People used to ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the good, but I would ask him about the evil, fearing that it might overtake me.I said, "Messenger of Allah, we were in a state of ignorance and evil, then Allah brought us this good. Will there be any evil after this good?"He said, "Yes."I asked, "And will there be any good after that evil?"He said, "Yes, but it will be tainted."I asked, "What will taint it?"He said, "A people who guide by other than my guidance. You will recognize some of what they do and reject other parts."I asked, "Will there be any evil after that good?"He said, "Yes, callers at the gates of Hell. Whoever responds to them will be cast into it."I said, "Messenger of Allah, describe them to us."He said, "They will be from our own people and speak our language."I asked, "What do you command me to do if I live to see that?"He said, "Hold fast to the community of the Muslims and their leader."I asked, "But what if they have no community and no leader?"He said, "Then withdraw from all those factions, even if you must bite onto the root of a tree until death overtakes you while you are in that state."
كان الناس يسألون رسول الله ﷺ عن الخير وكنت أسأله عن الشر مخافة أن يدركني فقلت: يا رسول الله إنا كنا في جاهلية وشر فجاءنا الله بهذا الخير فهل بعد هذا الخير من شر؟ قال: نعم قلت: وهل بعد ذلك الشر من خير؟ قال: نعم وفيه دخن قلت: وما دخنه؟ قال: قوم يهدون بغير هديي تعرف منهم وتنكر قلت: فهل بعد ذلك الخير من شر؟ قال: نعم دعاة على أبواب جهنم من أجابهم إليها قذفوه فيها قلت: يا رسول الله صفهم لنا قال: هم من جلدتنا ويتكلمون بألسنتنا قلت: فما تأمرني إن أدركني ذلك قال: تلزم جماعة المسلمين وإمامهم قلت: فإن لم يكن لهم جماعة ولا إمام قال: فاعتزل تلك الفرق كلها، ولو أن تعض بأصل شجرة حتى يدركك الموت، وأنت على ذلك.
Narrated by Bukhari in the Book of Tribulations (7084), and Muslim in the Book of Governance (1847), both of them from Muhammad bin Muthanna, who said, Walid bin Muslim narrated to us, who said, Ibn Jabir narrated to us, who said, Busr bin Ubaydullah Hadrami narrated to me, that he heard Abu Idris Khawlani, that he heard Huzaifa bin Yaman say, and then he related it.Muslim narrated it afterward through another route from Huzaifa, who said, I said, "O Messenger of Allah, we were in a state of evil, then Allah brought good, so we are now in it. Is there any evil beyond this good?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Is there any good beyond that evil?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Is there any evil beyond that good?" He said, "Yes." I said, "How so?" He said, "After me there will come leaders who are not guided by my guidance and do not follow my sunnah, and among them will arise men whose hearts are the hearts of devils in the bodies of humans." I said, "How should I act, O Messenger of Allah, if I live to see that?" He said, "You shall listen and obey the ruler, even if he beats your back and takes your wealth. Listen and obey."However, its chain of transmission contains a break, because Abu Salam, whose name is Mamtur Habashi, did not hear directly from Huzaifa bin Yaman. Daraqutni said in his book al-Tatabbu (p. 226), "In my view, this is a mursal report. Abu Salam did not hear from Huzaifa, nor from his peers who settled in Iraq, for Huzaifa died only a few nights after the killing of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, and Huzaifa is quoted as saying it, which indicates that his transmission from him is mursal."Ibn Hajar said in the biography of Mamtur Abu Salam in Tahzib (10/296), "He transmitted in mursal fashion from Huzaifa, Abu Dharr, and others."As for the statement in the hadith, "Adhere to the body of the Muslims," Tabari said, "That is, those who are in obedience to the one they have agreed to appoint as ruler. Whoever breaks his pledge of allegiance has departed from the body. And it shows that whenever the people have no leader and become divided into factions, one should not follow anyone in that division, but rather withdraw from all of them if able to do so, for fear of falling into evil." See Fath al-Bari (10/37).