We used to see him, meaning Thabit bin Qays, walking among us, and we knew that he was one of the people of Paradise. On the day of Yamamah, some of our ranks broke and retreated. Then Thabit bin Qays bin Shammas came, having already perfumed himself with embalming scent and put on his burial shroud, and he said, "What a wretched way you are accustoming your enemies to deal with you." Then he fought them until he was killed.
كنا نراه- أي ثابت بن قيس- يمشي بين أظهرنا ونحن نعلم أنه من أهل الجنة، فلما كان يوم اليمامة كان فينا بعض الانكشاف، فجاء ثابت بن قيس بن شماس، وقد تحنط ولبس كفنه، فقال: بئسما تعودون أقرانكم، فقاتلهم حتى قتل.
Narrated by Ahmad (12399), and Ibn Hibban graded it sahih (7168), both from the hadith of Sulayman, from Thabit, from Anas bin Malik, who related it. Bukhari also narrated it in the Book of Jihad and Expeditions (2845) through the route of Musa bin Anas, who said, mentioning the day of Yamamah, "Anas came to Thabit bin Qays, who had bared his thighs and was applying embalming perfume. Anas said, 'Uncle, what is keeping you from coming?' He said, 'In a moment, nephew,' and he continued applying the perfume, meaning the hanut, then he came and sat down."The narration then mentions a retreat among the people, and Thabit said, "Like this, away from our faces, until we strike the enemy. This is not how we used to act with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. How badly you have accustomed your peers to behave."