The best believers and warnings against communal sins

[AI] We were with Ibn Umar at Mina when a young man from the people of Basrah came to him and asked him about something. He said: I will inform you about that. He said: I was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, one of ten, in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Muadh, Hudhayfah, Abu Said al-Khudri, another man whom he named, and me. A young man from the Ansar came, greeted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then sat down and said: O Messenger of Allah, which of the believers is best? He said: "The best of them in character." He said: Then which of the believers is most astute? He said: "Those who remember death most often and are best prepared for it before it descends upon them—or he said, upon him; those are the astute."

Then the young man fell silent, and the Prophet ﷺ turned toward us and said: "Never does indecency appear among a people but that plague and illnesses which had not passed among their forefathers appear among them. They do not diminish the measure and the scale but that they are seized by years of drought, severe hardship in provision, and the ruler’s oppression over them. They do not withhold the zakah of their wealth but that rain from the sky is withheld from them, and were it not for the beasts, they would not be given rain. They do not break the covenant of Allah ﷻ and the covenant of His Messenger but that Allah ﷻ empowers their enemy over them, and they take some of what was in their hands. And when their leaders do not rule by the Book of Allah ﷻ, Allah ﷻ causes their violence to be among themselves."

He said: Then he ordered Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf to prepare for a detachment over which he appointed him. In the morning he had wrapped himself in a black cotton-cloth turban, so the Prophet ﷺ called him, untied it, wrapped the turban on him, and let four fingers’ length hang behind him. Then he said: "Like this, O Ibn Awf, wrap the turban, for it is more Arab in style and better."

Then the Prophet ﷺ ordered Bilal to hand the banner to him. He praised Allah ﷻ, then said: "Go forth all together in the path of Allah ﷻ, and fight those who disbelieve in Allah ﷻ. Do not steal from the spoils, do not betray, do not mutilate, and do not kill a child. This is the covenant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Sunnah among you."

كُنَّا مَعَ ابْنِ عُمَرَ بِمِنًى، فَجَاءَهُ فَتًى مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ، فَقَالَ: سَأُخْبِرُكَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ. قَالَ: كُنْتُ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَاشِرَ عَشَرَةٍ فِي مَسْجِدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ وَعُثْمَانُ وَعَلِيٌّ وَابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ وَمُعَاذٌ وَحُذَيْفَةُ وَأَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ سَمَّاهُ وَأَنَا، فَجَاءَ فَتًى مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ فَسَلَّمَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ جَلَسَ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، أَيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَفْضَلُ؟ قَالَ: «أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقًا». قَالَ: فَأَيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَكْيَسُ؟ قَالَ: «أَكْثَرُهُمْ لِلْمَوْتِ ذِكْرًا، وَأَحْسَنُهُمْ لَهُ اسْتِعْدَادًا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَنْزِلَ بِهِمْ، أَوْ قَالَ بِهِ، أُولَئِكَ الأَكْيَاسُ».

ثُمَّ سَكَتَ الْفَتَى، وَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيْنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: «لَمْ تَظْهَرِ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي قَوْمٍ قَطُّ إِلاَّ ظَهَرَ فِيهِمُ الطَّاعُونُ وَالأَوْجَاعُ الَّتِي لَمْ تَكُنْ مَضَتْ فِي أَسْلافِهِمْ، وَلا نَقَصُوا الْمِكْيَالَ وَالْمِيزَانَ إِلاَّ أُخِذُوا بِالسِّنِينَ وَشِدَّةِ الْمُؤْنَةِ وَجَوْرِ السُّلْطَانِ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَلَمْ يَمْنَعُوا زَكَاةَ أَمْوَالِهِمْ إِلاَّ مُنِعُوا الْقَطْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، وَلَوْلا الْبَهَائِمُ لَمْ يُمْطَرُوا، وَلَمْ يَنْقُضُوا عَهْدَ اللهِ وَعَهْدَ رَسُولِهِ إِلاَّ سَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ عَدُوَّهُمْ وَأَخَذُوا بَعْضَ مَا كَانَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ، وَإذا لَمْ يُحْكَمْ أَئِمَّتُهُمْ بِكِتَابِ اللهِ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ بَأْسَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ».

قَالَ: ثُمَّ أَمَرَ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَوْفٍ أَنْ يَتَجَهَّزَ لِسَرِيَّةٍ أَمَّرَهُ عَلَيْهَا، فَأَصْبَحَ قَدِ اعْتَمَّ بِعِمَامَةِ كَرَابِيسَ سَوْدَاءَ، فَدَعَاهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَنَقَضَهَا فَعَمَّمَهُ، وَأَرْسَلَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ أَرْبَعَ أَصَابِعَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: «هَكَذَا يَابْنَ عَوْفٍ فَاعْتَمَّ، فَإِنَّهُ أَعْرَبُ وَأَحْسَنُ».

ثُمَّ أَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِلالا أَنْ يَدْفَعَ إِلَيْهِ اللِّوَاءَ، فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ ثُمَّ قَالَ: «اغْزُوا جَمِيعًا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ، فَقَاتِلُوا مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللهِ، لا تَغُلُّوا وَلا تَغْدِرُوا وَلا تُمَثِّلُوا وَلا تَقْتُلُوا وَلِيدًا، فَهَذَا عَهْدُ رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَسُنَّتُهُ فِيكُمْ».