We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he spoke about the trials. He spoke of them at length until he mentioned the trial of al-Ahlas.Someone asked, "Messenger of Allah, what is the trial of al-Ahlas?"He said, "It is a trial of flight and plunder. Then comes the trial of al-Sarra, whose smoke rises from beneath the feet of a man from my household who claims to be of me, but he is not of me, for my true allies are only the God-fearing. Then the people will rally around a man as unstable as a hip-bone resting on a rib. Then comes the trial of al-Duhayma, which will not leave anyone in this nation untouched. Whenever it is said to have ended, it will stretch on further. In it, a man will wake up a believer and reach evening as a disbeliever, until the people split into two camps, a camp of faith with no hypocrisy in it, and a camp of hypocrisy with no faith in it. When that happens, then await the Dajjal, that day or the next."
حدثنا أبو المغيرة حدثنا عبد الله بن سالم حدثني العلاء بن عتبة الحمصي أو اليحصبي عن عمير بن هانئ العنسي سمعت
كنا عند رسول الله ﷺ قعودا فذكر الفتن فأكثر ذكرها حتى ذكر فتنة الأحلاس فقال قائل يا رسول الله وما فتنة الأحلاس قال هي فتنة هرب وحرب ثم فتنة السراء دخلها أو دخنها من تحت قدمي رجل من أهل بيتي يزعم أنه مني وليس مني إنما وليي المتقون ثم يصطلح الناس على رجل كورك على ضلع ثم فتنة الدهيماء لا تدع أحدا من هذه الأمة إلا لطمته لطمة فإذا قيل انقطعت تمادت يصبح الرجل فيها مؤمنا ويمسي كافرا حتى يصير الناس إلى فسطاطين فسطاط إيمان لا نفاق فيه وفسطاط نفاق لا إيمان فيه إذا كان ذاكم فانتظروا الدجال من اليوم أو غد
Its chain of transmission is sahih. Abdullah bin Salim Ashari Wahazi, with the wa having a damma, the ha unpointed and lightened, and after the alif a pointed dha, is trustworthy. Yahya bin Hassan said, "I never saw anyone like him in Syria." Ibn Hibban and Daraqutni transmitted this, and Bukhari cited him in his Sahih.Ala bin Utba Himsi Hadrami was deemed trustworthy by Ibn Main, Ajli, and others, and Ibn Abu Hatim gave his biography in Jarh wa Tadil 3/1/358. He has no report in the six books other than this hadith, found in Abu Dawud.Umayr bin Hani Ansi, with the ain having a fatha, the nun with a sukun, and an unpointed sin, the Damascene, was a trustworthy successor. Ajli and Ibn Hibban deemed him trustworthy, and Ibn Abu Hatim gave his biography in 1/378-379. The compilers of the six books narrated from him.This hadith was narrated by Abu Dawud, 4:152-153, and by Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 4:465-466, both through the route of Abu Mughira from Abdullah bin Salim with this chain. Hakim said, "Its chain is sahih, though the two of them (Bukhari and Muslim) did not include it," and Dhahabi agreed with him. Abu Naeem likewise narrated it in al-Hilya, 5:158, through the route of Abu Mughira, with this chain, and said, "It is unusual as a hadith of Umayr and Ala. We have not recorded it as a raised hadith except through the report of Abdullah bin Salim."Regarding his statement, "so it increased [in] its mention," the word "[in]" is an addition found in the manuscripts K and M, and it agrees with the two reports of Abu Dawud and Hakim, but it was omitted in H, which agrees with the report of Abu Naeem.Al-ahlas is the plural of hils, with the ha bearing a kasra, the lam a sukun, and ending in an unpointed sin. Ibn Athir said, "It is the cloth that lies against the camel's back beneath the saddle. The fitnah was likened to it because of its persistence and continuity." Khattabi said, "The fitnah was attributed to al-ahlas because of its duration and long stay. It is said of a man who stays constantly in his house and never leaves it, 'He is the hils of his house,' because the hils is spread out and remains in place as long as it is not lifted." It is also possible that this fitnah was likened to al-ahlas because of the blackness of its color and its darkness."A fitnah of flight and loss," with the ha and ra both bearing a fatha. Ibn Athir said, "Al-harb, with the letters vowelled, means plundering a person's wealth and leaving him with nothing." Khattabi said, "Al-harb means the loss of wealth and family. It is said, 'The man was harab,' meaning hariib, when his family and wealth have been stripped from him.""A fitnah of sarraa," with the sin bearing a fatha and the ra doubled. Ibn Athir said, "Al-sarraa means the open plain," while others said, "It is that which enters the interior and shakes it," though he added, "I do not know the reasoning behind that." In Awn al-Mabud it states that Qari said, "What is meant is the blessings that make people joyful, such as health, ease, and safety from affliction and epidemic. It was attributed to al-sarraa because the cause of its occurrence is the commission of sins brought about by excessive indulgence in comfort, or because it brings joy to the enemy." This word is corrupted in the printed copy of al-Hilya, so it should be corrected based on this passage."Dakhaluha or dakhanuha," both with the dal bearing a fatha and the kha pointed. Al-dakhal means fault, deceit, and corruption. Al-dakhan refers to murkiness verging on blackness, and originally it is the verbal noun of "the fire smoked," meaning that damp firewood was thrown onto it and its smoke increased. Khattabi said, "Al-dakhan means smoke, meaning that it rises like smoke from beneath his feet." Ibn Athir said, "It refers to its appearance and its being stirred up, likened to rising smoke.""Kawarik ala dilaa" (like a hip joint upon a rib). Al-wark, with the waw bearing a fatha and the ra a kasra, is what lies above the thigh, just as the shoulder blade lies above the upper arm. Al-dilaa, with the dad bearing a kasra together with the lam bearing either a fatha or a sukun, is well known. Khattabi said, "His statement 'kawarik ala dilaa' is a proverb, meaning a matter that has no stability and does not stand upright, since the rib cannot support the hip nor bear its weight. It is only said in matters of harmony and agreement when they describe something as, 'It is like a palm fitting a forearm,' or 'a forearm fitting an arm,' or the like." Ibn Athir said, "That is, they come to agreement on a matter that is unsound, having neither order nor stability, because the hip cannot stand upright upon the rib nor be structurally joined to it, due to the difference between them and the distance separating them.""The fitnah of al-duhayma." Khattabi said, "It is the diminutive of al-dahmaa, and it was made diminutive in the sense of disparagement toward it." Ibn Athir said, "He means the dark, obscure fitnah, and the diminutive form here is meant to convey magnitude." It has also been said that by al-duhayma he meant the calamity itself.Al-Fustat, with the fa bearing either a damma or a kasra. Ibn Athir said, "It is the city in which people gather together, and every city is a fustat." Zamakhshari said, "It is a type of structure used while traveling, smaller than a pavilion tent, and the city was named after it. Both Egypt and Basra are called al-Fustat."