Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Book 14, Hadith 303
حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَوْنٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا حَمَّادٌ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَحْسَنَ النَّاسِ، وَأَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ، وَأَشْجَعَ النَّاسِ، وَلَقَدْ فَزِعَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ، فَانْطَلَقَ النَّاسُ قِبَلَ الصَّوْتِ، فَاسْتَقْبَلَهُمُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَدْ سَبَقَ النَّاسَ إِلَى الصَّوْتِ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ: لَنْ تُرَاعُوا، لَنْ تُرَاعُوا، وَهُوَ عَلَى فَرَسٍ لأَبِي طَلْحَةَ عُرْيٍ، مَا عَلَيْهِ سَرْجٌ، وَفِي عُنُقِهِ السَّيْفُ، فَقَالَ: لَقَدْ وَجَدْتُهُ بَحْرًا، أَوْ إِنَّهُ لَبَحْرٌ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Amr ibn ‘Awn narrated to us: Hammad informed us, from Thabit, from Anas, who said: ‘The Prophet ﷺ was the finest of people, the most generous of people, and the bravest of people. One night the people of Medina were frightened, and they set out toward a sound. The Prophet ﷺ met them, having already reached the sound before them, and was saying, “Do not be frightened! Do not be frightened!” He was riding a bare horse belonging to Abu Talha, with no saddle, and a sword around his neck. He said, “I found it to be a sea”—or, “It truly is a sea.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase لقد وجدته بحرًا / أو إنه لبحر calls the horse a ‘sea’ metaphorically; the witness adds that this means its speed, which the Arabic does not state. The horse is described as bare and without a saddle.
لَقَدْ وَجَدْتُهُ بَحْرًا، أَوْ إِنَّهُ لَبَحْرٌ
The report uses ‘sea’ metaphorically and offers two wordings, but does not explain the comparison.
Should the metaphor remain unexplained, or is there sufficient textual basis to gloss it as the horse’s speed?