Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 14, Hadith 268
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الصَّبَّاحِ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ هُوَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ، عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ الطَّوِيلِ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَسْتَحْمِلُهُ، فَقَالَ: أَنَا حَامِلُكَ عَلَى وَلَدِ نَاقَةٍ، قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، وَمَا أَصْنَعُ بِوَلَدِ نَاقَةٍ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: وَهَلْ تَلِدُ الإِبِلَ إِلاَّ النُّوقُ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us, saying: Khalid—he is Ibn ‘Abd Allah—narrated to us, from Humayd al-Tawil, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: A man came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asking him for a mount. He said, ‘I will carry you on the foal of a she-camel.’ The man said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what would I do with the foal of a she-camel?’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied, ‘Do camels give birth to anything other than she-camels?’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
أَنَا حَامِلُكَ عَلَى وَلَدِ نَاقَةٍ، قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، وَمَا أَصْنَعُ بِوَلَدِ نَاقَةٍ؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: وَهَلْ تَلِدُ الإِبِلَ إِلاَّ النُّوقُ.
The humor turns on the fact that every camel is born from a she-camel; the request for a mount is answered with a deliberately literal joke about a camel’s offspring.
Review whether the joke is clear in English without explaining beyond the dialogue.