#2963 Al-Hakam ibn al-Mubarak informed us, Amr ibn Yahya informed us, he said: I heard my father narrating from his father, who said: We used to sit at the door of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, before the dawn prayer. When he came out, we would walk with him to the mosque. Then Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, came to us and said: "Has Abu Abdur-Rahman come out to you yet?" We said: "No." So he sat with us until he came out. When he came out, we all stood up for him. Abu Musa said to him: "O Abu Abdur-Rahman, I just saw something in the mosque just now that I disapproved of, yet, praise be to Allah, I saw nothing but good." He asked: "What was it?" He replied: "If you live long enough, you will see it. I saw in the mosque groups of people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle, there was a man, and in their hands were pebbles. He would say: 'Say Allahu Akbar a hundred times,' so they would say Allahu Akbar a hundred times. Then he would say: 'Say La ilaha illa Allah a hundred times,' so they would say La ilaha illa Allah a hundred times. And he would say: 'Say Subhan Allah a hundred times,' so they would say Subhan Allah a hundred times." He asked: "So what did you say to them?" He replied: "I did not say anything to them, waiting for your opinion or waiting for your command." He said: "Why did you not command them to count their sins and guarantee them that none of their good deeds would be lost?" Then he went on and we went with him until he came to one of those circles. He stood over them and said: "What is this that I see you doing?" They said: "O Abu Abdur-Rahman, these are pebbles with which we count the Takbir, the Tahlil, and the Tasbih." He said: "Then count your sins, for I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O Ummah of Muhammad, how quickly you are being destroyed! These are the companions of your Prophet (pbuh) present in large numbers, and these are his clothes not yet worn out, and his vessels not yet broken. By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, you are either upon a religion that is more guided than the religion of Muhammad, or you are opening a door of misguidance." They said: "By Allah, O Abu Abdur-Rahman, we intended nothing but good." He said: "And how many seek good but never attain it! Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) told us that a people will recite the Quran but it will not go beyond their collarbones. By Allah, I do not know, perhaps most of them are from among you." Then he turned away from them. Amr ibn Salama said: "We saw the majority of those in those circles fighting against us on the day of Nahrawan alongside the Khawarij."