Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1614
حَدَّثَنَا حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي حُيَىُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْمَعَافِرِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْحُبُلِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، قَالَ تُوُفِّيَ رَجُلٌ بِالْمَدِينَةِ مِمَّنْ وُلِدَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهِ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ: " يَا لَيْتَهُ مَاتَ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْلِدِهِ " . فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ وَلِمَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: " إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا مَاتَ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْلِدِهِ قِيسَ لَهُ مِنْ مَوْلِدِهِ إِلَى مُنْقَطَعِ أَثَرِهِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harmalah ibn Yahya narrated to us: He said: Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us: Huyayy ibn Abdullah al-Maafiri narrated to me, from Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Hubuli, from Abdullah ibn Amr, who said: A man who had been born in Medina died there. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the funeral prayer over him and said: ‘If only he had died somewhere other than his birthplace.’ A man among the people asked, ‘Why, Messenger of Allah?’ He replied: ‘When a man dies somewhere other than his birthplace, the distance from his birthplace to the end of his trail in Paradise is measured out for him.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
‘مُنْقَطَعِ أَثَرِهِ’ literally refers to where his trace or trail ends; it is translated closely as ‘the end of his trail’ without specifying how that endpoint is determined.
قَالَ: " إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا مَاتَ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْلِدِهِ قِيسَ لَهُ مِنْ مَوْلِدِهِ إِلَى مُنْقَطَعِ أَثَرِهِ فِي الْجَنَّةِ " .
The expression ‘مُنْقَطَعِ أَثَرِهِ’ refers to the point where his trace or trail ends, but the source does not explain what determines that endpoint.
What does ‘مُنْقَطَعِ أَثَرِهِ’ designate in this description of the distance in Paradise? The translation retains the trail metaphor.