Umar b. Yahya said: "I heard my father reporting that his father said: "While we wrere sitting by the door of Abdullah b. Masood, before Fajr prayer, waiting for him to come out, in order to walk him into the Masjid. Then Abu Musa al-Ash'ari' came in and asked: 'Has Abu Abdurrahman come out yet? (meaning Abdullah came out, we stood up ready to accompany him to the Masjid. Abu Musa said: 'O Abu Abdurrahman! I have seen something in the Masjid which did not seem normal to me, although I saw only good things, praise be to Allah. Ibn Masood asked: 'What was it?" Abu Musa said: "If you live long enough you shall see." He said I saw in the Masjid people sitting in circles, waiting for prayer, in every circle there was a man and a heap of pebbles, and that man was instructing the group saying, 'Say, Allahu Akbar 100 times, and they would say it, (counting by pebbles) 'Say La ilaha ill Allah 100 times, and they would say it. "Say Subhan Allah 100 times, and they would say it. Abdullah b. Masood asked Abu Musa, 'What did you say to them?" Abu Musa said: "I said nothing, waiting for your instructions." Abdullah said: "Why did you not tell them to count their sins, and I would guarantee that none of their good deeds will be wronged." Then he went to the Masjid, and we followed him until he reached one of those circles, and stood by it and said: "What are you doing? Count your sins and I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, the Ummah of Muhammad! How fast is your destruction. The Companions of the Prophet are still around, and his clothes are nor warn out yet (meaning the Prophet's) and his utensils are not broken yet. By the One in Whose hand is my life, you are either following a relgion better than the deen of Muhammad, or charging into a gate of deviation. "They said: "By Allah, O Abu Abdurrahman, we only intended to do good. he said: "How many who intend to do good, but never accomplish it. "The Messenger of Allah sallallahu elayhi wa salam told us that there are some people who read the Qur'an but it never passes beyond their throats. By Allah the majority of you belong to those people." Then he left them. Amr b. Salamah commented: "We saw the majority of those people fighting against us with the Khawarij in the battle of Nahrawan. (Ad-Darimi)
