Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Anis (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called for him and said: I have received information that the son of Sufyan bin Nubaiah Hudhali has gathered people against me so that they may fight me. At this time (the narrator is unsure, perhaps these are the words:) he is present near the date-palm tree or near ‘Uraynah. Go to him. The narrator says: I submitted: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), please describe his appearance to me so that I may recognize him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The special sign between you and him is that when you see him, you will be overcome with trembling. The narrator says: I drew my sword and set out, until when I reached him, he was at his encampment with his women. This was at the time of ‘Asr. When I saw him, I felt exactly what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had described to me, and I was overtaken by trembling. I moved towards him, but then I feared that the fight between me and him might distract me from prayer, so I performed the prayer, even as I was walking towards him, signaling with my head. When I reached him, he asked: Who is it? I said: I am an Arab. I said: I have heard about you that you have gathered people against that person, so I have come here for that reason. The narrator says: He said: That is indeed my purpose. Then I walked with him for a while, until when I found the opportunity, I struck him with my sword and killed him. Then I left, and his women were bent over him. When I presented myself before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he saw me, he said: This face has succeeded. I submitted: I have killed him, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: You have spoken the truth. The narrator says: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood with me, took me with him into his house, and gave me a staff. He said: O Abdullah bin Anis, keep this staff with you. The narrator says: I took it to the people, and they asked: Whose staff is this? I said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has given it to me, and he has instructed me to keep it safe. The people said: Will you not go back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and ask him why this is so? The narrator says: I returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and submitted: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), why have you given me this staff? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: This will be a special sign between me and you on the Day of Resurrection. On that day, very few people will be leaning on something.
(The narrator says) So Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) kept it with his sword, and it remained with him continuously, until when he passed away, by his instruction, that staff was placed with him in his shroud and both were buried together.