I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when a man said, "Messenger of Allah, the people have neglected their horses, laid down their weapons, and declared, 'There is no more jihad. The war has laid down its burdens.'"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned his face toward him and said, "They lie. Now, now the fighting has come. A group from my Ummah will continue to fight for the truth, and Allah will turn the hearts of certain peoples away from guidance because of them and provide for them through them, until the Hour arrives and until the promise of Allah comes. Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection. It has been revealed to me that I will soon be taken and will not remain long, and you will follow me in scattered groups, striking one another's necks. The heartland of the believers is Sham."
كنت جالسا عند رسول الله ﷺ فقال رجل: يا رسول الله أذال الناس الخيل، ووضعوا السلاح وقالوا: لا جهاد، قد وضعت الحرب أوزارها، فأقبل رسول الله ﷺ بوجهه وقال: كذبوا، الآن الآن جاء القتال، ولا يزال من أمتي أمة يقاتلون على الحق ويزيغ الله لهم قلوب أقوام، ويرزقهم منهم حتى تقوم الساعة، وحتى يأتي وحتى يأتي وعد الله، والخيل معقود في نواصيها الخير إلى يوم القيامة، وهو يوحى إلي أني مقبوض غير ملبث، وأنتم تتبعوني أفنادا، يضرب بعضكم رقاب بعض، وعقر دار المؤمنين الشام.
Narrated by Nasai (3561) and Ahmad (16965), both through routes from Walid bin Abdul-Rahman Jurashi, from Jubayr bin Nufayr, who mentioned it. The wording given is that of Nasai. Its isnad is sahih.Ibn Hibban (7307) also narrated it from Abu Yaala, who said, Dawud bin Rashid narrated to us, Walid bin Muslim narrated to us, from Muhammad bin Muhajir, from Walid bin Abdul-Rahman Jurashi, from Jubayr bin Nufayr, from Nawas bin Saman, with the same wording. Dawud bin Rashid, although he is trustworthy, differed from the group in his transmission from Walid bin Muslim by attributing the hadith to the musnad of "Nawas bin Saman," whereas the correct attribution is that it belongs to the musnad of "Salama bin Nufayl Kindi."As for his saying, "The stronghold of the believers is Syria," the aql of a thing is its root and its place. Ibn Athir said, it is as though he was pointing by this to the time of turmoil, meaning that Syria would be safe from it at that time, and the people of Islam there would be the safest.As for his saying, "the people have disdained horses," it means they have belittled them and held them in contempt.