A man asked, "Messenger of Allah, does Islam have an end?"He replied, "Whichever household." And in another place he said, "Yes. Whichever household of the Arabs or non-Arabs for whom Allah intends good, He brings Islam into it."The man asked, "Then what?"He said, "Then trials will fall upon you like patches of shade."The man said, "No, by Allah, if Allah wills."He said, "Yes indeed, by the One in whose hand is my soul. Then you will return to them as striking black serpents, some of you striking the necks of others."Sufyan recited this to Ali. Zuhri said regarding "asawid subba," and Sufyan explained, it refers to the black snake that rears up, meaning it rises high.
حدثنا سفيان عن الزهري عن عروة
قال رجل يا رسول الله هل للإسلام من منتهى قال أيما أهل بيت وقال في موضع آخر قال نعم أيما أهل بيت من العرب أو العجم أراد الله بهم خيرا أدخل عليهم الإسلام قال ثم مه قال ثم تقع الفتن كأنها الظلل قال كلا والله إن شاء الله قال بلى والذي نفسي بيده ثم تعودون فيها أساود صبا يضرب بعضكم رقاب بعض وقرأ علي سفيان قال الزهري أساود صبا قال سفيان الحية السوداء تنصب أي ترتفع
Its isnad is sahih, its narrators are well-known imams. Haythami alluded to this isnad in 7/305, saying, "Its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih." The hadith was also related by Hakim in 1/40, and Dhahabi was silent about it. A similar version, worded, "Do not revert after me to being disbelievers, striking one another's necks," was related by Tirmidhi in 4/486, number 2193, who said, "Hasan sahih."