حُذَيْفَة بْن الْيَمَان يَقُولُ كَانَ النَّاسُ يَسْأَلُونَ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم عَنِ الْخَيْرِ وَكُنْتُ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الشَّرّ مَخَافَةَ أَنْ يُدْرِكَنِي فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ إِنَّا كُنَّا فِي جَاهِلِيَّةٍ وَشَرّ فَجَاءَنَا اللّٰهُ بِهَذَا الْخَيْرِ فَهَلْ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْخَيْرِ مِنْ شَرّ قَالَ نَعَمْ قُلْتُ وَهَلْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ الشَّرّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ قَالَ نَعَمْ وَفِيهِ دَخَنٌ قُلْتُ وَمَا دَخَنُهُ قَالَ قَوْمٌ يَهْدُونَ بِغَيْرِ هَدْيِي تَعْرِفُ مِنْهُمْ وَتُنْكِرُ قُلْتُ فَهَلْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ الْخَيْرِ مِنْ شَرّ قَالَ نَعَمْ دُعَاةٌ إِلَى أَبْوَابِ جَهَنَّمَ مَنْ أَجَابَهُمْ إِلَيْهَا قَذَفُوهُ فِيهَا قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صِفْهُمْ لَنَا فَقَالَ هُمْ مِنْ جِلْدَتِنَا وَيَتَكَلَّمُونَ بِأَلْسِنَتِنَا قُلْتُ فَمَا تَأْمُرُنِي إِنْ أَدْرَكَنِي ذَلِكَ قَالَ تَلْزَمُ جَمَاعَةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَإِمَامَهُمْ قُلْتُ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ جَمَاعَةٌ وَلَا إِمَامٌ قَالَ فَاعْتَزِلْ تِلْكَ الْفِرَقَ كُلَّهَا وَلَوْ أَنْ تَعَضَّ بِأَصْلِ شَجَرَةٍ حَتَّى يُدْرِكَكَ الْمَوْتُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ.
Hazrat Huzaifara bin al-Yaman narrated, “The people used to ask Allah’s Messengersa about good, but I used to ask him about evil for fear that it might overtake me. Once I said, ‘O Allah’s Messengersa! We were in ignorance and in evil and Allah has bestowed upon us the present good; will there be any evil after this good?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘Will there be good after that evil?’ He said, ‘Yes, but it would be tainted with dakhan [i.e., little evil].’ I asked, ‘What will its dakhan be?’ He said, ‘There will be some people who will lead [people] according to principles other than my tradition. You will see their actions and disapprove of them.’ I said, ‘Will there be any evil after that good?’ He said, ‘Yes, there will be some people who will invite others to the doors of Hell, and whoever accepts their invitation to it will be thrown in it [by them].’ I said, ‘O Allah’s Messengersa! Please describe those people to us.’ He said, ‘They will belong to us and speak our language.’ I asked, ‘What do you order me to do if such a thing should take place in my life?’ He said, ‘Adhere to the Jamaat of Muslims and their Imam.’ I asked, ‘If there is neither a Jamaat nor an Imam, [what shall I do]?’ He said, ‘Keep away from all those different sects, even if you had to bite [i.e., eat] the root of a tree, till you meet Allah while you are still in that state.’”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Manaqib, Bab ‘alamatin n-nubuwwati fi l-islam)
