حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّا بْنُ عَدِيٍّ أَخْبَرَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الْكَرِيمِ عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ خَرَجَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ خَيْبَرَ فَاتَّبَعَهُ رَجُلَانِ وَآخَرُ يَتْلُوهُمَا يَقُولُ ارْجِعَا ارْجِعَا حَتَّى رَدَّهُمَا ثُمَّ لَحِقَ الْأَوَّلَ فَقَالَ إِنَّ هَذَيْنِ شَيْطَانَانِ وَإِنِّي لَمْ أَزَلْ بِهِمَا حَتَّى رَدَدْتُهُمَا فَإِذَا أَتَيْتَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَقْرِئْهُ السَّلَامَ وَأَخْبِرْهُ أَنَّا هَاهُنَا فِي جَمْعِ صَدَقَاتِنَا وَلَوْ كَانَتْ تَصْلُحُ لَهُ لَبَعَثْنَا بِهَا إِلَيْهِ قَالَ فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ الرَّجُلُ الْمَدِينَةَ أَخْبَرَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ الْخَلْوَةِ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 2719
It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (RA) that a man set out and two men followed him, and another man followed them, saying: Go back, go back, until he sent them back. Then he caught up with the first man and said: These two were two devils, and I kept on at them until I sent them back. When you go to the Prophet (PBUH), convey our salams to him and tell him that I am collecting their zakah; if it was good for him we would have sent it to him. When the man came to Madinah, he told the Prophet (PBUH) about that, and as a result of that, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) forbade travelling alone.
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020