Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1588
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ أَبِي الشَّوَارِبِ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ بْنُ زِيَادٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَاصِمٌ الأَحْوَلُ، عَنْ أَبِي عُثْمَانَ، عَنْ أُسَامَةَ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، قَالَ كَانَ ابْنٌ لِبَعْضِ بَنَاتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يَقْضِي فَأَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهَا فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهَا أَنَّ " لِلَّهِ مَا أَخَذَ وَلَهُ مَا أَعْطَى وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ عِنْدَهُ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى فَلْتَصْبِرْ وَلْتَحْتَسِبْ " . فَأَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِ فَأَقْسَمَتْ عَلَيْهِ فَقَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَقُمْتُ مَعَهُ وَمَعَهُ مُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ وَأُبَىُّ بْنُ كَعْبٍ وَعُبَادَةُ بْنُ الصَّامِتِ فَلَمَّا دَخَلْنَا نَاوَلُوا الصَّبِيَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَرُوحُهُ تَقَلْقَلُ فِي صَدْرِهِ . قَالَ حَسِبْتُهُ قَالَ كَأَنَّهُ شَنَّةٌ . قَالَ فَبَكَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُبَادَةُ بْنُ الصَّامِتِ: مَا هَذَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: " الرَّحْمَةُ الَّتِي جَعَلَهَا اللَّهُ فِي بَنِي آدَمَ وَإِنَّمَا يَرْحَمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الرُّحَمَاءَ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Shawarib narrated to us: Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad narrated to us: Asim al-Ahwal narrated to us, from Abu Uthman, from Usamah ibn Zayd, who said: One of the sons of a daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was dying. She sent for him, asking him to come. He sent her this message: ‘To Allah belongs what He takes, and to Him belongs what He gives. Everything has an appointed term with Him. So let her be patient and seek reward.’
She sent for him again and earnestly pressed him to come. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out, and I went with him, along with Muadh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Kab, and Ubadah ibn al-Samit. When we entered, they placed the child in the Messenger of Allah’s hands, while the child’s spirit was heaving in his chest. [The narrator] said: I think he said, ‘as though it were a worn waterskin.’ The Messenger of Allah wept. Ubadah ibn al-Samit said to him, ‘What is this, Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘It is the compassion that Allah has placed in the children of Adam. Allah shows mercy only to those of His servants who are merciful.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says the child was ‘يَقْضِي’ (at the point of death/dying) and that the child’s spirit was ‘تَقَلْقَلُ’ in his chest. The narrator qualifies the comparison with ‘حَسِبْتُهُ قَالَ’ (‘I think he said’); ‘شَنَّة’ is rendered as a worn waterskin. ‘أَقْسَمَتْ عَلَيْهِ’ indicates she adjured or earnestly pressed him. Names follow the Arabic narrator chain.