Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3665
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قَدِمَ نَاسٌ مِنَ الأَعْرَابِ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالُوا أَتُقَبِّلُونَ صِبْيَانَكُمْ قَالُوا نَعَمْ . فَقَالُوا لَكِنَّا وَاللَّهِ مَا نُقَبِّلُ . فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " وَأَمْلِكُ أَنْ كَانَ اللَّهُ قَدْ نَزَعَ مِنْكُمُ الرَّحْمَةَ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that ‘Aishah said: ‘Some Bedouins came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked, “Do you kiss your children?” They were told, “Yes.” They said, “By Allah, we do not kiss them.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “What can I do if Allah has removed mercy from you?”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses plural ‘they said’ both after the question and before the statement that they did not kiss their children; the witness makes the first response singular.
قَالَتْ قَدِمَ نَاسٌ مِنَ الأَعْرَابِ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالُوا أَتُقَبِّلُونَ صِبْيَانَكُمْ قَالُوا نَعَمْ .
The Arabic repeats the plural verb qalu ‘they said’ for the reply ‘Yes’; it does not explicitly identify the speaker singularly.
Does the plural refer to the people present who answered the Bedouins, as reflected in the witness's singular ‘He said’?