حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي عَنْ ابْنِ إِسْحَاقَ قَالَ وَحَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ النَّخَعِيُّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ نَزَلَتْ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَالْمُرْسَلَاتِ عُرْفًا لَيْلَةَ الْحَيَّةِ قَالَ فَقُلْنَا لَهُ وَمَا لَيْلَةُ الْحَيَّةِ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ قَالَ بَيْنَمَا نَحْنُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِحِرَاءٍ لَيْلًا خَرَجَتْ عَلَيْنَا حَيَّةٌ مِنْ الْجَبَلِ فَأَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِقَتْلِهَا فَطَلَبْنَاهَا فَأَعْجَزَتْنَا فَقَالَ دَعُوهَا عَنْكُمْ فَقَدْ وَقَاهَا اللَّهُ شَرَّكُمْ كَمَا وَقَاكُمْ شَرَّهَا
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 4377
It was narrated that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood said: (The soorah) "By the winds (or angels or the Messengers of Allah) sent forth one after another" [al-Mursalaat 77:1] was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on the night of the snake. He" (the narrator) said: We said to him: What was the night of the snake, O Abu 'Abd ar-Rahmaan? He said: Whilst we were with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in Hira' one night, a snake came out towards us from the mountain. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) told us to kill it, so w e chased it but it got away from us. So he said: "Let it be; Allah protected it from your evil just as He protected you from its evil."
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020