1093 – ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khabbāb — may Allah be pleased with him — said: “I heard my father say, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘There will be tribulations; during them, be Allah’s servant who is killed, and do not be the one who kills.’ ” It was recorded by Ibn Abī Khaythamah and al-Dāraquṭnī. (1) Aḥmad transmitted a similar report from Khālid ibn ʿUrfaṭah. (2)

Grading of the ḥadīth
The report is ḥasan (sound).

It has been narrated by several Companions; among the sources are:
1 – Aḥmad (21993) and al-Ṭabarānī (4/189) on the authority of Khālid ibn ʿUrfaṭah, though the chain contains ʿAlī ibn Zayd ibn Judʿān, concerning whom there is discussion.
2 – Aḥmad (1612) and al-Tirmidhī (2194) on the authority of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ.
3 – Aḥmad (5720) on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar.
4 – Aḥmad (19231), Abū Dāwūd (4259), and Ibn Ḥibbān (13/297) on the authority of Abū Mūsā; al-Qushayrī declared it authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs.

Taken collectively, these chains render the ḥadīth strong in its field.

Glossary of the ḥadīth
– ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khabbāb: with a khāʾ, then a doubled bāʾ, followed by an alif and ending with a bāʾ. He is the son of al-Aratt ibn Jandal; his lineage traces back to Zayd Manāh ibn Tamīm. Khabbāb was an ally of Banū Zuhrah, among the earliest to embrace Islam, one of those tortured for Allah’s sake, and among the first Emigrants. He fought at Badr and in every expedition with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and ʿAbd Allāh