Naji said, "I heard two statements, one from the Prophet ﷺ and another from the Negus.I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'Look at Quraysh and take from their words, but leave their deeds.'And I was sitting with the Negus when his son came from school and recited a verse from the Gospel. I recognized it, or understood it, and laughed.The Negus said, 'What makes you laugh? Do you laugh at the Book of Allah Most High? By Allah, among what Allah revealed to Isa son of Maryam was this, that a curse will fall upon the earth when its rulers are children.'"
قال سمعت كلمتين: من النبي ﷺ كلمة، ومن النجاشي أخرى، سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: انظروا قريشا فخذوا من قولهم، وذروا فعلهم. وكنت عند النجاشي جالسا، فجاء ابنه من الكتاب، فقرأ آية من الإنجيل، فعرفتها أو فهمتها، فضحكت، فقال: مم تضحك؟ من كتاب الله تعالى؟ فوالله إن مما أنزل الله على عيسى ابن مريم: أن اللعنة تكون في الأرض إذا كان أمراؤها الصبيان.
Ahmad narrated it (15536), and from his route Diya in al-Mukhtarah (8/302), and Ibn Hibban graded it sahih (4585), and Abu Naeem in Marifat al-Sahabah (5168), all of them through the route of Amir Shaybi, from Amir bin Shahr, who said, then he narrated it. Its chain is sahih.Amir bin Shahr is al-Hamdani, also said to be al-Naati, also said to be al-Bakili, and all of that is within Hamdan. His kunya was Abu Shahr. Amir bin Shahr was one of the Prophet's ﷺ governors over Yemen, and perhaps the story of bringing forward the letter took place in Yemen.As for his saying, "Indeed, among what Allah revealed to Isa bin Maryam," in another version, "and to our Prophet," meaning that his statement that the curse comes upon the earth when its rulers are mere children has also been reported from the Prophet ﷺ as well.And as for his saying, "Look at Quraysh and take from their words," it means, do not look at their deeds, for most of them are lowly.