Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 361
حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ مَرْزُوقٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ: سَمِعْتُ مُطَرِّفًا، عَنْ حَكِيمِ بْنِ قَيْسِ بْنِ عَاصِمٍ، أَنَّ أَبَاهُ أَوْصَى عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ بَنِيهِ فَقَالَ: اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَسَوِّدُوا أَكْبَرُكُمْ، فَإِنَّ الْقَوْمَ إِذَا سَوَّدُوا أَكْبَرَهُمْ خَلَفُوا أَبَاهُمْ، وَإِذَا سَوَّدُوا أَصْغَرَهُمْ أَزْرَى بِهِمْ ذَلِكَ فِي أَكْفَائِهِمْ. وَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمَالِ وَاصْطِنَاعِهِ، فَإِنَّهُ مَنْبَهَةٌ لِلْكَرِيمِ، وَيُسْتَغْنَى بِهِ عَنِ اللَّئِيمِ. وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمَسْأَلَةَ النَّاسِ، فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ آخِرِ كَسْبِ الرَّجُلِ. وَإِذَا مُتُّ فَلاَ تَنُوحُوا، فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يُنَحْ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم. وَإِذَا مُتُّ فَادْفِنُونِي بِأَرْضٍ لاَ يَشْعُرُ بِدَفْنِي بَكْرُ بْنُ وَائِلٍ، فَإِنِّي كُنْتُ أُغَافِلُهُمْ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hakim ibn Qays ibn ‘Asim reported that, as his father was dying, he advised his sons: Fear Allah and make your eldest your leader. When people make their eldest their leaders, they follow in their fathers’ footsteps; when they make their youngest their leaders, that diminishes them in the eyes of their peers. Acquire wealth and put it to good use, for it raises the standing of the generous and makes one independent of the mean. Beware of asking people, for that is among a man’s last means of earning. When I die, do not wail over me, for no one wailed over the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). When I die, bury me in a place where Bakr ibn Wa’il will not know of my burial, for I used to take them by surprise during the pre-Islamic era.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The advice links choosing the eldest or youngest as leader with how their people are viewed by peers. The final clause refers to the speaker’s raiding or waylaying Bakr ibn Wa’il before Islam.