Compiled by Imam Abu Dawud as-Sijistani
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ كَثِيرٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ أَبِي سِنَانٍ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ الْحِمْصِيِّ، عَنِ ابْنِ الدَّيْلَمِيِّ، قَالَ أَتَيْتُ أُبَىَّ بْنَ كَعْبٍ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ وَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِي شَىْءٌ مِنَ الْقَدَرِ فَحَدِّثْنِي بِشَىْءٍ لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُذْهِبَهُ مِنْ قَلْبِي . فَقَالَ لَوْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَذَّبَ أَهْلَ سَمَوَاتِهِ وَأَهْلَ أَرْضِهِ عَذَّبَهُمْ وَهُوَ غَيْرُ ظَالِمٍ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ رَحِمَهُمْ كَانَتْ رَحْمَتُهُ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمْ وَلَوْ أَنْفَقْتَ مِثْلَ أُحُدٍ ذَهَبًا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مَا قَبِلَهُ اللَّهُ مِنْكَ حَتَّى تُؤْمِنَ بِالْقَدَرِ وَتَعْلَمَ أَنَّ مَا أَصَابَكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُخْطِئَكَ وَأَنَّ مَا أَخْطَأَكَ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُصِيبَكَ وَلَوْ مُتَّ عَلَى غَيْرِ هَذَا لَدَخَلْتَ النَّارَ . قَالَ ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ فَقَالَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ - قَالَ - ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنَ الْيَمَانِ فَقَالَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ - قَالَ - ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُ زَيْدَ بْنَ ثَابِتٍ فَحَدَّثَنِي عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ .
I went to Ubayy b. Ka’b and said him : I am confused about Divine decree, so tell me something by means of which Allah may remove the confusion from my mind. He replied : were Allah to punish everyone in the heavens and in the earth. He would do so without being unjust to them, and were he to show mercy to them his mercy would be much better than their actions merited. Were you to spend in support of Allah’s cause an amount of gold equivalent to Uhud, Allah would not accept it from you till you believed in divine decree and knew that what has come to you could not miss you and that what has missed you could not come to you. Were you to die believing anything else you would enter Hell. He said : I then went to ‘Abd Allah b. MAs’ud and he said something to the same effect. I next went to Hudhaifah b. al-Yaman and he said something to the same effect. I next went to Zaid b. Thabit who told me something from the Prophet (May peace be upon him) to the same effect.