4 – Khalaf ibn Hisham narrated to us; he said: Abu Shihab al-Hannat related to us, from al-ʿAlaʾ ibn al-Musayyab, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Salim, from Abu ʿUbaydah, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Those who lived before you—whenever someone among them committed a sin, a reprover would admonish him as a mere formality, yet the very next day he would sit with him, eat with him, and drink with him, as though he had not seen him commit the offense the day before. When Allah beheld such conduct, He fused the hearts of some of them with others, and He cursed them through the tongue of their prophets David and Jesus son of Mary, saying, ‘That was because they disobeyed and habitually transgressed.’

By Him in Whose hand lies the soul of Muhammad, you must enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, seize the hand of the foolish, and compel him to the truth—or else Allah will cause your hearts to merge and will surely curse you just as He cursed them.”