Hudhayfa said, "People used to ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the good, but I used to ask him about the evil." The people fixed their eyes intently upon him, so he said, "I see what you find strange."Hudhayfa continued, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, tell me about this good that Allah Almighty has granted us, will there be evil after it as there was before it?'He replied, 'Yes.'I asked, 'What is the protection from it?'He answered, 'The sword.'"Qutayba in his version said, I asked, "Will anything remain after the sword is used?"He replied, "Yes."I asked, "What will it be?"He said, "A truce upon impurity."I asked, "Messenger of Allah, then what will happen?"He answered, "If Allah Almighty has a caliph on the earth, even if he strikes your back and takes your wealth, obey him. Otherwise, die while clinging to the trunk of a tree."I asked, "Then what?"He said, "Then the Dajjal will emerge, with him will be a river and a fire. Whoever falls into his fire, his reward will be assured and his sin removed, and whoever falls into his river, his sin will be assured and his reward removed."I asked, "Then what?"He said, "Then the Hour will come."
إن الناس كانوا يسألون رسول الله ﷺ عن الخير، وكنت أسأله عن الشر، فأحدقه القوم بأبصارهم، فقال: إني قد أرى الذي تنكرون، إني قلت: يا رسول الله، أرأيت هذا الخير الذي أعطانا الله تعالى أيكون بعده شر كما كان قبله؟ قال: نعم قلت: فما العصمة من ذلك؟ قال: السيف قال قتيبة في حديثه- قلت: وهل للسيف يعني من بقية؟ قال: نعم. قال: قلت: ماذا؟ قال: هدنة على دخن قال: قلت: يا رسول الله ثم ماذا يكون؟ قال: إن كان الله تعالى خليفة في الأرض فضرب ظهرك، وأخذ مالك فأطعه، وإلا فمت وأنت عاض بجذل شجرة قلت: ثم ماذا؟ قال: ثم يخرج الدجال معه نهر ونار، فمن وقع في ناره وجب أجره وحط وزره، ومن وقع في نهره وجب وزره وحط أجره. قال: قلت: ثم ماذا؟ قال: ثم هي قيام الساعة.
Abu Dawud (4244) - and this is his wording - Ahmad (23430), and Hakim (4/432, Khalid 433) all narrated it from the hadith of Abu Awana, from Qatada, from Nasr bin Aasim, from Sabee bin Khalid al-Yashkuri, who said, "I came to Kufa at the time Tustar was conquered, to bring mules from there. I entered the masjid, and there was a crowd of men, and there was a man sitting there whom, if you saw him, you would know to be one of the men of the people of Hijaz. I said, 'Who is this?' The people frowned at me and said, 'Don't you recognize him? This is Huzaifa bin Yaman, the companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'" He said, then he related the hadith.Its chain is hasan because of Sabee bin Khalid, for a group of trustworthy narrators reported from him, Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy narrators, and Ajli deemed him trustworthy, as mentioned in Tahzeeb. Hakim said, "This is a hadith sahih in its chain of transmission."