Mishkat al-Masabih 5399 — Fitnah

Abu Musa Narrated from:

Abu Musa reported the Prophet as saying, "Before the last hour there will be commotions like pieces of a dark night in which a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel in the evening, or a believer in the evening and an infidel in the morning. He who sits during them will be better than he who gets up and he who walks during them will be better than he who runs. So, break your bows during them, cut your bowstrings during them, and strike your swords on stones. If people then come in to one of you, let him be like the better of Adam's sons[*]."A version by him has the same up to "better than he who runs." It then says the people asked what he ordered them to do and he replied, "Keep to your houses". *The reference is to Abel who was killed by his brother Cain. Abu Dawud transmitted it. Tirmidhi's version states that God's messenger said about the commotion, "Break your bows during it, cut your bowstrings during it, keep to the inside of your houses during it, and be like Adam's son."Tirmidhi transmitted it. He said this is a sahih gharib tradition.