حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدَةَ الضَّبِّيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ عَاصِمٍ، عَنْ زِرِّ بْنِ حُبَيْشٍ، قَالَ أَتَيْتُ صَفْوَانَ بْنَ عَسَّالٍ الْمُرَادِيَّ فَقَالَ لِي مَا جَاءَ بِكَ قُلْتُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْعِلْمِ ‏.‏ قَالَ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ تَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ رِضًا بِمَا يَفْعَلُ ‏.‏ قَالَ قُلْتُ إِنَّهُ حَاكَ أَوْ قَالَ حَكَّ فِي نَفْسِي شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ فَهَلْ حَفِظْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِيهِ شَيْئًا قَالَ نَعَمْ كُنَّا إِذَا كُنَّا سَفَرًا أَوْ مُسَافِرِينَ أُمِرْنَا أَنْ لاَ نَخْلَعَ خِفَافَنَا ثَلاَثًا إِلاَّ مِنْ جَنَابَةٍ وَلَكِنْ مِنْ غَائِطٍ وَبَوْلٍ وَنَوْمٍ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقُلْتُ فَهَلْ حَفِظْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الْهَوَى شَيْئًا قَالَ نَعَمْ كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي بَعْضِ أَسْفَارِهِ فَنَادَاهُ رَجُلٌ كَانَ فِي آخِرِ الْقَوْمِ بِصَوْتٍ جَهْوَرِيٍّ أَعْرَابِيٌّ جِلْفٌ جَافٍ فَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ يَا مُحَمَّدُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْقَوْمُ مَهْ إِنَّكَ قَدْ نُهِيتَ عَنْ هَذَا ‏.‏ فَأَجَابَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَحْوًا مِنْ صَوْتِهِ هَاؤُمُ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ يُحِبُّ الْقَوْمَ وَلَمَّا يَلْحَقْ بِهِمْ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ زِرٌّ فَمَا بَرِحَ يُحَدِّثُنِي حَتَّى حَدَّثَنِي أَنَّ اللَّهَ جَعَلَ بِالْمَغْرِبِ بَابًا عَرْضُهُ مَسِيرَةُ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا لِلتَّوْبَةِ لاَ يُغْلَقُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ وَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّْ ‏:‏ ‏ (‏ يومَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا ‏) ‏ الآيَةَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ ‏.‏

“I came to Safwan bin `Assal Al-Muradi so he said to me: ‘What has brought you, O Zirr?’ So I said: ‘The desire for knowledge.’ So he said: ‘It has been conveyed to me that the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure with what he is doing.’” He said: “So I said to him: ‘Indeed there is something wavering’ - or - ‘some doubt in my chest concerning wiping over the Khuff after defecation. So have you retained anything from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) concerning that?’ He said: ‘Yes, when we were travelers, he (ﷺ) used to order us not to remove our Khuff for three days and nights, except from sexual impurity, but not from defecation, urination, and sleep.’” He said: “So I said: ‘So have you memorized anything from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) concerning love?’ He said: ‘Yes, we were in one of our journeys with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when a man, a harsh, foolish Bedouin, who had been at the end of the group, called him with a loud voice, saying: “O Muhammad! O Muhammad!” So the people said to him “Mah! Indeed, you have been prohibited from this.” So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) responded to him with similar to his voice: “Come.” So he said: “A man loves a people but he has not reached them?” He said: ‘So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “A man is with whomever he loves.”’ Zirr said: “He did not cease reporting to me until he had reported that Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, has appointed a gate in the west - its width is the distance of a seventy-year journey - for repentance: it shall not be locked until the sun rises from its direction, and that is the Statement of Allah, Blessed be He and Most High, of the Ayah: The Day some of the signs of your Lord come, no soul shall be benefited by its believing.”