393 – ‘Abdullāh narrated to us: Mu‘ādh ibn al-Muthannā ibn Mu‘ādh ibn Mu‘ādh al-‘Anbarī narrated to me: Sawwār ibn ‘Abdullāh al-‘Anbarī narrated to me: ‘Abdullāh ibn Mu‘ādh narrated to me, from his brother al-Muthannā ibn Mu‘ādh, who said: Hayyān al-Nahwī narrated to me:

“I had a companion who would speak ill of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. I would tell him to stop, but he would persist, so I would leave him. One day he spoke ill of them, and I left him angrily, distressed by what I had heard because I had not answered him as I should have.

“I fell asleep and saw the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in a dream. He seemed to approach with Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have a companion who hurts me by what he says about these two. I tell him to stop, but he persists and goes even further.’ He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned to a man near him and said, ‘Go to him and slit his throat.’

“The man went off. When morning came, I said to myself, ‘This was indeed a dream. If I went and told him about it, perhaps he would desist.’ So I set out to see him. As I drew near his door, I heard cries and saw reed mats lying there. I asked, ‘What is this?’ They replied, ‘So-and-so was stricken with a throat ailment during the night.’”