78 – Ismaʿil ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Zurarah al-Raqqi narrated to us, saying: Sufyan narrated to us; al-Aʿmash narrated to us, from ʿUmara ibn ʿUmayr, from al-Rabiʿ ibn ʿUmaylah, from Ibn Masʿud, who said:
“When the period of ease grew long for the Children of Israel, their hearts became hardened. They fabricated a book of their own making; their hearts were captivated by it and their tongues relished it. They declared, ‘Come, let us invite the people to this book of ours. Whoever follows us we will leave unharmed, and whoever opposes us we will kill.’ Then they said, ‘Watch So-and-so; if he joins you no one will hold back, but if he refuses, kill him.’
They sent for him, whereupon he went into his house, took one of the books revealed by Allah, placed it in a horn-case, slung it beneath his clothes, and came to them. They recited their book to him and asked, ‘Do you believe in what is contained in this book?’ He replied, ‘Why should I not believe in this book?’—and he pointed to his chest.
He returned home, and not long after, he died. Some of his brothers disinterred him and found that book inside the horn-case. They said, ‘His faith was in this book.’
Ibn Masʿud continued: The Christians then split into seventy sects, and the most rightly guided of them was the group of the people of the horn-case. He also said, ‘Soon those of you who live on will see wrongdoing against which he will be powerless, save that Allah knows from his heart that he hates it.’"