Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari 2911
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ أَبِي حَازِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ سَهْلٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّهُ سُئِلَ عَنْ جُرْحِ النَّبِيِّ، صلى الله عليه وسلم يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ. فَقَالَ جُرِحَ وَجْهُ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَكُسِرَتْ رَبَاعِيَتُهُ وَهُشِمَتِ الْبَيْضَةُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ، فَكَانَتْ فَاطِمَةُ ـ عَلَيْهَا السَّلاَمُ ـ تَغْسِلُ الدَّمَ وَعَلِيٌّ يُمْسِكُ، فَلَمَّا رَأَتْ أَنَّ الدَّمَ لاَ يَزِيدُ إِلاَّ كَثْرَةً أَخَذَتْ حَصِيرًا فَأَحْرَقَتْهُ حَتَّى صَارَ رَمَادًا ثُمَّ أَلْزَقَتْهُ، فَاسْتَمْسَكَ الدَّمُ.
Sahl was asked about the Prophet’s ﷺ wound on the day of Uhud. He said: “The Prophet’s ﷺ face was wounded, one of his rubaʿiyya teeth was broken, and the helmet on his head was smashed. Fatima, peace be upon her, washed away the blood while Ali held it. When she saw that the bleeding only increased, she took a mat, burned it until it became ashes, and pressed them onto the wound. The bleeding stopped.”
Translation notes
The Arabic leaves the object of “Ali held” unstated; the English witness supplies “water.” The tooth term rubaʿiyya is retained pending confirmation of its precise modern dental equivalent.
وَكُسِرَتْ رَبَاعِيَتُهُ
The Arabic specifies a rubaʿiyya tooth; the English witness renders this as a front tooth, and the exact modern dental equivalent is not established here.
What is the most accurate natural English rendering of rubaʿiyya in this context?
وَعَلِيٌّ يُمْسِكُ
The Arabic says Ali was holding but does not name the object; the English witness supplies water.
Should the object remain unspecified in the translation or be supplied as water based on context?