While we were sitting around the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he mentioned the trials to come and said, "When you see that people's covenants have become corrupted, their trusts diminished, and they have become like this," and he interlaced his fingers together.I stood up and asked him, "What should I do when that happens, may Allah make me your ransom?"He replied, "Stay in your house, control your tongue, take what you recognize as good, leave what you find objectionable, attend to your own affairs, and leave aside the affairs of the masses."
بيننا نحن حول رسول الله ﷺ إذ ذكر الفتنة، فقال: إذا رأيتم الناس قد مرجت عهودهم، وخفت أماناتهم، وكانوا هكذا وشبك بين أصابعه، قال: فقمت إليه فقلت: كيف أفعل عند ذلك، جعلني الله فداك؟ قال: الزم بيتك، وأملك عليك لسانك، وخذ بما تعرف، ودع ما تنكر، وعليك بأمر خاصة نفسك، ودع عنك أمر العامة.
Abu Dawud (4343) narrated it from Harun bin Abdullah, who said, Fadl bin Dukayn told us, Yunus bin Abu Ishaq told us, from Hilal bin Khabab Abu Ala, who said, Ikrima told me, Abdullah bin Amr told me, and he related it.Imam Ahmad (6987) also narrated it from Abu Naeem (who is Fadl bin Dukayn) with the same chain, similarly.Its chain of transmission is hasan because of Hilal bin Khabab, concerning whom there is disagreement, though he is one whose hadith is hasan. The discussion of him is set out at length in the book on mosques.