Abu Musa Ashari sent for the reciters of Basra, and three hundred men who had memorized the Quran came to him. He said to them, "You are the best of the people of Basra and their reciters, so recite it often, and do not let a long time pass over you, lest your hearts grow hard as the hearts of those before you grew hard.We used to recite a surah which we likened to Baraah in length and severity, but I have forgotten it, except that I retained from it, 'If the son of Adam had two valleys of wealth, he would seek a third, and nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam except dust.'And we used to recite a surah which we likened to one of the Musabbihat, but I have forgotten it, except that I retained from it, 'You who believe, why do you say what you do not do? It will be recorded as a testimony around your necks, and you will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection.'"
بعث أبو موسى الأشعري إلى قراء أهل البصرة، فدخل عليه ثلاثمائة رجل قد قرؤوا القرآن، فقال: أنتم خيار أهل البصرة وقراؤهم، فاتلوه، ولا يطولن عليكم الأمد فتقسو قلوبكم كما قست قلوب من كان قبلكم وإنا كنا نقرأ سورة، كنا نشبهها في الطول والشدة ببراءة، فأنسيتها، غير أني قد حفظت منها: لو كان لابن آدم واديان من مال لابتغى واديا ثالثا، ولا يملأ جوف ابن آدم إلا التراب، وكنا نقرأ سورة كنا نشبهها بإحدى المسبحات، فأنسيتها غير أني حفظت منها: يا أيها الذين آمنوا لم تقولون ما لا تفعلون، فتكتب شهادة في أعناقكم، فتسألون عنها يوم القيامة.
Muslim narrated it in the Book of Zakat (1050), "Suwayd bin Saeed narrated to me, Ali bin Mushir narrated to us, from Dawud, from Abu Harb bin Abu Aswad, from his father, who said," and he mentioned it.This hadith and others that will be mentioned later with a similar meaning indicate that the saying, "If the son of Adam had two valleys..." to the end of the hadith, was once part of Surah Bayyinah. In fact, the statement of Abu Musa Ashari indicates that the surah containing the saying "If the son of Adam had" resembled Surah Baraah in length and severity, that is, in length it was about 129 verses like Surah Baraah, and nothing remained of it except the saying "If the son of Adam had," and the rest of the hadith.This statement, and what will follow after it, are all to be understood as reflecting the assumption of these companions, may Allah's pleasure be upon them, that this was part of the Quran, due to the coherence of its composition. But when "That which distracts you is the accumulation of wealth" was revealed, as in the hadith of Anas at the beginning of the hadith of this chapter, they came to know that the saying "If the son of Adam had" was not part of the Quran, but rather was a saying of the Prophet ﷺ.This hadith has been narrated with the same meaning but in different wordings that appear on the surface to conflict with one another. A reconciliation is possible, namely that the original position was that it was merely an assumption, though it is also possible that things were as they had assumed, and that abrogation then occurred regarding it.