Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 5, Hadith 58
It was narrated that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent out an expedition and appointed a man of the Ansar to lead it. When they went out, he (the man in charge) got upset with them for some reason and said to them: Didn`t the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) instruct you to obey me? They said: Yes. He said: Bring firewood Then he called for fire and lit it, then he said: I insist that you enter it. The people thought of entering it, but then a young man among them said: You fled to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) from the Fire; do not rush (to enter it) until you meet the Prophet (ﷺ), then if he orders you to enter it, enter it. They went back to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him about that. He said to them: “If you had entered it you would never have come out of it; obedience is only with regard to that which is right and proper.”
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا الْأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَيْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ السُّلَمِيِّ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ جَالِسًا وَفِي يَدِهِ عُودٌ يَنْكُتُ بِهِ قَالَ فَرَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ فَقَالَ مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ إِلَّا وَقَدْ عُلِمَ مَنْزِلُهَا مِنْ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ قَالَ فَقَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَلِمَ نَعْمَلُ قَالَ اعْمَلُوا فَكُلٌّ مُيَسَّرٌ لِمَا خُلِقَ لَهُ أَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَى وَاتَّقَى وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَى فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى وَأَمَّا مَنْ بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَى وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَى فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى.
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 5, Hadith 58
The above hadith is from the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal collection of hadiths. The Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is a foundational work in Islamic hadith literature, highly valued for its comprehensive nature. Its most defining feature is its organizational method; it categorizes hadiths based on the companion of the Prophet who first reported them, with a dedicated section for each. This structure provides a unique window into the practices and sayings of the Prophet as witnessed and related by his diverse companions. Although the Musnad is held in extremely high regard and contains many authentic narrations, it is important to note that, due to its encyclopedic aim of collecting available reports, it also contains some hadiths with weaker chains of transmission that are subject to scholarly scrutiny.
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For more Hadith in Book 5: Musnad ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib