Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 14, Hadith 291
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النُّعْمَانِ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ زِيَادِ بْنِ عِلاَقَةَ، عَنْ أُسَامَةَ بْنِ شَرِيكٍ قَالَ: كُنْتُ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَجَاءَتِ الأَعْرَابُ، نَاسٌ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ هَاهُنَا وَهَاهُنَا، فَسَكَتَ النَّاسُ لاَ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ غَيْرَهُمْ، فَقَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، أَعَلَيْنَا حَرَجٌ فِي كَذَا وَكَذَا؟ فِي أَشْيَاءَ مِنْ أُمُورِ النَّاسِ، لاَ بَأْسَ بِهَا، فَقَالَ: يَا عِبَادَ اللهِ، وَضَعَ اللَّهُ الْحَرَجَ، إِلاَّ امْرَءًا اقْتَرَضَ امْرَءًا ظُلْمًا فَذَاكَ الَّذِي حَرِجَ وَهَلَكَ، قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، أَنَتَدَاوَى؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ يَا عِبَادَ اللهِ تَدَاوَوْا، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَمْ يَضَعْ دَاءً إِلاَّ وَضَعَ لَهُ شِفَاءً، غَيْرَ دَاءٍ وَاحِدٍ، قَالُوا: وَمَا هِيَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ؟ قَالَ: الْهَرَمُ، قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، مَا خَيْرُ مَا أُعْطِيَ الإِنْسَانُ؟ قَالَ: خُلُقٌ حَسَنٌ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu al-Nu‘man narrated to us: Abu ‘Awana narrated to us, from Ziyad ibn ‘Ilaqa, from Usama ibn Sharik, who said: I was with the Prophet ﷺ when Bedouins came, many people from here and there. The people fell silent and let them speak. They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, is there any hardship upon us in such-and-such matters among people’s affairs?’—things in which there is no harm. He said, ‘Servants of Allah, Allah has removed hardship, except for someone who wrongfully takes something from another; that is the one who falls into hardship and ruin.’ They said, ‘Messenger of Allah, may we seek medical treatment?’ He said, ‘Yes, servants of Allah, seek treatment. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has not placed any disease without placing a remedy for it, except for one disease.’ They asked, ‘What is it, Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Old age.’ They asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, what is the best thing a person can be given?’ He said, ‘Good character.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase لا بأس بها qualifies the matters the Bedouins asked about as harmless. The expression اقترض امرءًا ظلمًا is difficult in this wording; the English witness’s ‘slanders someone unjustly’ is not a transparent match for the Arabic loan-related verb.
إِلاَّ امْرَءًا اقْتَرَضَ امْرَءًا ظُلْمًا
The Arabic contains اقترض, ordinarily associated with borrowing or taking a loan, while the witness gives ‘slanders’; the intended act is uncertain from this wording.
Can the exact sense of اقترض امرءًا ظلمًا be established from this recension before choosing a more specific English rendering?