Al-Bukhārī records in his Ṣaḥīḥ, on the authority of Abū al-Aswad, who said:
“Abū Mūsā summoned the Qur’an-reciters of Basra, and three hundred men who had mastered the Qur’an entered upon him. He said, ‘You are the best people of Basra—their elite and their reciters. Therefore recite it, and do not let a long span of time pass so that your hearts grow hard, as did the hearts of those before you. We used to recite a sūrah that we considered equal in length and sternness to Sūrat al-Barāʾah, but I have been made to forget it, except that I still remember from it:
“If the son of Adam possessed two valleys of wealth,
he would seek a third,
and nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam but dust.”
We also used to recite a sūrah that we likened to one of the Musabbihāt, but I have been made to forget it, save that I recall from it:
“O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do?
A testimony will be written against your necks,
and you will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection.”’
(1) Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali—also pronounced al-Dayli—was Zalim b. ʿAmr b. Sufyan of the clan of Banu ʿAdi b. al-Dil. A Basran judge, he is regarded as the first to systematize Arabic grammar at the request of ʿAli b. Abi Talib. Sources state that he embraced Islam during the Prophet’s lifetime and fought alongside ʿAli at the Battle of the Camel. Biographers praise him for his piety, intellect, eloquence, insight, quick-wittedness, and decisiveness, and list him among the reliable Successors. He died in 69 AH at the age of eighty-five. See: Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 12:10–11, no. 52, “al-Kuna.”
(2) The word kuna (“we used to …”) is absent from the printed edition but is present in Sahih Muslim as reproduced here.
(3) The printed edition reads min dhahab (“of gold”); Sahih Muslim has the wording given above.
(4) Manuscript B reads: labtagha lahuma (“would seek a third for them”).
(5) In Manuscript B the word kuna is likewise omitted.
(6) The complete form of this hadith is not found in Sahih al-Bukhari; it is recorded only by Muslim, Book of Zakat, “If the son of Adam possessed two valleys he would seek a third,” ḥadith no. 1050 (2/726) in this exact wording. Bukhari transmits only part of it on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbas, ʿAbd Allah b. al-Zubayr, and Anas. Ibn ʿAbbas’ version reads: “If the son of Adam had two valleys of wealth, he would desire a third; nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam but dust, and Allah accepts the repentance of those who repent.” The other narrations are similar, with slight variations in wording and order. See: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Heart-Softeners (al-Riqaq), “The temptation of wealth,” ḥadith nos. 6436–6440; Fath al-Bari 11/253.