60 — Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd also narrated to us, saying: Yaqub ibn Sufyān ⦗369⦘ narrated to us, saying: Bakr ibn Khalaf narrated to me, saying: Qatan ibn Abd Allah al-Hudānī narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to me, saying: Abū Ghālib narrated to me, saying: I was in the mosque of Damascus when they brought seventy heads belonging to the Khārijites and displayed them upon the steps of the mosque. Abū Umāmah came, looked at them, and said, “Dogs of Hell! They are the worst of those slain beneath heaven’s canopy, while the best of those slain beneath heaven’s canopy are those whom they killed.” He then wept, looked at me, and said, “Abū Ghālib, you are in a land where these people are numerous.” I said, “Yes.” He said, “May Allah Most High protect you from them.” He then asked, “Do you recite the Quran?” I replied, “Yes.” He recited, “It is He who has sent down the Book to you. Some of its verses are definitive—they are the foundation of the Book—while others are ambiguous” [Āl Imrān: 7], continuing until the words, “Those firmly grounded in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it.’” [Āl Imrān: 7]

I said, “Abū Umāmah, I saw your eyes well with tears for them.” He replied, “Out of mercy for them, for they had been among the people of ⦗370⦘ Islam.” A man then asked him, “Abū Umāmah, are you saying this as your own opinion, or is it something you heard from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him?” He replied, “I would indeed be brazen if I did so! I heard it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him—not merely once or twice, nor three, four, five, six, or seven times.”