English translation
4768. It was narrated that Salamah bin Kuhail said: Zaid bin Wahb Al-Juhanī narrated that he was in the army that was with ‘Alī which went out to fight the Khawārij. ‘Alī said: “O people, I heard the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ say: ‘There will appear some people among my Ummah who will recite the Qur’ān and your recitation will not compare to theirs, and your prayer will not compare to theirs, and your fasting will not compare to theirs. They will recite the Qur’ān and you will think that it is to their credit, but in fact it will count against them. Their prayer will not go beyond their collarbones, and they will pass out of Islam as an arrow passes out of its target. If the army that attacks them knew what has been decreed for them upon the tongue of their Prophet ﷺ, they would have relied on their deeds. The sign of that is that among them there is a man who has an upper arm but no forearm, and on his upper arm there is something like a nipple, with white hairs on it. Would you go to Mu'āwiyah and the people of Ash-Shām, and leave these people in charge of your families and wealth in your absence? By Allāh, I hope that they are the same people, for they have shed blood unlawfully and attacked the people's cattle. March in the Name of Allāh.” Zaid bin Wahb described to me the stops (made by the army), until he said: “Then we crossed a bridge, and when we met (the Khawārij), who were being led that day by ‘Abdullāh bin Wahb Ar-Rāsibī, he (‘Abdullāh) said to (his men): ‘Throw your spears and draw your swords from their sheaths, for I am afraid that they may urge you to negotiate, as they did on the Day of Ḥarūrā.’ So they threw their spears and unsheathed their swords, and (the companions of ‘Alī) fought back with their spears, and they (the Khawārij) were killed, and piled up one atop another, but only two of the people (meaning companions of ‘Alī) were killed that day. ‘Alī said: ‘Search among them for the one with the deformed hand.’ But they did not find him. Then ‘Alī himself went to some people who had been killed, and were lying on top of one another. They took them out, and found him among those who were closest to the ground (at the bottom of the pile). He said the Takbīr, and said: ‘Allāh spoke the truth, and His Messenger conveyed it.’ Ubaidah Al-Salmānī stood up and said: 'O Commander of the Believers, by Allāh besides Whom there is none worthy of worship, did you hear this from the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ?' He said: 'Yes, by Allāh, besides Whom there is none worthy of worship' – until he asked him to swear three times and he did so." (Ṣaḥīh) [Abū Dāwūd said: Mālik said: "It is a form of humiliating knowledge that the scholar reply to everyone who asks him."]