(31) باب فِي قِتَالِ الْخَوَارِجِ
Abu sa'id al-khudri said :
'Ali sent some gold-mixed dust to the prophet (May peace be upon him). He divided it among the four : al-Aqra b. Habis al-Hanzall and then al-Mujashi, uyainah b. Badr al-fazari, zaid al-khail al-Ta'l, next to one of Banu nabhan, and 'Alqamah b. 'Ulathat al-Amiri (in general), next to one of Banu kulaib. The Quraish and the ansar became angry and said : He is giving to the chiefs of the people of Najd and leaving us. He said : I am giving them for reconciliation of their hearts. Then a man with deep-seated eyes, high cheek-bones, a projecting brow, a thick beard and a shaven head came forward and said: For Allah, Muhammad! He said : Who will obey Allah if I disobey Him? Allah entrusts me with power over the inhabitants of the earth, but you do not. A man asked to be allowed to kill him and I think he was Khalid b. al-Walid but he prevented him. Then when the man turned away, he said: From this one's stock there will be people who recite the Quran, but it will not pass down their throats. They will sever from Islam and leave the worshippers of Idols alone; but if I live up to their time I shall certainly kill them as 'Ad were killed.
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4764
In-book reference: Book 42, Hadith 169
English translation: Book 41, Hadith 4746