Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يَزيِدَ وَيُونُسُ قَالَا حَدَّثَنَا دَاوُدُ يَعْنِي ابْنَ الْفُرَاتِ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ عَنْ أَبِي الْأَعْيَنِ الْعَبْدِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي الْأَحْوَصِ الْجُشَمِيِّ قَالَ بَيْنَمَا ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَخْطُبُ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ بِحَيَّةٍ تَمْشِي عَلَى الْجِدَارِ فَقَطَعَ خُطْبَتَهُ ثُمَّ ضَرَبَهَا بِقَضِيبِهِ أَوْ بِقَصَبَةٍ قَالَ يُونُسُ بِقَضِيبِهِ حَتَّى قَتَلَهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ مَنْ قَتَلَ حَيَّةً فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ رَجُلًا مُشْرِكًا قَدْ حَلَّ دَمُهُ.
English Translation
Abdullah ibn Yazid and Yunus told us, they said: Dawud - that is, Ibn al-Furat - told us, from Muhammad ibn Zayd, from Abu al-A'yan al-Abdi, from Abu al-Ahwas al-Jushami, who said: While Ibn Mas'ud was delivering a sermon one day, he suddenly noticed a snake crawling along the wall. He cut off his sermon, then struck it with his stick or a reed - Yunus said: with his stick - until he killed it. Then he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "Whoever kills a snake is as if he killed a polytheist man whose blood has become lawful to shed."