40 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Dawud ibn ʿAmr al-Dabbi narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Muslim, from Ibrahim ibn Maysarah, from ʿUbayd ibn Saʿd, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who said:

“We marched on campaign, and when we reached the city—Constantinople—we found a preacher declaring: ‘Whoever performs a deed in the early part of the day, it is shown to his acquaintances among the people of the Hereafter when evening comes; and whoever performs a deed in the latter part of the day, it is shown to his acquaintances among the people of the Hereafter when morning comes.’

Abu Ayyub said to him, ‘Preacher, be careful what you are saying!’

He replied, ‘By Allah, it is exactly so.’

So Abu Ayyub prayed, ‘O Allah, do not expose me before ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit or before Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah for what I have done after their time.’

The preacher then said, ‘Indeed, by Allah, whenever Allah decrees His friendship (wilāyah) for a servant, He conceals that servant’s faults and praises him for his best deeds.’"}