A heavenly visitant came to God’s prophet, and he was told to let his eye sleep, his ear hear, and his heart understand. He said, “My eyes then slept, my ears heard, and my heart understood, and I was told that a lord built a house, prepared a feast, and sent one to issue invitations. Whoever responds to the one who invites him will enter the house, eat of the feast, and enjoy the lord’s favour; but whoever does not respond to the one who invites him will not enter the house, or eat of the feast, and he will incur the lord's anger.” He explained that God is the lord, Muhammad is the one who delivers the invitation, the house is Islam, and the feast is paradise.
وسنذكر حديث أبي هريرة: "ذروني ما تركتكم" في كتاب لمناسك، وحديثي معاوية وجابر: "لا يزال من أمَّتي" و: "لا يزال طائفة من أمتي" في باب: ثواب هذه الأمة، إن شاء الله تعالى
We shall mention the1 tradition from Abu Huraira, “Leave me as long as I have said nothing to you ...” in the book on the rites of the Pilgrimage, and the traditions of Mu'awiya and Jabir, “A section of this people will continue ...”2 in the chapter on the reward of this people, if God will.
1 Book XI, Chap. I, first tradition.
2 Page 1383. Only Mu’awiya’s tradition is given. The wording is slightly different.
Abu Rafi‘ reported God’s messenger as saying, “Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regard which I have commanded or forbidden and saying, ‘I do not know, we found in God’s Book we have followed.’ ”
Ahmad, Tirmidhi, A Dawud, Ibn Majah, and Baihaqi (in Dala’il an-nubuwa) transmitted it.
