Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 211
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا بِشْرُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي نَضْرَةَ، عَنْ مُطَرِّفٍ قَالَ: قَالَ أَبِي: انْطَلَقْتُ فِي وَفْدِ بَنِي عَامِرٍ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، فَقَالُوا: أَنْتَ سَيِّدُنَا، قَالَ: السَّيِّدُ اللَّهُ، قَالُوا: وَأَفْضَلُنَا فَضْلاً، وَأَعْظَمُنَا طَوْلاً، قَالَ: فَقَالَ: قُولُوا بِقَوْلِكُمْ، وَلاَ يَسْتَجْرِيَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musaddad narrated to us. He said: Bishr ibn al-Fadl narrated to us. He said: Abu Maslama narrated to us, from Abu Nadra, from Mutarrif, who said: My father said: I went with the delegation of Banu Amir to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. They said, ‘You are our chief.’ He replied, ‘The Chief is Allah.’ They said, ‘And the most excellent of us in merit, and the greatest of us in stature.’ He then said: ‘Say what you have said, but do not let Satan embolden you.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The word sayyid can mean chief or master here; the Prophet’s reply identifies Allah as the ultimate Lord. The phrase a‘zamuna tawlan is rendered literally as ‘greatest of us in stature’; its intended nuance is not specified in the text.
وَأَفْضَلُنَا فَضْلاً، وَأَعْظَمُنَا طَوْلاً،
The final expression can be understood literally as stature or more broadly as greatness; the English witness interprets it as generosity.
Should a later editor retain the literal wording or choose a contextual sense?
قُولُوا بِقَوْلِكُمْ، وَلاَ يَسْتَجْرِيَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ.
The warning describes Satan inducing them to go further, but does not specify exactly what further speech is meant.
Should the closing warning remain general as translated?