Ayyūb related—from Ibn Sīrīn—that he said:
“I was informed that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām once said, ‘If the expedition overtakes me and I have no mount (1), then carry me until you place me between the two lines—meaning, opposite al-Aʿmāq.’
Muḥammad ibn Muṣʿab narrated to us, al-Awzāʿī narrated to us, from Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr, who said:
Whenever ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām entered the mosque he would greet the Prophet ﷺ and say, ‘O Allah, open for us the gates of Your mercy.’ When he left, he would again greet the Prophet ﷺ and seek protection from Satan (2).
Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth—through Ashʿath—from Abū Burdah ibn Abī Mūsā, said:
“I came to Madinah and found ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām sitting in a study-circle, deeply reverent, the signs of goodness plain upon him. He said, ‘My brother, you have arrived just as we were about to rise; I gave him leave—or I said, “As you wish.”’
He stood up and I followed him. He asked, ‘Who are you?’
I replied, ‘I am your nephew: Abū Burdah ibn Abī Mūsā.’
He welcomed me warmly, questioned me, and served me a drink of sawīq. Then he said:
‘You are living in a land of abundance, and you associate with the village landowners (al-dahāqīn); they present you with loads of qitt…’
(1) al-rukub: every animal that can be ridden.
(2) Muhammad ibn Musab—namely Ibn Sadaqa al-Qarqasani—was of weak memory, and the report is mursal (missing a Companion in the chain). The dependable narration on this topic is that recorded by Abu Dawud (465) and Ibn Majah (772) from Abu Humayd—or Abu Usayd—stating: “When one of you enters the mosque, let him send greetings upon the Prophet, then say: O Allah, open for us the gates of Your mercy.” Its chain is authentic. Muslim (713) likewise transmits from both narrators with the wording: “When one of you enters the mosque, let him say: O Allah, open for me the gates of Your mercy; and when he leaves, let him say: O Allah, I ask You for Your bounty.” Ibn Majah (773) and Ibn al-Sunni (85) relate from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “When one of you enters the mosque, let him send greetings upon the Prophet and say: O Allah, open for me the gates of Your mercy; and when he leaves, let him send greetings upon the Prophet and say: O Allah, protect me from the accursed Satan.” This chain is sound, as affirmed by the author of al-Zawaid, fol. 52, and authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah (452), Ibn Hibban (321), and al-Hakim 1/207, with al-Dhahabi concurring.