Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 377
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مَرْوَانُ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ أَبِي حَازِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَجُلٌ وَمَعَهُ صَبِيٌّ، فَجَعَلَ يَضُمُّهُ إِلَيْهِ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَتَرْحَمُهُ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: فَاللَّهُ أَرْحَمُ بِكَ مِنْكَ بِهِ، وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayra said: A man came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with a child and began drawing him close. The Prophet asked, ‘Do you show him mercy?’ The man said, ‘Yes.’ He replied, ‘Allah is more merciful to you than you are to him, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The question in Arabic asks whether the man shows mercy to the child; the English witness has ‘towards me,’ which appears to be an error.
فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَتَرْحَمُهُ؟
The pronoun refers to the child, as confirmed by the following comparison ‘more merciful to you than you are to him.’
Should the question read ‘Do you show him mercy’ as in this translation?