Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2629
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ غِيَاثٍ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ الإِسْلاَمَ بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا كَمَا بَدَأَ فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ " . وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ سَعْدٍ وَابْنِ عُمَرَ وَجَابِرٍ وَأَنَسٍ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ حَدِيثِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ إِنَّمَا نَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ حَفْصِ بْنِ غِيَاثٍ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ وَأَبُو الأَحْوَصِ اسْمُهُ عَوْفُ بْنُ مَالِكِ بْنِ نَضْلَةَ الْجُشَمِيُّ تَفَرَّدَ بِهِ حَفْصٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange as it began. So glad tidings to the strangers!’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan sahih gharīb in the narration of Ibn Mas‘ud. We know it only through Hafs ibn Ghiyath, from al-A‘mash; Hafs alone transmitted it. Abu al-Ahwas’s name was ‘Awf ibn Malik ibn Nadlah al-Jushami.’ Reports on this topic are also related from Sa‘d, Ibn ‘Umar, Jabir, Anas, and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says tuba (glad tidings/blessedness) for the strangers. The source distinguishes corroborating reports on the topic from the specific Ibn Mas‘ud route, known only through Hafs ibn Ghiyath.