Amr bin Yahya reported that I heard from my father, who narrated from his father, who said: We used to sit at the door of Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) before the Zuhr prayer. When he would come out, we would walk with him to the mosque. One day, Abu Musa Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) also came to us and asked: Has Abu Abdur Rahman (the kunyah of Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him) come out yet? We said: No, not yet. So he sat with us. When Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came out, we all stood up for him. Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Abu Abdur Rahman! I have just seen something in the mosque that I disliked, though, all praise is due to Allah, it must be good. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: What is it? He said: You will see it yourself when you reach there. Then he said: I saw a group of people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In each circle, there was a man, and in their hands were pebbles. That man would say to them: Say Allahu Akbar a hundred times, so they would say Allahu Akbar a hundred times, counting with the pebbles. Then he would say: Say La ilaha illallah a hundred times, so they would say La ilaha illallah a hundred times. Then he would say: Say Subhanallah a hundred times, so they would say Subhanallah a hundred times.

Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: So what did you say to them? He said: I did not say anything to them, waiting for your opinion or command. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Why did you not command them to count their sins with those pebbles, and guarantee them that none of their good deeds would be lost? Then he set out, and we went with him until he came to one of those circles and stood by them and said: What is this that I see you doing? They said: Abu Abdur Rahman! These are pebbles by which we count the number of takbeer, tahlil, and tasbeeh. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Count your evil deeds, for I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost. O Ummah of Muhammad! How quickly you have fallen into destruction! The companions of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are still many among you, and his clothes have not yet decayed, nor have his vessels been broken. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, are you upon a guidance better than the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), or are you opening a door of misguidance? They said: O Abu Abdur Rahman! By Allah, we only intended good. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: How many seekers of good never attain it! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that there will be a people who will recite the Qur’an, but it will not go beyond their throats. By Allah, most of them may be from among you. Then he left them. Amr bin Salamah said: We saw most of the people in those circles fighting against us with the Khawarij on the day of Nahrawan, shooting arrows at us (i.e., those same people later joined the Khawarij).