Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 14, Hadith 266
حَدَّثَنَا صَدَقَةُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا مُعْتَمِرٌ، عَنْ حَبِيبٍ أَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ بَكْرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ قَالَ: كَانَ أَصْحَابُ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَتَبَادَحُونَ بِالْبِطِّيخِ، فَإِذَا كَانَتِ الْحَقَائِقُ كَانُوا هُمُ الرِّجَالَ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sadaqa narrated to us, saying: Mu‘tamir informed us, from Habib Abu Muhammad, from Bakr ibn ‘Abd Allah, who said: ‘The Companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to throw watermelons at one another. When serious matters came, they were the men.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
يَتَبَادَحُونَ بِالْبِطِّيخِ، فَإِذَا كَانَتِ الْحَقَائِقُ كَانُوا هُمُ الرِّجَالَ.
يَتَبَادَحُونَ describes throwing melons at one another, while الْحَقَائِقُ literally means realities or serious matters. The saying contrasts their playfulness with their conduct in earnest affairs.
Review whether ‘watermelon’ is the right specific fruit and whether ‘serious matters’ best renders الحقائق.
فَإِذَا كَانَتِ الْحَقَائِقُ كَانُوا هُمُ الرِّجَالَ.
The witness’s ‘If these were real, they would be men’ can misleadingly attach ‘real’ to the melons rather than the serious situations.
Confirm that the final clause refers to serious affairs, not to real melons.