وَعَنْهُ قَالَ: كَانَ النَّاسُ يَسْأَلُونَ رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم عَن الْخَيْرِ وَكُنْتُ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الشَّرِّ مَخَافَةَ أَنْ يُدْرِكَنِي قَالَ: قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا كُنَّا فِي جَاهِلِيَّةٍ وَشَرٍّ فَجَاءَنَا اللَّهُ بِهَذَا الْخَيْرِ فَهَلْ بَعْدَ هَذَا الْخَيْرِ مِنْ شَرٍّ؟ قَالَ: «نَعَمْ» قُلْتُ: وَهَلْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ الشَّرِّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ؟ قَالَ: «نَعَمْ وَفِيهِ دَخَنٌ» . قُلْتُ: وَمَا دَخَنُهُ؟ قَالَ: «قَوْمٌ يَسْتَنُّونَ بِغَيْرِ سُنَّتِي وَيَهْدُونَ بِغَيْرِ هَدْيِي تَعْرِفُ مِنْهُمْ وَتُنْكِرُ» . قُلْتُ: فَهَلْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ الْخَيْرِ مِنْ شَرٍّ؟ قَالَ: «نَعَمْ دُعَاةٌ عَلَى أَبْوَابِ جَهَنَّمَ مَنْ أَجَابَهُمْ إِلَيْهَا قَذَفُوهُ فِيهَا» . قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صِفْهُمْ لَنَا. قَالَ: «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» . مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ. وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ لِمُسْلِمٍ: قَالَ: «يَكُونُ بَعْدِي أَئِمَّةٌ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ بِهُدَايَ وَلَا يَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَتِي وَسَيَقُومُ فِيهِمْ رِجَالٌ قُلُوبُهُمْ قُلُوبُ الشَّيَاطِينِ فِي جُثْمَانِ إِنْسٍ» . قَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ أَصْنَعُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَدْرَكْتُ ذَلِكَ؟ قَالَ: تَسْمَعُ وَتُطِيعُ الْأَمِيرَ وَإِنْ ضَرَبَ ظهرك وَأخذ مَالك فاسمع وأطع "
He said:
People used to ask God's messenger about good, but I used to ask him about evil from fear that it might overtake me. I said, "Messenger of God, we were in a state of ignorance and evil, then God brought us this good. After this good will any evil come?" On his replying that there would, I asked whether after that evil any good would come, and he replied that there would but that it would contain some duskiness. I asked what that would consist of and he replied, "People will follow a sunnah other than mine and give guidance other than mine, so you will find in them both something to acknowledge and something to reject." I asked whether there would be any evil after that good and he replied, `Yes, there will be people who summon others at the gates of Jahannam into which they will cast those who respond to them." I asked God's messenger to describe them to us and he said, "They will be of our stock and speak like us." I asked, what command he had to give me if that happened in my time and he replied, "You must adhere to the community and the leader of the Muslims." I asked what I should do if they had neither community nor leader and he replied, "Withdraw from all those factions even though you should have to cleave to the root of a tree till death overtakes you in that state." (Bukhari and Muslim.) In a version by Muslim he said, "After my death there will be leaders who follow neither my guidance nor my sunnah, among whom will arise men whose hearts will be the hearts of devils in human bodies." Hudhaifa said he asked God's messenger how he should act if he reached that time and he replied, "You must hear and obey the ruler, and if he beats your back and takes your property you must still hear and obey." Muslim transmitted it.
Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 3606, 7084), Muslim (No. 1847a) and Ibn Majah (No. 3979). Cited in Mishkat al-Masabih (No. 5382).