2 – Ahmad ibn Jamil al-Marwazi reported to us; he said: ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us; he said: ʿUtbah ibn Abi Hakim informed us; he said: ʿAmr ibn Jariyah al-Lakhmi related to me; he said: Abu Umayyah al-Shaʿbani said:

“I went to Abu Thaʿlabah al-Khushani, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and asked him, ‘Abu Thaʿlabah, how do you act with regard to this verse?’

He said, ‘Which verse?’

I replied, ‘The statement of Allah, Most High: “You who believe, guard your own souls; those who have gone astray will not harm you once you have been rightly guided” (al-Ma’idah 5:105).’

He said, ‘By Allah, I questioned someone who was well informed about it. I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said:

“Rather, continue to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. Then, when you see greed obeyed, passions followed, and every person captivated by his own opinion, attend to your own soul and leave the common people to their affairs. For ahead of you lie the Days of Patience; in those days, patience will be like grasping a live ember. The one who acts (righteously) in those days will have the reward of fifty men who do the same deed.”’

Another narrator added: He was asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of them?’ He replied, “The reward of fifty of you.”