Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 583

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Musa ibn Isma‘il related to us: Abu Hilal related to us: al-Hasan related to us that a man died, leaving a son and a client. He entrusted his client with the care of his son. The client spared no effort until the boy came of age, and he arranged a marriage for him. The boy then said to him, “Equip me so I can seek knowledge.” He equipped him, and the boy went to a scholar and asked him for instruction. The scholar said, “When you are ready to set out, tell me and I will teach you.” The boy replied, “I am ready to depart, so teach me.” The scholar said, “Be mindful of Allah, be patient, and do not be hasty.” Al-Hasan said, “All goodness is contained in this.” The boy returned, hardly able to forget these words—there were only three. When he reached his family, he dismounted from his mount. When he entered the house, he found a man sleeping at a distance from the woman, and his own wife was asleep. He said, “By Allah, what am I waiting for with this?” and returned to his mount. When he went to take his sword, he said, “Be mindful of Allah, be patient, and do not be hasty,” and turned back. When he stood over the man, he said, “What am I waiting for? There is nothing to wait for.” He returned to his mount. When he went to take his sword, he remembered the words and went back to the man. As he stood over him, the man awoke. When he saw him, he sprang up, embraced and kissed him, and asked after him. He said, “What have you gained since I last saw you?” The boy replied, “By Allah, I have gained much good since then. By Allah, what I gained is this: tonight I walked between the sword and your head three times, but the knowledge I had gained restrained me from killing you.”