151 – Abū Rubayʿ Ḥanẓalah ibn al-Rabīʿ al-Usaydī, the scribe—one of the scribes of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—narrated:

“Abū Bakr ⵁ met me and asked, ‘How are you, Ḥanẓalah?’ I replied, ‘Ḥanẓalah has become a hypocrite!’ He exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! What are you saying?’ I explained, ‘When we are with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he reminds us of Paradise and Hellfire until we see them with our very eyes. Then, when we leave the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we busy ourselves with our wives, children, and livelihoods and forget much.’ Abū Bakr ⵁ said, ‘By Allah, we experience the same.’

“So Abū Bakr and I went in to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I said, ‘Ḥanẓalah has become a hypocrite, O Messenger of Allah!’ He asked, ‘And what is that?’ I answered, ‘Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you remind us of Hellfire and Paradise as though we see them before our eyes; but once we leave your company we become involved with our wives, children, and livelihoods and forget much.’

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you remained in the state you are in when you are with me and in constant remembrance, the angels would shake hands with you on your beds and in your streets. But, Ḥanẓalah, an hour for this and an hour for that,’ and he repeated it three times.”

Narrated by Muslim.

Regarding the wording: “Rubayʿ” takes a short i after the initial rāʾ. “Al-Usaydī” is pronounced with a ḍammah on the hamza, a fatḥah on the sīn, followed by a doubled yāʾ. The verb “ʿāfasnā” begins with an ʿayn and a sīn—both undotted—and means “we mingled with, attended to, or played with.” The noun “al-ḍiyāʿāt” refers to one’s means of livelihood.