He narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, "Allah commanded Yahya bin Zakariya with five matters to act upon and to command the Children of Israil to act upon them. He was about to delay in conveying them, so Isa said to him, 'Allah has commanded you with five matters to act upon and to command the Children of Israil to act upon them. Either you command them, or I will command them.'Yahya replied, 'I fear that if you precede me with them, I will be swallowed up by the earth or punished.'So he gathered the people in Bayt al-Maqdis, and the mosque filled up until people sat upon the elevated places. He said, 'Allah has commanded me with five matters to act upon and to command you to act upon them.The first is that you worship Allah and associate nothing with Him. The example of one who associates partners with Allah is like a man who buys a slave from his pure wealth with gold or silver and says, 'This is my house and this is my work, so work and pay your earnings to me.' But the slave works and pays his earnings to someone other than his master. Which of you would be pleased to have his slave behave in such a way?Allah commands you to pray, so when you pray, do not turn away, for Allah sets His face toward the face of His servant in his prayer as long as he does not turn away.I command you to fast. The example of that is like a man among a group who has with him a pouch containing musk, and every one of them marvels at, or is pleased by, its fragrance. Indeed, the breath of the fasting person is more fragrant to Allah than the scent of musk.'"
حدثه، أن النبي ﷺ قال: إن الله أمر يحيى ابن زكريا بخمس كلمات أن يعمل بها ويأمر بني إسرائيل أن يعملوا بها، وإنه كاد أن يبطئ بها قال عيسى: إن الله أمرك بخمس كلمات لتعمل بها وتأمر بني إسرائيل أن يعملوا بها، فإما أن تأمرهم وإما أن آمرهم، فقال يحيى: أخشى إن سبقتني بها أن يخسف بي أو أعذب، فجمع الناس في بيت المقدس فامتلأ المسجد وتعدوا على الشرف، فقال: إن الله أمرني بخمس كلمات أن أعمل بهن وآمركم أن تعملوا بهن. أولهن: أن تعبدوا الله ولا تشركوا به شيئا، وإن مثل من أشرك بالله كمثل رجل اشترى عبدا من خالص ماله بذهب أو ورق فقال: هذه داري وهذا عملي، فاعمل وأد إلي، فكان يعمل ويؤدي إلى غير سيده، فأيكم يرضى أن يكون عبده كذلك؟ وإن الله أمركم بالصلاة فإذا صليتم فلا تلتفتوا، فإن الله ينصب وجهه لوجه عبده في صلاته مالم يلتفت. و آمركم بالصيام، فإن مثل ذلك كمثل رجل في عصابة معه صرة فيها مسك، فكلهم يعجب أو يعجبه ريحها. وإن ريح الصائم أطيب عند الله من ريح المسك.
Tirmidhi (2863), Imam Ahmad (17170), Ibn Khuzayma (1895), Ibn Hibban (6233), and Hakim (1/421) all narrated it through the route of Yahya bin Abu Kathir, from Zayd bin Salam, from his grandfather Mamtur, from Harith Ashari, who related it. Its chain is sahih.Tirmidhi said, "It is a hasan sahih gharib hadith. Muhammad bin Ismail (that is, Bukhari) said, Harith Ashari had companionship with the Prophet, and he has other hadiths besides this one."Hakim said, "Sahih according to the criterion of the two Shaykhs."