Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Children's Death
كتاب موت الأولاد
Chapter 80
بَابُ فَضْلِ مَنْ مَاتَ لَهُ الْوَلَدُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Isma'il related to us: Malik told me, from Ibn Shihab, from Ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘If three of a Muslim's children die, the Fire will touch him only for the fulfillment of an oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase تحلة القسم is rendered literally as ‘the fulfillment of an oath’; the translation does not expand on its interpretation.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ghiyath related to us: My father related to us, from Talq ibn Mu'awiyah, from Abu Zur'ah, from Abu Hurayrah, that a woman came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a child and said: ‘Pray for him; I have buried three.’ He said: ‘You have built a strong barrier against the Fire.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAyyāsh related to us: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us: Saʿīd al-Jurayrī related to us, from Khālid al-ʿAbsī, who said: A son of mine died, and I was overcome with intense grief. I said, ‘Abū Hurayrah, have you heard anything from the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) that might console us about our dead?’ He replied, ‘I heard the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: “Your little ones are the free-roaming creatures of Paradise.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
دَعَامِيصُ is uncommon; the English witness interprets it as children roaming freely in the Garden. ‘Free-roaming creatures’ retains the image while signaling lexical uncertainty.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ayyash related to us: 'Abd al-A'la related to us: Muhammad ibn Ishaq related to us: Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith told me, from Mahmud ibn Labid, from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: If someone loses three of his children and bears their loss seeking reward from Allah, he will enter the Garden. We said: Messenger of Allah, what about two? He replied: And two. I said to Jabir: By Allah, I think that if you had asked about one, he would have said so. He said: By Allah, I think so too.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The verb احتسب carries the sense of bearing a loss in expectation of reward from Allah.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn 'Abdullah related to us: Hafs ibn Ghiyath related to us: I heard Talq ibn Mu'awiyah—he is his grandfather—say: I heard Abu Zur'ah, from Abu Hurayrah, that a woman came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a boy and said: Pray to Allah for him; I have buried three. He said: You have built a strong barrier against the Fire.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The English witness calls this the same report as the preceding one with a different chain; this rendering translates the full Arabic text supplied here.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali related to us: Sufyan related to us: Suhayl ibn Abi Salih related to us, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A woman came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: Messenger of Allah, we cannot get access to you during your gathering, so set a day for us to come to you. He said: Your appointed meeting place is the house of so-and-so. He came to them at the appointed time, and among what he told them was: There is no woman among you whose three children die and who bears their loss seeking reward from Allah, but that she will enter the Garden. A woman asked: Or two? He said: Or two. Suhayl was meticulous in hadith and memorized it; no one could write in his presence.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final sentence is an editorial narrator note in the Arabic source and is included in the translation.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harami ibn Hafs and Musa ibn Isma'il related to us: 'Abd al-Wahid related to us: 'Uthman ibn Hakim related to us: 'Amr ibn 'Amir al-Ansari related to me: Umm Sulaym told me: I was with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said: Umm Sulaym, whenever two Muslims lose three children, Allah will admit them to the Garden by virtue of His mercy toward them. I said: And if two? He replied: And if two.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAlī related to us: Muʿtamir related to us, saying: I read to al-Fuḍayl, from Abū Ḥarīz, that al-Ḥasan related to him at Wāsiṭ, that Ṣaʿṣaʿah ibn Muʿāwiyah related to him: He met Abū Dharr with a waterskin slung over him. He asked, ‘How many children do you have, Abū Dharr?’ He said, ‘Shall I tell you?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: “If a Muslim loses three children who have not yet reached puberty, Allah will admit him to Paradise through the mercy He shows them. And if a man frees a Muslim, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, makes every limb of the freed person a ransom for each of the emancipator’s limbs.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes Abū Dharr carrying a waterskin slung at his side; the English witness’s ‘alone without any relatives’ is not in the Arabic. The final image makes each freed limb ransom for a corresponding limb of the emancipator.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Aswad narrated to us. He said: Zakariyya ibn Umara al-Ansari narrated to us. He said: Abd al-Aziz ibn Suhayb narrated to us, from Anas ibn Malik, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: 'Whoever has three children die before reaching puberty, Allah will admit him and them into the Garden by virtue of His mercy.'
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ أَبِي الأَسْوَدِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّا بْنُ عُمَارَةَ الأَنْصَارِيُّ،
The English witness omits the opening transmission chain.
Should the full chain in the Arabic source be reflected in English?
Chapter 81
بَابُ مَنْ مَاتَ لَهُ سَقْطٌ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ishaq ibn Yazid narrated to us. He said: Sadaqa ibn Khalid narrated to us. He said: Yazid ibn Abi Maryam narrated to me, from his mother, from Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyya, who had no children. He said: 'For a stillborn child to be born to me while I am in Islam, and for me to entrust its reward to Allah, is dearer to me than possessing the whole world and all that is in it.' Ibn al-Hanzaliyya was among those who pledged allegiance beneath the tree.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَلَدٌ سَقْطٌ فَأَحْتَسِبَهُ،
The verb iḥtasaba conveys seeking/reckoning reward with Allah; the English witness says 'resign that child to Allah'.
Which rendering best fits the project's terminology while preserving the devotional sense?
وَكَانَ ابْنُ الْحَنْظَلِيَّةِ مِمَّنْ بَايَعَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ.
The English witness omits the closing note about Ibn al-Hanzaliyya's pledge under the tree.
Should this biographical source detail be retained in English?
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. He said: Abu Muawiya informed us. He said: al-Amash narrated to us, from Ibrahim al-Taymi, from al-Harith ibn Suwayd, from Abd Allah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'Which of you loves his heir's wealth more than his own?' They said, 'Messenger of Allah, there is none among us who does not love his own wealth more than his heir's.' The Messenger of Allah said: 'Know that none of you fails to love his heir's wealth more than his own. Your wealth is what you send ahead, and your heir's wealth is what you leave behind.'
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
مَالُكَ مَا قَدَّمْتَ، وَمَالُ وَارِثِكَ مَا أَخَّرْتَ.
The closing contrast uses temporal metaphor for wealth spent/given ahead and wealth left after death.
Would an editorial note help clarify the metaphor without reducing its force?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'Whom do you consider childless among you?' They replied, 'The one who has no children.' He said, 'No; rather, the truly bereft is the one who has sent none of his children ahead.'
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
مَا تَعُدُّونَ فِيكُمُ الرَّقُوبَ؟ قَالُوا: الرَّقُوبُ الَّذِي لاَ يُولَدُ لَهُ،
Raqūb is a conventional term for someone without surviving offspring, then is redefined in the report.
Should the translation retain 'childless' or use a term that signals the idiomatic reversal?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'Whom do you consider the champion among you?' They replied, 'The one whom men cannot throw down.' He said, 'No; the champion is the one who masters himself when angry.'
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
مَا تَعُدُّونَ فِيكُمُ الصُّرَعَةَ؟
Al-ṣuraʿa refers to a person who overcomes others in wrestling; the report redefines strength as self-mastery.
Should the literal wrestling image remain explicit in the English rendering?