English Translation

Yazid told us: Kahmas ibn al-Hasan informed us: Abdullah ibn Shaqiq told us: A man from [the tribe of] Anazah, called Za'idah or Mazidah ibn Hawalah, told me, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on one of his journeys, and the people stopped at a place, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped in the shade of a large tree. He saw me coming from attending to a need of mine, with no one else present but him and his scribe, and he said: "Shall I register you, O Ibn Hawalah?" I said: "For what, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Leave that to me," and he turned to the scribe. He said: Then I drew closer than that, and he said: "Shall I register you, O Ibn Hawalah?" I said: "For what, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Leave that to me," and he turned to the scribe. He said: Then I came and stood over them both, and there at the top of the register [I saw the names] Abu Bakr and Umar, so I thought they would not be registered except for something good. He said: "Shall I register you, O Ibn Hawalah?" So I said: "Yes, O Prophet of Allah." He said: "O Ibn Hawalah, how will you act during a tribulation that stirs in the corners of the earth like the horns of cattle?" He said: I said: "What shall I do, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Keep to Syria." Then he said: "How will you act during a tribulation, compared to which the first will be like the leap of a rabbit?" He said: I do not recall how he described the latter, but had I known how he described the latter, it would be more beloved to me than such and such.