Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Disparaging
كتاب السِّبَابِ
Chapter 198
بَابُ السِّبَابِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Umayya narrated to us: ‘Isa ibn Musa narrated to us, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Kaysan, from ‘Ikrima, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: Two men reviled one another in the time of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). One insulted the other while he remained silent, and the Prophet was sitting. Then the other replied. The Prophet stood up, and someone asked, ‘You stood up?’ He said: The angels stood up, so I stood with them. While this man was silent, the angels were replying to the one who insulted him; when he replied, the angels stood up.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The verb نهض can mean to rise or get up; the Arabic repeats it for the Prophet and the angels, while the English witness interprets the angels’ action as leaving.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn ‘Ammar narrated to us: Rudayh ibn ‘Atiyya narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Abi ‘Abla narrated to us from Umm al-Darda’, that a man came to her and said: A man spoke ill of you in ‘Abd al-Malik’s presence. She replied: If we are blamed for what is not in us, how often we have been praised for what is not in us!
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses the same phrase, ‘what is not in us,’ for both blame and praise; it does not say that she was merely suspected of something.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Shihab ibn ‘Abbad narrated to us: Ibrahim ibn Humayd al-Ru’asi narrated to us, from Isma‘il, from Qays, who said that ‘Abd Allah said: When a man says to his companion, ‘You are my enemy,’ one of them has departed from Islam—or has disavowed his companion.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final phrase أو برئ من صاحبه is rendered closely as ‘or has disavowed his companion’; its exact force is uncertain.
أَوْ بَرِئ مِنْ صَاحِبِهِ.
The phrase literally says ‘or he is free of/disavows his companion’; the English witness adds ‘of what his companion said,’ which is not in the Arabic.
Should this be rendered as disavowing one’s companion, or does the phrase carry another sense in context?
Chapter 199
بَابُ سَقْيِ الْمَاءِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musaddad narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Wahid narrated to us: Layth narrated to us from Tawus, from Ibn ‘Abbas—‘I think he traced it back to the Prophet; Layth was uncertain’—who said: In the son of Adam there are three hundred and sixty joints—or bones, or articulations. Each one is owed a charity every day. Every good word is charity; a man’s helping his brother is charity; giving someone a drink of water is charity; and removing something harmful from the road is charity.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source itself marks uncertainty about whether Ibn ‘Abbas traced the statement back to the Prophet, and gives three variants for the anatomical term: joints, bones, or articulations.
أَظُنُّهُ رَفَعَهُ،
The narrator says ‘I think he traced it back’ and then explicitly says Layth was uncertain.
Should this uncertainty about prophetic attribution be retained exactly as rendered?
Chapter 200
بَابُ الْمُسْتَبَّانِ مَا قَالا فَعَلَى الأوَّلِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibrahim ibn Musa narrated to us: Isma‘il ibn Ja‘far narrated to us: al-‘Ala’ ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us from his father, from Abu Hurayra, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: When two people revile one another, what they say is borne by the one who began, so long as the wronged person does not exceed the bounds.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source says the first person bears responsibility for what both say, unless the person wronged exceeds the bounds.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn ‘Isa narrated to us: Ibn Wahb narrated to us, and ‘Amr ibn al-Harith informed me, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Sinan ibn Sa‘d, from Anas, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: When two people revile one another, what they say is borne by the one who began, until the wronged person exceeds the bounds.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The English witness offers only a cross-reference (‘As 423, but from Anas’); this version translates the complete Arabic text and chain.
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: الْمُسْتَبَّانِ مَا قَالاَ،
The English witness provides only a cross-reference, while the Arabic gives a complete chain and report with a slightly different final connector (until the wronged person exceeds the bounds).
Can this cross-referenced version be checked against a complete English edition?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Do you know what al-‘adhh is? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: Carrying reports from some people to others in order to sow discord between them.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses the term العَضْه for carrying reports between people to cause division; the translation retains the explanation that follows it.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed to me that you should be humble and that none of you should transgress against another.
Chapter 201
بَابُ الْمُسْتَبَّانِ شَيْطَانَانِ يَتَهَاتَرَانِ وَيَتَكَاذَبَانِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Amr ibn Marzuq narrated to us: ‘Imran informed us, from Qatada, from Yazid ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Shikhkhir, from ‘Iyad ibn Himar, who said: I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, a man reviles me?’ The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: The two who revile one another are two devils, hurling abuse and accusing one another of lies.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes the two revilers as two devils who exchange abuse and lies; the translation keeps the paired verbs distinct.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad narrated to us: My father narrated to us: Ibrahim narrated to me, from Hajjaj ibn Hajjaj, from Qatada, from Yazid ibn ‘Abd Allah, from ‘Iyad ibn Himar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Allah revealed to me that you should be humble, so that none of you transgresses against another and none boasts over another. I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, what if a man insults me in a gathering of people who are beneath me, and I answer him back? Would I be blameworthy for that?’ He replied: The two who revile one another are two devils who hurl abuse and lies at each other.
‘Iyad added: I was at war with the Messenger of Allah, and before I became Muslim I gave him a she-camel. He did not accept it and said: I dislike the froth of the polytheists.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final phrase زبد المشركين literally means ‘the froth of the polytheists’; the English witness uses the same image, but the intended sense is unclear.
فَلَمْ يَقْبَلْهَا وَقَالَ: إِنِّي أَكْرَهُ زَبْدَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ.
The Arabic literally says ‘froth of the polytheists’; its intended sense in the context of refusing a gift is not clear from this passage.
Can the phrase زبد المشركين be checked against another edition or commentary before selecting a less literal rendering?
Chapter 202
بَابُ سِبَابِ الْمُسْلِمِ فُسُوقٌ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibrahim ibn Musa narrated to me: Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Abi Za’ida informed me, from Zakariyya, from Abu Ishaq, from Muhammad ibn Sa‘d ibn Malik, from his father, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: Reviling a Muslim is wicked conduct.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses فسوق, conduct that is sinful or defiantly disobedient; ‘wicked conduct’ conveys this moral censure.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Sinan narrated to us: Fulayh ibn Sulayman informed us: Hilal ibn ‘Ali narrated to us from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was never obscene, a curser, or a reviler. When he censured someone, he would say: What is the matter with him? May his forehead be rubbed with dust!
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The closing formula مَا لَهُ تَرِبَ جَبِينُهُ is rendered closely; the literal image is of a forehead rubbed with dust, but it functions as a rebuke formula.
كَانَ يَقُولُ عِنْدَ الْمَعْتَبَةِ: مَا لَهُ تَرِبَ جَبِينُهُ.
The source gives the formula ما له ترب جبينه, literally ‘what is the matter with him; may his forehead be dusty’; the idiomatic force is unclear.
Should this formula be rendered literally as here or replaced by an idiomatic English rebuke?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us, from Zubayd, who said: I heard Abu Wa’il, from ‘Abd Allah, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: Reviling a Muslim is wicked conduct, and fighting him is disbelief.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses فسوق for sinful, defiantly disobedient conduct and kufr for disbelief; the translation retains the distinction.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Ma‘mar narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Warith narrated to us, from al-Husayn, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Burayda, who said: Yahya ibn Ya‘mur narrated to us that Abu al-Aswad al-Dili told him he heard Abu Dharr say: I heard the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: No man accuses another man of wickedness or disbelief without it returning upon him, if his companion is not as he claimed.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source preserves the transmission chain through Yahya ibn Ya‘mur and Abu al-Aswad al-Dili before Abu Dharr’s report.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
And with the chain, from Abu Dharr, who heard the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: Whoever knowingly claims a father other than his own has disbelieved. Whoever claims to belong to a people when he is not one of them, let him take his place in the Fire. Whoever calls a man a disbeliever—or says, ‘Enemy of Allah!’—when that is not true, it returns upon him.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
This source begins with a connective reference to a chain (‘and with the chain’); that wording is retained rather than inventing the omitted transmitters.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Umar narrated to us: My father narrated to us: al-A‘mash narrated to us: ‘Adi ibn Thabit said: I heard Sulayman ibn Surad, a man among the Prophet’s Companions, say: Two men reviled one another in the presence of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and one of them became angry. His anger grew so intense that his face swelled and changed. The Prophet said: I know words which, if he says them, will make what he feels go away. A man went to him and told him what the Prophet had said, saying, ‘Seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.’ He replied, ‘Do you think something is wrong with me? Am I mad? Go away!’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source shifts from the words of the Prophet to the man who relays them to the angry person; the response ‘Am I mad? Go away!’ belongs to the angry man.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Khalad ibn Yahya narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad, from ‘Amr ibn Salama, from ‘Abd Allah, who said: Between any two Muslims there is a veil from Allah, Mighty and Majestic. If one of them says a vile word to his companion, he has torn Allah’s veil. If one of them says to the other, ‘You are an unbeliever,’ then one of them has disbelieved.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says كَلِمَةَ هَجْرٍ, a vile or obscene word; ‘vile word’ keeps the wording general.
Chapter 203
بَابُ مَنْ لَمْ يُوَاجِهِ النَّاسَ بِكَلامِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Umar ibn Hafs narrated to us: My father narrated to us: al-A‘mash narrated to us: Muslim narrated to us, from Masruq, who said that ‘A’isha said: The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did something and granted a dispensation for it, but some people refrained from doing it. When that reached the Prophet, he delivered a sermon and praised Allah, then said: What is the matter with people who refrain from something I do? By Allah, I know Allah better than they do, and I fear Him more than they do.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, from Salm al-‘Alawi, from Anas, who said: The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) rarely confronted a man directly with something he disliked. One day a man came to him with a trace of yellow on him. When the man stood up to leave, the Prophet said to his Companions: If only he would change—or remove—this yellow.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says only ‘a trace of yellow’ (أثر صفرة), without specifying that it was a scent.
وَعَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ صُفْرَةٍ،
The Arabic mentions a trace of yellow but does not explicitly identify it as a scent.
Should the translation leave the substance unspecified, as in this version?
Chapter 204
بَابُ مَنْ قَالَ لآخَرَ: يَا مُنَافِقُ، فِي تَأْوِيلٍ تَأَوَّلَهُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musa narrated to us: ‘Abd al-‘Aziz narrated to us: Husayn narrated to us, from Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubayda, from Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, who said: I heard ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) say: The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sent me and al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam—we were both horsemen—and said: Go until you reach the garden of such-and-such. There is a woman there carrying a letter from Hatib to the polytheists. Bring her to me. We found her riding her camel at the place the Prophet had described to us. We said: The letter you have with you? She replied: I have no letter. We searched her and her camel. My companion said: I see nothing. I said: The Prophet did not lie. By the One in whose hand my soul is, I will strip you unless you produce it. She reached toward her waistband, wearing a woolen wrap, and brought it out. We came to the Prophet. ‘Umar said: He has betrayed Allah, His Messenger, and the believers. Let me strike off his head! The Prophet asked: What prompted you? Hatib replied: I have no motive except that I believe in Allah, and I wanted to have a favor with those people. The Prophet said: He has spoken truthfully, ‘Umar. Was he not present at Badr? Perhaps Allah looked upon those who were there and said: Do whatever you wish, for the Garden is assured to you. ‘Umar’s eyes filled with tears, and he said: Allah and His Messenger know best.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says the woman wore a woolen waist-wrap, not a black shawl. The phrase ‘I wanted to have a favor with those people’ translates أَرَدْتُ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِي عِنْدَ الْقَوْمِ يَدٌ; the English witness’s wording ‘I believe in Allah, but I wanted…’ makes the relationship between the clauses adversative, which the Arabic conjunction does not state.
فَأَهْوَتْ بِيَدِهَا إِلَى حُجْزَتِهَا وَعَلَيْهَا إِزَارٌ صُوفٌ،
The Arabic says she was wearing a woolen izar/wrap, without describing it as black.
Should the clothing detail follow the Arabic’s woolen wrap rather than the witness’s black shawl?
فَقَالَ: مَا بِي إِلاَّ أَنْ أَكُونَ مُؤْمِنًا بِاللَّهِ،
The Arabic has ‘I have nothing [to say] except that I am a believer in Allah’ followed by ‘and I wanted to have a favor with those people’; it does not mark the second clause as a contrast with ‘but.’
Should the explanation be translated without the adversative ‘but,’ as here?