Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3774
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ، أَنْبَأَنَا بَقِيَّةُ، أَنْبَأَنَا أَبُو أَحْمَدَ الدِّمَشْقِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " تَرِّبُوا صُحُفَكُمْ أَنْجَحُ لَهَا إِنَّ التُّرَابَ مُبَارَكٌ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Dust your written sheets; that is more likely to bring success to them, for dust is blessed.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The expression about dusting written sheets is obscure. The translation preserves its literal wording without adopting the witness’s explanatory gloss about humility in correspondence.
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " تَرِّبُوا صُحُفَكُمْ أَنْجَحُ لَهَا إِنَّ التُّرَابَ مُبَارَكٌ " .
The wording about dusting written sheets is unusual, and the intended practical meaning is not clear from this passage alone.
Should this instruction be read literally, or is there an established idiomatic interpretation intended here?