to us, Qurrah ibn Khālid narrated to us, Ḥumayd ibn Hilāl narrated to us, Abū Burdah narrated to us, who said: Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī said: I came to the Prophet ﷺ with two men from the Ashʿarīs, one on my right and the other on my left. Both of them asked for positions of authority while the Prophet ﷺ was cleaning his teeth with a siwāk. He said: 'What do you say, O Abū Mūsā — or O ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays?' I said: 'By the One who sent you with the truth, they did not reveal to me what was in their hearts, and I did not realize they were seeking positions.' He said: I could see his siwāk under his lip — it pulled back. He said: 'We do not — or we shall not — appoint to our positions anyone who seeks them. But go, O Abū Mūsā — or O ʿAbd Allāh ibn Qays.' So he sent him to Yemen. Then he sent Muʿādh ibn Jabal after him. When he arrived, Abū Mūsā said: 'Dismount,' and he placed a cushion for him. There was a man with him who was bound. He said: 'What is this?' He said: 'He was a Jew who accepted Islam, then returned to his religion — the evil religion — and became a Jew again.' He said: 'I will not sit until he is killed — the judgment of Allah and His Messenger,' three times. So he ordered him to be killed. Then they discussed the night prayer. Muʿādh ibn Jabal said: 'As for me, I sleep and I stand in prayer, or I stand and I sleep, and I hope for reward in my sleep just as I hope for reward in my standing.'