Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 344
Arabic hadith text
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاذٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ عَوْنٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ: كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ: لاَ تُكْرِمْ صَدِيقَكَ بِمَا يَشُقُّ عَلَيْهِ.
Translation
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ‘Awn said: They used to say, ‘Do not honor your friend in a way that burdens him.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘your friend’; the English witness renders this as ‘your guest.’
لاَ تُكْرِمْ صَدِيقَكَ بِمَا يَشُقُّ عَلَيْهِ.
The Arabic word صديق means friend, while the English witness says guest.
Should this maxim be translated with the Arabic ‘friend’ or the English witness’s ‘guest’?