The anger of Abdullah Ibn Masood (r.a.)

We used to sit in front of Abdullah ibn

Masoud’s (r.a) house before the Fajr prayer

waiting to go with him to the Masjid. Abou

Mousa al-Ash’aarie (r.a) came and asked

us: ‘Did Abu Abdurrahman (i.e. Ibn

Masoud) leave yet?’

We answered: ‘No.’

So Abou Mousa Al-Ashaari (r.a) sat with us

waiting for him. When he came out, we all

stood up. Abou Mousa Al Ashaari (r.a) told

him:

“Oh, Abu Abdurrahman (i.e Abdullah ibn

Masood) ! I recently saw something in the

Masjid which I did not approve.”

Ibn Masoud then asked: “What was it?”

Abou Mousa said: “You will see it if you

stay alive..In the Masjid, I saw a group of

people sitting in circles waiting for the

Salat. Each circle is led by a person. And

every person in these circles carries small

stones.

The leader of a circle would say: ‘Say ‘Allah-

u Akbar’ a hundred times,’ they will say

Allah-u Akbar a hundred times; then he

says ‘Say ‘La ilaha Illa Allah’, a hundred

times” they will say La ilaha ill Allah a

hundred times; he they says: ‘Say ‘Subhan

Allah’, a hundred times, they will say

Subhana Allah a hundred times.

Then Ibn Masoud said: “What did you tell

them?”

He (Abu mousa al ashaari) said: ‘I didn’t

say anything, I wanted to wait for your

opinion.”

Abdullah ibn Masoud (angrily) said: “Could

you not order them to count their sins, and

assured them of getting their

rewards.”Then Abdulah ibn Masoud went

ahead and we accompanied him. As he

approached one of the circles, he said:

“What is this that you are doing?”

They said: “Oh! Abu Abdurrahman, these

are pebbles to count the number of times

we say Allah-u Akbar, La ilaha Ill Allah, and

Subhana Allah.”

He said: “Count your own sins, and I assure

you that you are not going to lose

anything of your rewards (Hasanat).. Woe

unto you, people of Muhammad, how fast

you will be doomed. Those are your

Prophet’s companions available, these are

his clothes not worn out yet, and his pots

are not broken yet. I swear by Whom my

soul is in His Hands that you are either

following a religion that is better than the

Prophet’s religion or you are opening a

door of aberration.”

They said: “We swear by Allah, oh, Abu

Abdurrahman, that we had no intention

other than doing good deeds.”

He said: “So what? How many people

wanted to do good deeds but never got to

do them? The Prophet of Allah has told us

about people who recited the Qur’an with

no effect on them other than the Qur’an

passing through their throats. I swear by

Allah, I am almost sure that most of you are

from that type of people.”

Then he (Ibn Masood) left them.

Amr Ibn Salamah said: “We saw most of

the people of those circles fighting us with

the Khawarij in the battle of An-

Nahrawan.”

i.e All those people who wanted to do

good deeds by innovating a practise in

Islam, were fighting against the sahabas in

the battle of nahrawan i.e. they were in the

gangs/army of the khawarijites (accursed).

[Ref: - Related by Ad-Daremie (204) and

Abu Na’eim with an authentic chain.

Authenticated by Al-Haithamee (Al-Majma,

1/ 181, 189), Al-Haitamee (Az-Zawaajir, Al-

Kabeerah #51 ), Al-Albaanee (As-Saheehah,

2005; Ar-Radd alal-Habashee, p.45-47),

Abdul-Muhsin Al-Abbaad (Al-Hathth alat-

tibaa-is-Sunn ah, p.49), Bakr Aboo Zaid

(Tas-heeh-ud-Du aa’, p.149, 153, 154),

Husayn Asad (Musnad-ud-Daar imee, 210),

Amr Saleem (Al-Bida libn Waddaah, 27), Al-

Hilaalee (Al-Bidah, p.44-47), Al-Halabee

(Ihkaam-ul-Maba anee, p.55-58), Al-

Huwainee (Al-Bidah wa Aathaaruhaa (1),

03:45), Mashhoor Salmaan (Al-Amr bil-

Ittibaa, p.83-84), Zakariyyaa Al-

Baakistaanee (Taudeeh-ul-Uso ol ) and

others.]