Ali bin Abu Talib sent to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from Yemen a piece of gold still embedded in its dust, wrapped in a tanned hide. He distributed it among four men, Uyayna bin Badr, Aqra bin Habis, Zayd al-Khayl, and a fourth who was either Alqama bin Ulatha or Amir bin Tufayl.A man from among his companions said, "We had more right to this than these men."When word of this reached the Prophet ﷺ, he said, "Will you not trust me, when I am the trusted one of Him who is in heaven? News from heaven comes to me morning and evening."Then a man stood up. He had sunken eyes, prominent cheekbones, a bulging forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head, and his lower garment was hitched up. He said, "Messenger of Allah, fear Allah."The Prophet replied, "Woe to you. Am I not the most deserving of the people of the earth to fear Allah?"The man then turned away.Khalid bin Walid said, "Messenger of Allah, shall I not strike off his neck?"He replied, "No. Perhaps he prays."Khalid said, "And how many a one who prays says with his tongue what is not in his heart!"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "I have not been commanded to bore into people's hearts, nor to split open their bellies."Then he looked at the man as he was walking away and said, "From the loins of this one will come a people who recite the Book of Allah fluently, but it will not pass beyond their throats. They will pass through the religion as an arrow passes through its prey."I think he said, "If I should reach them, I would surely slay them as Thamud was slain."In another narration it was added, Umar bin Khattab stood up and said, "Messenger of Allah, shall I not strike off his neck?"He replied, "No."Then the man turned to leave, and Khalid, the Sword of Allah, stood up to him and said, "Messenger of Allah, shall I not strike off his neck?"He replied, "No," and said, "From the loins of this one will come forth a people who recite the Book of Allah smoothly and fluently."
بعث علي بن أبي طالب إلى رسول الله ﷺ من اليمن بذهيبة في أديم مقروط لم تحصل من ترابها قال: فقسمها بين أربعة نفر: بين عيينة بن بدر، وأقرع بن حابس، وزيد الخيل، والرابع إما علقمة بن علاثة وإما عامر بن الطفيل، فقال رجل من أصحابه: كنا نحن أحق بهذا من هؤلاء. قال: فبلغ ذلك النبي ﷺ فقال: ألا تأمنوني وأنا أمين من في السماء، يأتيني خبر السماء صباحا ومساء. قال: فقام رجل غائر العينين مشرف الوجنتين ناشز الجبهة كث اللحية مخلوق الرأس مشمر الإزار فقال: يا رسول الله اتق الله، قال: ويلك أو لست أحق أهل الأرض أن يتني الله. قال: ثم ولى الرجل، فقال خالد بن الوليد: يا رسول الله ألا أضرب عنقه؟ قال: لا، لعله أن يكون يصلي قال خالد: وكم من مصل يقول بلسانه ما ليس في قلبه! قال رسول الله ﷺ: إني لم أومر أن أنقب عن قلوب الناس ولا أشق بطونهم. قال: ثم نظر إليه، وهو مقف فقال: إنه يخرج من ضشفي هذا قوم يتلون كتاب الله رطبا لا يجاوز حناجرهم، يمرقون من الدين كما يمرق السهم من الرمية. قال: أظنه قال: لئن أدركتهم لأقتلنهم قتل ثمود. وزاد في رواية: فقام إليه عمر بن الخطاب فقال: يا رسول الله ألا أضرب عنقه قال: لا، قال: ثم أدبر فقام إليه خالد سيف الله فقال: يا رسول الله ألا أضرب عنقه قال: لا، فقال: إنه سيخرج من ضئضئ هذا قوم يتلون كتاب الله لينا رطبا.
Bukhari narrated it in the Maghazi (4351), and Muslim in the Zakat (1064), both from Qutayba bin Saeed, who said, Abdul-Wahid narrated to us, from Umara bin Qaqa, who said, Abdul-Rahman bin Abu Naim narrated to us, saying, I heard Abu Saeed Khudri say, and then he mentioned it. Muslim also narrated it (1064:145) from Uthman bin Abu Shayba, who said, Jareer narrated to us, from Umara bin Qaqa with this same chain, and he said, "and Alqama bin Ulatha," without mentioning Amir bin Tufayl, and he said, "we come to the forehead" instead of saying "protruding," and he added, then Umar bin Khattab stood up to him... and so on. The two sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim) have given many of its transmission routes and wordings, some of which are mentioned in other places in Jami Kamil.