We set out as a group of twelve men from Banu Thalaba. We were told that Abu Musa had stopped at a certain place, so we went to him and heard him narrate from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said, "O Allah, make the death of my nation through stabbing and plague."We asked, "We know what stabbing is, but what is the plague?"He replied, "A piercing from your enemies among the jinn, and in both there is martyrdom."
خرجنا في اثني عشر من بني ثعلبة، فبلغنا أن أبا موسى نزل منزلا، فأتيناه فسمعناه يحدث عن رسول الله ﷺ أنه قال: اللهم اجعل فناء أمتي بالطعن والطاعون قلنا: هذا الطعن قد عرفناه، فما الطاعون؟ قال: وخز أعدائكم من الجن، وفي كل شهداء.
Ahmad (19744) and Bayhaqi in Dalail Nubuwwah (6/384), the wording being his, both narrated it from the hadith of Yahya bin Abu Bukayr (who is Kirmani), who said, Abu Bakr Nahshali narrated to us, who said, Ziyad bin Alaqa narrated to us, from Usama bin Sharik, and he related it.Its chain is hasan because of Abu Bakr Nahshali, for he is hasan al-hadith. There has been disagreement about its chain, and what I have mentioned is the most sound of them. Ibn Hajar likewise held this view in Bazl Maun (p. 114).Usama bin Sharik is a well-known companion from Banu Thalaba, the tribe of Ziyad bin Alaqa.