Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 244
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلامٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ، عَنْ وَهْبِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللهِ بْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ يَقُولُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ: {خُذِ الْعَفْوَ} وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ، قَالَ: وَاللَّهِ مَا أَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُؤْخَذَ إِلاَّ مِنْ أَخْلاَقِ النَّاسِ، وَاللَّهِ لَآخُذَنَّهَا مِنْهُمْ مَا صَحِبْتُهُمْ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Salam narrated to us, saying: Abu Mu‘awiya narrated to us, saying: Hisham narrated to us, from Wahb ibn Kaysan, who said: I heard ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr say from the pulpit: ‘Take what is readily given, enjoin what is recognized as right, and turn away from the ignorant.’ He said: ‘By Allah, He commanded that it be taken only from people’s character. By Allah, I will certainly continue to take it from them for as long as I keep their company.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَاللَّهِ مَا أَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُؤْخَذَ إِلاَّ مِنْ أَخْلاَقِ النَّاسِ، وَاللَّهِ لَآخُذَنَّهَا مِنْهُمْ مَا صَحِبْتُهُمْ.
The referent of بها/ها is the preceding Qur’anic command خذ العفو. The wording about taking it from people’s أخلاق is compact and is variously paraphrased in the English witness as accepting people’s character.
Review whether ‘take what is readily given’ and ‘take it from people’s character’ best preserve the speaker’s wording and intended sense.
خُذِ الْعَفْوَ
The witness translates the Qur’anic phrase as ‘Make allowances for people’; the Arabic phrase can carry a sense of taking what is easy/readily available or pardoning.
Confirm the chosen rendering of this Qur’anic quotation.