ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, said:
“The Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — once came out while the people were discussing the Divine Decree (al-qadar). His anger was such that it looked as though pomegranate seeds were bursting upon his face. He said to them, ‘What is the matter with you that you set portions of the Book of Allah against other portions? It was this that destroyed those before you.’
Never have I regretted missing any gathering in which the Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — was present as much as I regretted missing that particular gathering.”
This ḥadīth is reliably preserved from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb; many have transmitted it from him. Ibn Mājah also recorded it in his Sunan through the narration of Abū Muʿāwiyah exactly as we have cited it.}
(1) Copies A, J, D and Ṭ read tafqaa, whereas copy B, the printed edition and the Musnad have the form adopted here (tafqaʾ). Sunan Ibn Majah likewise reads tafqaʾ.
(2) I.e. ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs.
(3) The printed edition has idh ("when"), but the wording kept here—following the Musnad—is the more reliable reading.
(4) Ahmad relates this hadith in the Musnad, 2:178, within the Musnad of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs.
(5) Ibn Majah records it in these words: "ʿAli ibn Muhammad → Abu Muʿawiyah → Dawud ibn Abi Hind → ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb → his father → his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah came upon his Companions while they were disputing about predestination (qadar). His face reddened as though pomegranate seeds had burst upon it from anger, and he said, ‘Were you commanded to do this, or were you created for this purpose? You are striking one part of the Quran against another; it was through this that the communities before you perished.’ ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr added, ‘Never have I regretted missing a sitting of the Messenger of Allah more than I regretted missing that one.’" See Sunan Ibn Majah, Introduction, “Chapter on Qadar,” hadith no. 85 (1:33). The author of the Zawaʾid notes that its chain is sound and its narrators are trustworthy.