Sunan Abi Dawud

A king of the foreigners will come and prevail over all the cities except Damascus.

The place of the assembly of Muslims at the time of war will be in a land called al-Ghutah.

I heard al-Hajjaj addressing the people say: The similitude of ‘Uthman with Allah is like the similitude of Jesus son of Mary. He then recited the following verse and explained it: “Behold! Allah said: O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehood) of those who blaspheme.” He was making a sign with his hand to us and to the people of Syria.

I heard al-Hajjaj say in his address: Is the messenger of one of you sent for some need is more respectable with him or his successor among his people? I thought in my mind: I make a vow for Allah that I shall never pray behind you. If I find people who fight against you, I shall fight against you along with them. Ishaq added in his version: He fought in the battle of al-Jamajim until he was killed.

I heard al-Hajjaj say on the pulpit: Fear Allah as much as possible; there is no exception in it. Hear and obey the Commander of the Faithful ‘Abd al-Malik; there is no exception in it. I swear by Allah, if order people to come but from a certain gate of the mosque, and they come out from another gate, their blood and their properties will be lawful for me. I swear by Allah, if I seize the tribe of Rabi’ah for the tribe of Mudar, it is lawful for me from Allah. Who will apologies to me for the slave of Hudhail (i.e. ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud) who thinks that his reading of the Quran is from Allah. I swear by Allah, it is a rhymed prose of the Bedouins. Allah did not reveal it to his Prophet (ﷺ). Who will apologies to me for these clients (non-Arab). One of them thinks that he will throw a stone and when it falls (on the ground) he says: Something new has happened. I swear by Allah, I shall leave them (ruined and perished) like the day that passes away. He said: I mentioned it to al-A’mash. He said: I swear by Allah, I heard it from him.

These clients (i.e., non-Arabs) are to be struck and cut off. I swear by Allah, if I strike a stick with a stick, I would annihilate them like the day that passed away. Al-hamra means clients or non-Arabs.

I prayed the Friday prayer with al-Hajjaj and he addressed. He then transmitted the tradition of Abu Bakr b. ‘Ayyash. He said in it: Hear and obey the caliph of Allah and his select ‘Abd al-Malik bin Marwan. He then transmitted the rest of the tradition, and said: If I seized Rabi’ah for Mudar. But he did not mention the story of the clients (i.e. non Arabs).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The Caliphate of Prophecy will last thirty years; then Allah will give the Kingdom of His Kingdom to anyone He wills. Sa'id told that Safinah said to him: Calculate Abu Bakr's caliphate as two years, 'Umar's as ten, 'Uthman's as twelve and 'Ali so and so. Sa'id said: I said to Safinah: They conceive that 'Ali was not a caliph. He replied: The buttocks of Marwan told a lie.

The caliphate of Prophecy will last thirty years; then Allah will give the Kingdom to whom he wishes; or his kingdom to whom he wishes.

Abdullah ibn Zalim al-Mazini said: I heard Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl say: When so and so came to Kufah, and made so and so stand to address the people, Sa'id ibn Zayd caught hold of my hand and said: Are you seeing this tyrant? I bear witness to the nine people that they will go to Paradise. If I testify to the tenth too, I shall not be sinful. I asked: Who are the nine? He said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said when he was on Hira': Be still, Hira', for only a Prophet, or an ever-truthful, or a martyr is on you. I asked: Who are those nine? He said: The Messenger of Allah, AbuBakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Talhah, az-Zubayr, Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas and AbdurRahman ibn Awf. I asked: Who is the tenth? He paused a moment and said: it is I. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by al-Ashja'i, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Hilal b. Yasaf, from Ibn Hayyan on the authority of 'Abd Allah b. Zalim through his different chain of narrators in a a similar manner.

AbdurRahman ibn al-Akhnas said that when he was in the mosque, a man mentioned Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). So Sa'id ibn Zayd got up and said: I bear witness to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that I heard him say: Ten persons will go to Paradise: The Prophet (ﷺ) will go to Paradise, AbuBakr will go to Paradise, Umar will go to Paradise, Uthman will go to Paradise, Ali will go to Paradise, Talhah will go to Paradise: az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam will go to paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik will go to Paradise, and AbdurRahman ibn Awf will go to Paradise. If I wish, I can mention the tenth. The People asked: Who is he: So he kept silence. The again asked: Who is he: He replied: He is Sa'id ibn Zayd.

I was sitting with someone in the mosque of Kufah while the people of Kufah were with him. Then Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl came and he welcomed him, greeted him, and seated him near his foot on the throne. Then a man of the inhabitants of Kufah, called Qays ibn Alqamah, came. He received him and began to abuse him. Sa'id asked: Whom is this man abusing? He replied: He is abusing Ali. He said: Don't I see that the companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) are being abused, but you neither stop it nor do anything about it? I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say--and I need not say for him anything which he did not say, and then he would ask me tomorrow when I see him --AbuBakr will go to Paradise and Umar will go to Paradise. He then mentioned the rest of the tradition to the same effect (as in No. 4632). He then said: The company of one of their man whose face has been covered with dust by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is better than the actions of one of you for a whole life time even if he is granted the life-span of Noah.

The prophet of Allah (ﷺ) ascended Uhud, and Abu Bakr, ’Umar and 'Uthman followed him. It began to shake with them. The prophet of Allah (ﷺ) struck it with his foot and said: Be still, for only a prophet, an ever-truthful and two martyrs are on you.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Gabriel came and taking me by the hand showed the gate of Paradise by which my people will enter. AbuBakr then said: Messenger of Allah! I wish I had been with you so that I might have looked at it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: You, AbuBakr, will be the first of my people to enter Paradise.

No one of those who took the oath of allegiance under the tree will go to hell.

Perhaps Allah, and Ibn Sinan’s version has : Allah looked at the participants of the battle of Badr (with mercy) and said : Do whatever you wish ; I have forgiven you.

The prophet (ﷺ) went out during the time of (treaty of) al-Hudaibiyyah. He then mentioned the rest of the tradition. He said : ‘Urwah b. Mas’ud then came to him and began to speak to the Prophet (ﷺ). Whenever he talk to him, he caught his beard ; and al-Mughirah b. Shu’bah was standing near the head of the Prophet (ﷺ) with a sword with him and a helmet on him. He then struck his hand with the handle of the sword, saying : Keep away your hand from his beard. ‘Urwah then raised his head and said : Who is this ? The prophet said : Al-Mughirah b. Shu’bah.

Al-Aqra', the mu'adhdhin (announcer) of Umar ibn al-Khattab said: Umar sent me to a bishop and I called him. Umar said to him: Do you find me in the Book? He said: Yes. He asked: How do you find me? He said: I find you (like a) castle. Then he raised a whip to him, saying: What do you mean by castle? He replied: An iron castle and severely trustworthy. He asked: How do you find the one who will come after me? He said: I find him a pious caliph, except that he will prefer his relatives. Umar said: May Allah have mercy on Uthman: He said it three times. He then asked: How do you find the one who will come after him? He replied: I find him like rusty iron. Umar then put his hand on his head, and said: O filthy! O filthy! He said: Commander of the Faithful! He is a pious caliph, but when he is made caliph, the sword will be unsheathed and blood will be shed. Abu Dawud said: Al-dafr means filth or evil smell.

the best of my people is the generation in which I have been sent, then their immediate followers, then their immediate followers. Allah knows best whether he mentioned the third or not. After them will be people who will give testimony without being asked, who will make vows which they do not fulfill, who will be treacherous and not to be trusted, among whom fatness will appear.

Do not revile my Companions; by him in whose hand my soul is, if one of you contributed the amount of gold equivalent to Uhud, it would not amount to as much as the mudd of one of them, or half of it.