—arrogance; yet I am a man who loves beauty. And Allah forbids us to raise our voices above yours, but I have a naturally loud voice.”
He replied, “Thābit, are you not content to live honorably, be slain as a martyr, and then enter Paradise?” (1)
Ayyūb narrated from ʿIkrimah who said:
When the verse, “Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet…” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:2) was revealed, Thābit ibn Qays declared, “I used to raise my voice above his, so I am surely among the people of the Fire.” He then remained in his house. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ missed him and, when informed of the reason for his absence, said, “Rather, he is among the people of Paradise.”
On the Day of Yamāmah, when the troops fled, Thābit proclaimed, “Fie upon these people and what they worship! Fie upon those people and what they are doing! O company of the Anṣār, clear a path for me; perhaps I may taste its heat for a moment.” A man was standing at a breach; Thābit struck him down, and he himself was killed as well.
(1) Its isnad is strong, yet the report is mursal, as Ibn Hajar states in Fath al-Bari, 4/621. Al-Hakim, 3/234, transmits it through Ibn Shihab, from Ismail b. Muhammad b. Thabit, from his father, from Thabit b. Qays, and rules it “sound according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, although they did not record it in this wording”; al-Dhahabi concurs. However, neither of the two Shaykhs narrated from Ismail b. Muhammad, nor from his father Muhammad b. Thabit. Muslim (no. 119) does relate it via Hammad, from Thabit al-Bunani, from Anas b. Malik: “When the verse ‘O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet …’ was revealed, Thabit b. Qays stayed in his house and said, ‘I am among the people of the Fire.’ He kept away from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so the Prophet asked Saad b. Muadh, ‘Abu Amr, what is the matter with Thabit? Is he ill?’ Saad replied, ‘He is my neighbour and I know of no illness.’ Saad visited him and conveyed the Prophet’s words. Thabit said, ‘This verse has been sent down, and you all know that I am the loudest of you when speaking to the Messenger of Allah; therefore I fear I am among the people of the Fire.’ Saad reported this to the Prophet, who said, ‘Rather, he is among the people of Paradise.’ See also Majma al-Zawaid, 9/321-322; Ibn Kathir, 4/206-207. ʿAbd al-Razzaq (no. 20425) records it through Maʿmar, from al-Zuhri, from Thabit b. Qays beginning, “O Messenger of Allah …”.
(2) The isnad is sound, but the report is mursal. Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, 6/621, attributes it to Ibn Saʿd.