Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 474
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: نَزَلَ ضَيْفٌ فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، وَفِي الدَّارِ كَلْبَةٌ لَهُمْ، فَقَالُوا: يَا كَلْبَةُ، لاَ تَنْبَحِي عَلَى ضَيْفِنَا فَصِحْنَ الْجِرَاءُ فِي بَطْنِهَا، فَذَكَرُوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَهُمْ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ مَثَلَ هَذَا كَمَثَلِ أُمَّةٍ تَكُونُ بَعْدَكُمْ، يَغْلِبُ سُفَهَاؤُهَا عُلَمَاءَهَا.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutayba said: Jarir related to us, from ‘Ata’, from his father, from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, who said: A guest stayed among the Children of Israel, and there was a female dog in the house. They said, “Dog, do not bark at our guest.” Then the puppies cried out in her belly. They mentioned this to one of their prophets, who said: “This is like a community that will come after you, whose foolish people will overcome its learned people.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source wording describes the puppies crying out in the female dog’s belly; the English witness instead says they were suckling.
فَصِحْنَ الْجِرَاءُ فِي بَطْنِهَا
The English witness says the puppies were suckling from her, while the Arabic literally says they cried out in her belly.
Is there a textual or idiomatic explanation for this divergence?