The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Accept the good news, children of Tamim."They replied, "You have given us good news, so give us something."He said, "Accept the good news, people of Yemen."We said, "We have accepted it. Now tell us about the beginning of this affair, how it was."He said, "Allah existed before everything else, and His Throne was upon the water, and He wrote in the Preserved Tablet a record of everything."Imran said, "Then someone came to me and said, 'Imran, your she-camel has slipped loose from her tether.' So I went out, and the mirage was shimmering between me and her. I went after her, and I do not know what was said after I left."
حدثنا أبو معاوية حدثنا الأعمش عن جامع بن شداد عن صفوان بن محرز
قال رسول الله ﷺ اقبلوا البشرى يا بني تميم قال قالوا قد بشرتنا فأعطنا قال اقبلوا البشرى يا أهل اليمن قال قلنا قد قبلنا فأخبرنا عن أول هذا الأمر كيف كان قال كان الله تبارك وتعالى قبل كل شيء وكان عرشه على الماء وكتب في اللوح ذكر كل شيء قال وأتاني آت فقال يا عمران انحلت ناقتك من عقالها قال فخرجت فإذا السراب ينقطع بيني وبينها قال فخرجت في أثرها فلا أدري ما كان بعدي
Its isnad is sahih. Jami bin Shaddad is trustworthy, and his hadith is accepted by the group. This hadith was previously mentioned in abbreviated form at 19708, and it appears in Bukhari 6/286, no. 3191, Fath al-Bari, Beginning of Creation, What Has Been Said Regarding the Words of Allah Almighty, "He is the One who begins creation", and in Tabarani's Kabir, 18/221, no. 552. Hakim graded it sahih in 4/531, and Dhahabi passed over it in silence.