Sunan Ibn Majah 978
سنن ابن ماجه#978Sahihحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَشْهَبِ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ رَأَى فِي أَصْحَابِهِ تَأَخُّرًا فَقَالَ " تَقَدَّمُوا فَأْتَمُّوا بِي، وَلْيَأْتَمَّ بِكُمْ مَنْ بَعْدَكُمْ، لاَ يَزَالُ قَوْمٌ يَتَأَخَّرُونَ حَتَّى يُؤَخِّرَهُمُ اللَّهُ " .
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw that some of his Companions tended to stand in the rear, so he said:“Come forward and follow me, and let those who are behind you follow your lead. If people continue to lag behind, Allah will put them back.”
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
In-book reference: 5:176