A Prophecy Fuflilled
One of his distinctions was that a prophecy of the Holy Prophet (sa) was fulfilled in his person. On one occasion, whilst handing him his sword, the Holy Prophet (sa) said:
“As long as you fight the idolaters, you should continue to fight them with this sword. However, when the time comes when Muslims begin to fight with one another, you should break this sword and stay at home until someone attacks you or death overcomes you.”
He acted in accordance with this guidance and he did so following the martyrdom of Hazrat Uthman (ra). He physically destroyed the sword, made another sword from wood and would place it in his sheath. Someone asked him what use that sword was. He replied:
“The wisdom behind this is to maintain a degree of awe. Moreover, I have also complied with the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa) not to keep a sword made from iron. Furthermore, a wooden sword cannot harm anyone.”
Some Companions used to say that if there was a person who was not affected by the agitation, that is, the agitation that arose within Muslims after the martyrdom of Hazrat Uthman, it was Muhammad (ra) bin Maslamah. In order to protect himself from the seditious agitation, he went to live in the wilderness and used to say, “Until the sedition is over, I intend to spend my life in the wilderness.”
(Al-Tabqat Al-Kubra Li-ibni Sa‘d, Vol. 3, pp. 338-340, Bab Muhammad Bin Maslamah (ra), Darul Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyah, Beirut 1990)