1162 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: I was informed by Sayyār; Jaʿfar narrated to us; Abu ʿImrān al-Jawnī narrated to us from Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allah who said:

“I came to Madinah seeking knowledge. When I entered the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ I found the people sitting in circles, talking. I walked through the circles until I reached one in which there was a young man, dressed in two garments, as though he had just arrived from a journey. I heard him say, ‘The ahl al-ʿuqda (those in authority) have perished—by the Lord of the Kaʿbah!—and I do not grieve for them.’

I sat down with him. He spoke for as long as was allotted to him and then got up. I asked, ‘Who is that?’ They said, ‘The leader of the Muslims, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb.’ I followed him until he reached his home, and there he was: his house was shabby, his appearance humble—an ascetic man withdrawn from the world, every part of his affair consistent with the rest. I greeted him with salam and he returned my greeting, then asked, ‘Where are you from?’ I replied, ‘From Iraq.’ He said, ‘The people most given to asking questions!’

I became upset, faced the qiblah, knelt on my knees, raised my hands like this and said, ‘O Allah, we complain to You: we spend our wealth, weary our bodies, and drive our mounts in search of knowledge, yet when we meet them they treat us ignorantly and say such things to us…’

Ubayy wept profusely and began to placate me, saying, ‘Woe to you! That was not my intention.’ Then he said, ‘O Allah, I pledge to You: if I remain alive until Friday I shall certainly speak about what I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and no blameworthy critic shall deter me.’

When we heard those words from him I left and waited for Friday. I went out on Thursday and found the streets packed with people; there was no alley I could enter without people coming toward me. I asked, ‘What is going on?’ They said, ‘We see you are a stranger.’ I replied, ‘Indeed.’ They said, ‘The leader of the Muslims, Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (may Allah be pleased with him), has died.’

When they said that, I became sorrowful and said, ‘To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.’ Jundub continued: I met Abu Musa and related this to him. He exclaimed, ‘Alas for the soul! If only he were alive to convey to us what he intended to say. May Allah have mercy on him. He was a servant whom Allah—glorified and exalted is He—willed to keep veiled.’"