40 — Umar ibn Ayyūb narrated to us, saying: Mansūr ibn Abī Muzāhim narrated to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Yūsuf narrated to us, from al-Awzā‘ī, from Qatādah ibn Di‘āmah, from Anas ibn Mālik and Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“There will be disagreement and division within my nation. Then there will arise a people whose speech is fine but whose deeds are evil. They recite the Quran ⦗337⦘, but it does not pass beyond their collarbones. They pass clean through the religion just as an arrow passes clean through its quarry, and they will not return until the arrow returns to its nock. They are the worst of all creation. Blessed is whoever kills them or is killed by them. They call others to the Book of Allah, yet they have nothing whatsoever to do with it. Whoever kills them is nearer to Allah than they are.”

They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what will be their distinguishing sign?” He replied, “Shaving the head.”