Louder than his voice

A verse was revealed in Surah al-Hujurat instructing believers not to raise their voices above the voice of the Prophet ﷺ, and not to be as loud with him as they might be with one another.

Thabit ibn Qays had a naturally loud voice, and he was in the habit of speaking loudly in gatherings, including ones where the Prophet ﷺ was present.

When he heard the verse, he did not wait to be told anything further. He concluded that he was already among the people it condemned, shut himself in his house, and stopped coming.

The Prophet ﷺ noticed his absence and asked after him. Word was sent to find out what was wrong, and Thabit explained: his voice had always been raised above the voices of others, including the Prophet's ﷺ, and he believed his good deeds were now void and that he was one of the people of the Fire.

This was carried back to the Prophet ﷺ, who said, in substance, that it was not so — that Thabit was, rather, one of the people of Paradise.

The report is preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari.