Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أَحْمَدَ حَدَّثَنَا مَسَرَّةُ بْنُ مَعْبَدٍ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ صَاحِبُ سُلَيْمَانَ قَالَ رَأَيْتُ عَطَاءَ بْنَ يَزِيدَ اللَّيْثِيَّ قَائِمًا يُصَلِّي مُعْتَمًّا بِعِمَامَةٍ سَوْدَاءَ مُرْخٍ طَرَفَهَا مِنْ خَلْفٍ مُصْفَرَّ اللِّحْيَةِ فَذَهَبْتُ أَمُرُّ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَرَدَّنِي ثُمَّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيُّ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَامَ فَصَلَّى صَلَاةَ الصُّبْحِ وَهُوَ خَلْفَهُ فَقَرَأَ فَالْتَبَسَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْقِرَاءَةُ فَلَمَّا فَرَغَ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ قَالَ لَوْ رَأَيْتُمُونِي وَإِبْلِيسَ فَأَهْوَيْتُ بِيَدِي فَمَا زِلْتُ أَخْنُقُهُ حَتَّى وَجَدْتُ بَرْدَ لُعَابِهِ بَيْنَ إِصْبَعَيَّ هَاتَيْنِ الْإِبْهَامِ وَالَّتِي تَلِيهَا وَلَوْلَا دَعْوَةُ أَخِي سُلَيْمَانَ لَأَصْبَحَ مَرْبُوطًا بِسَارِيَةٍ مِنْ سَوَارِي الْمَسْجِدِ يَتَلَاعَبُ بِهِ صِبْيَانُ الْمَدِينَةِ فَمَنْ اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ لَا يَحُولَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْقِبْلَةِ أَحَدٌ فَلْيَفْعَلْ.
English Translation
Abu Ahmad told us, Masarra ibn Ma'bad told us, Abu Ubayd, the companion of Sulayman, told me, who said: "I saw Ata' ibn Yazid al-Laythi standing in prayer, wearing a black turban with its end hanging down behind him, his beard yellowed. I went to pass in front of him, but he stopped me. Then he said: Abu Sa'id al-Khudri told me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, stood and prayed the dawn prayer while he was behind him, and he recited, and the recitation became confused for him. When he finished his prayer he said: 'If you had seen me and Iblis! I reached out with my hand and kept choking him until I felt the coldness of his saliva between these two fingers of mine, the thumb and the one next to it. Had it not been for the supplication of my brother Sulayman, he would have woken up tied to one of the pillars of the mosque, being played with by the children of Madina. So whoever among you is able to prevent anyone from coming between him and the qibla, let him do so.'"