…a tent that had been pitched, and there sat Muḥammad ibn Maslamah al-Anṣārī. We questioned him, and he said, “I will not reside in any of their garrison-towns until this tribulation is lifted from the body of the Muslims.”(1)

Al-Bayhaqī said: Abū Dāwūd—meaning al-Sijistānī—also transmitted it from ʿAmr ibn Marzūq, from Shuʿbah, with the same wording.(2)

Abū Dāwūd further said: Musaddad narrated to us; Abū ʿAwānah narrated to us, from Ashʿath ibn Sulaym, from Abū Burdah, from Ḍubayʿah ibn Ḥuṣayq al-Thaʿlabī, from Ḥudhayfah, conveying the same meaning.(3) Al-Bukhārī(4) remarked in al-Tārīkh, “In my view this version is preferable.”

Imām Aḥmad said: Yazīd narrated to us; Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us, from ʿAlī ibn Zayd, from Abū Burdah, who said: I passed by al-Rabadha and saw a tent. I asked, “Whose tent is this?” and was told, “It belongs to Muḥammad ibn Maslamah.” I sought permission and entered, saying to him, “May Allah have mercy on you. You hold an eminent position in this affair—why not go out to the people and enjoin and forbid?” He replied: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said(5): ‘There will be tribulation, division, and dissension. When that happens, take your sword to Mount Uḥud and strike its blade against the rock until it is blunted; break your arrows, cut your bow-string, and remain in your house until a mistaken hand reaches you or Allah grants you wellbeing.’” Events unfolded exactly as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ foretold, and I did as he commanded me. He then took down a sword that was hanging from the tent-pole, unsheathed it, and behold—it was a wooden sword. He said, “I have carried out his instruction and I keep this merely to deter people.” Aḥmad alone recorded this report.(6)

Al-Bayhaqī said: al-Ḥākim(7) informed us; ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā al-Madanī narrated to us; Aḥmad ibn Najdah al-Qurashī(8) narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd narrated to us; Sālim ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf narrated to us, from his father, from Maḥmūd ibn Labīd, from Muḥammad ibn Maslamah, who said: “O Messenger of Allah, what should I do if those who pray fall into dispute?” He replied, “Go out with your sword to al-Ḥarrah and strike it there, then enter your house until either decisive death overtakes you or a misguided hand reaches you.”

Imām Aḥmad(9) also said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad narrated to us; Ziyād ibn Muslim Abū ʿAmr narrated to us; Abū al-Ashʿath narrated…