Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 227
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النُّعْمَانِ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي مَهْدِيُّ بْنُ مَيْمُونٍ، عَنْ وَاصِلٍ مَوْلَى أَبِي عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ عَقِيلٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ يَعْمَُرَ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَسْوَدِ الدِّيلِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ: قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، ذَهَبَ أَهْلُ الدُّثُورِ بِالأُجُورِ، يُصَلُّونَ كَمَا نُصَلِّي، وَيَصُومُونَ كَمَا نَصُومُ، وَيَتَصَدَّقُونَ بِفُضُولِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ، قَالَ: أَلَيْسَ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مَا تَصَدَّقُونَ؟ إِنَّ بِكُلِّ تَسْبِيحَةٍ وَتَحْمِيدَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَبُضْعُ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ، قِيلَ: فِي شَهْوَتِهِ صَدَقَةٌ؟ قَالَ: لَوْ وُضِعَ فِي الْحَرَامِ، أَلَيْسَ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ؟ ذَلِكَ إِنْ وَضَعَهَا فِي الْحَلاَلِ كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ.
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, saying: Mahdi ibn Maymun narrated to me, from Wasil, the client of Abu ‘Uyayna, from Yahya ibn ‘Aqil, from Yahya ibn Ya‘mar, from Abu al-Aswad al-Du’ali, from Abu Dharr, who said: It was said, ‘Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have gone off with the rewards: they pray as we pray, fast as we fast, and give charity from their surplus wealth.’ He replied, ‘Has Allah not provided you with things that you may give as charity? Every act of glorifying Allah and every act of praising Him is charity, and a man’s sexual intercourse is charity.’ He was asked, ‘Is there charity in satisfying his desire?’ He replied, ‘If he were to engage in it unlawfully, would that not be a sin upon him? Likewise, if he engages in it lawfully, he will have a reward.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَبُضْعُ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ، قِيلَ: فِي شَهْوَتِهِ صَدَقَةٌ؟ قَالَ: لَوْ وُضِعَ فِي الْحَرَامِ، أَلَيْسَ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ؟ ذَلِكَ إِنْ وَضَعَهَا فِي الْحَلاَلِ كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ.
بُضع denotes sexual intercourse; the following reasoning frames the act as satisfaction of sexual desire. The pronouns in the hypothetical refer to the act/desire, with a shift in grammatical gender in Arabic.
Review the precise English phrasing for بضع and the pronoun referents in the lawful/unlawful comparison.
إِنَّ بِكُلِّ تَسْبِيحَةٍ وَتَحْمِيدَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَبُضْعُ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ،
The supplied English witness contains an apparent grammatical error in its rendering of this sentence.
Confirm that the corrected sentence faithfully reflects the Arabic coordination.