Abu Burda reported,

I passed by ar-Rabadhah and saw a tent pitched there. I asked, "Whose tent is this?"I was told, "It belongs to Muhammad bin Maslama."So I sought permission to enter, and when I came in to him I said, "May Allah have mercy on you. You hold a significant position regarding this matter. If only you would go out to the people, commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong."He replied, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'There will be tribulation, division, and discord. When that happens, take your sword to Uhud and strike its edge against the rock to break it, snap your bow, cut your bowstring, and sit in your house.' And that time has now come."Yazid once said in his narration, "Strike with it until you break it, then sit in your house until a wrongful hand reaches you, or Allah grants you safety."Muhammad bin Maslama continued, "What the Messenger of Allah ﷺ foretold has come to pass, and I have done as he commanded me."Then he took down a sword that was hanging from the pole of the tent and unsheathed it, and behold, it was a sword made of wood. He said, "I have done what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded me, and I have taken this so I may frighten people with it."

عن أبي بردة قال

مررت بالربذة، فإذا فسطاط، فقلت: لمن هذا؟ فقيل: لمحمد بن مسلمة، فاستأذنت عليه، فدخلت عليه فقلت: رحمك الله إنك من هذا الأمر بمكان، فلو خرجت إلى الناس، فأمرت ونهيت فقال: إن رسول الله ﷺ قال: إنه ستكون فتنة وفرقة واختلاف، فإذا كان ذلك، فأت بسيفك أحدا، فاضرب به عرضه، واكسر نبلك، واقطع وترك، واجلس في بيتك، فقد كان ذلك. وقال يزيد مرة: فاضرب به حتى تقطعه، ثم اجلس في بيتك حتى تأتيك يد خاطئة، أو يعافيك الله عز وجل، فقد كان ما قال رسول الله ﷺ، وفعلت ما أمرني به، ثم استنزل سيفا كان معلقا بعمود الفسطاط فاخترطه، فإذا سيف من خشب فقال: قد فعلت ما أمرني به رسول الله ﷺ، واتخذت هذا، أرهب به الناس.