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Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
ahmad:24009-31 – Yūnus b. Muḥammad > Ayyūb > Qays from his father

[Machine] "I came to the Prophet ﷺ and his companions while they were building the mosque. It seemed that he was not pleased with their work. So, I took the trowel and mixed it with clay, and it seemed that he was pleased with my taking the trowel and my work. He said, 'Leave the Hanafi and the clay, for indeed, he is the best of you when it comes to working with clay.'"  

أحمد:٢٤٠٠٩-٣١ – حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ عَنْ قَيْسٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ

جِئْتُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَأَصْحَابُهُ يَبْنُونَ الْمَسْجِدَ قَالَ فَكَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُعْجِبْهُ عَمَلُهُمْ قَالَ فَأَخَذْتُ الْمِسْحَاةَ فَخَلَطْتُبِهَا الطِّينَ فَكَأَنَّهُ أَعْجَبَهُ أَخْذِي الْمِسْحَاة وَعَمَلِي فَقَالَ دَعُوا الْحَنَفِيَّ وَالطِّينَ فَإِنَّهُ أَضْبًَطُكُمْ لِلطِّينِ  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Ṭabarānī

أَيُّوبُ بْنُ عُتْبَةَ الْيَمَامِيُّ، عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ طَلْقٍ

tabarani:8254 – [Chain 1] ʿUmar b. Ḥafṣ al-Sadūsī > ʿĀṣim b. ʿAlī [Chain 2] Saʿīd b. Muḥammad b. al-Mughīrah al-Baṣrī > Saʿīd b. Sulaymān > Ayyūb b. ʿUtbah > Qays b. Ṭalq from his father

[Machine] I came to the Prophet (peace be upon Him) and his companions while they were building the mosque. When I saw their work, I took the trowel and mixed the clay with it. He (the Prophet) seemed to be pleased with my action, so he took the trowel and they continued working. He said, "Leave the Hanafi and the clay, as it is the most suitable for you." The wording of the hadith is from Aasim ibn Ali.  

الطبراني:٨٢٥٤ – حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ السَّدُوسِيُّ ثنا عَاصِمُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ الْبَصْرِيُّ ثنا سَعِيدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ ثنا أَيُّوبُ بْنُ عُتْبَةَ ثنا قَيْسُ بْنُ طَلْقٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ

جِئْتُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَهُمْ يَبْنُونَ الْمَسْجِدَ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُ عَمَلَهُمْ أَخَذْتُ أُحْذِقُ الْمِسْحَاةَ فَخَلَطْتُ بِهَا الطِّينَ فَكَأَنَّهُ أَعْجَبَهُ أَخْذِي الْمِسْحَاةَ وَعَمِلُوا فَقَالَ «دَعُوا الْحَنَفِيَّ وَالطِّينَ فَإِنَّهُ أَضْبَطُكُمْ لِلطِّينِ» وَاللَّفْظُ لِحَدِيثِ عَاصِمِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ