Sunan Ibn Majah
Etiquette
كتاب الأدب
Chapter 41
الشِّعْرِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah said: Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Umayr, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The truest words a poet has spoken are the words of Labid: “Indeed, everything apart from Allah is false.” And Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt nearly embraced Islam.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic names the poet Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt; the English witness prints ‘Abu Umayyah.’
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ " أَصْدَقُ كَلِمَةٍ قَالَهَا الشَّاعِرُ كَلِمَةُ لَبِيدٍ أَلاَ كُلُّ شَىْءٍ مَا خَلاَ اللَّهَ بَاطِلُ وَكَادَ أُمَيَّةُ بْنُ أَبِي الصَّلْتِ أَنْ يُسْلِمَ " .
The Arabic says Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt; the witness gives ‘Abu Umayyah bin Abu Salt.’
Should the Arabic form of the poet's name be followed?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that ‘Amr ibn al-Sharid said that his father said: I recited to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ one hundred poetic lines by Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt. Between each line, he would say, ‘Go on!’ He also said, ‘He nearly embraced Islam.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic specifies one hundred qawāfī, meaning poetic lines or rhyming units; the English witness calls them verses. I have rendered the number and poetic sense without imposing a verse structure.
Chapter 42
مَا كُرِهَ مِنَ الشِّعْرِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘If a man’s stomach were filled with pus until it reached his insides, that would be better for him than having it filled with poetry.’ Hafs alone did not include the words ‘until it reached his insides.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report includes a transmitter’s wording note: Hafs omitted the phrase rendered as ‘until it reached his insides.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas said that the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘If one of you were to have his stomach filled with pus until it reached his insides, that would be better for him than having it filled with poetry.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic includes the intervening transmitter Muhammad ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas in the chain of transmission.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that ‘A’ishah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Among the people, the gravest in falsehood is a man who engages in invective against another man and thereby reviles an entire tribe; and a man who disavows his father and accuses his mother of adultery.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic verb hāja describes an exchange of poetic invective; the wording here emphasizes the resulting attack on the whole tribe.
Chapter 43
اللَّعِبِ بِالنَّرْدِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Abu Musa said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Whoever plays nard has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Nard is the traditional dice game often rendered in English as backgammon.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from Sulayman ibn Buraydah, from his father, that the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Whoever plays nardashir is like one who has dipped his hand into the flesh and blood of a pig.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Nardashir refers to backgammon, a dice game. The comparison is retained as stated in the Arabic.
Chapter 44
اللَّعِبِ بِالْحَمَامِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from ‘A’ishah that the Prophet ﷺ saw a man following a bird and said, ‘A devil following a devil.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet ﷺ saw a man following a pigeon and said, ‘A male devil following a female devil.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw a man following a pigeon and said, ‘A male devil following a female devil.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source wording literally places the man behind the pigeon; ‘following’ conveys the relation in context and matches the parallel wording in the preceding report.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw a man following pigeons and said, ‘A devil following a devil.’
Chapter 45
كَرَاهِيَةِ الْوَحْدَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘If any of you knew what harm there is in being alone, no one would travel alone at night.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic refers to what is inherent in solitude; the English witness makes the implied danger explicit as ‘what is wrong with being alone.’
Chapter 46
إِطْفَاءِ النَّارِ عِنْدَ الْمَبِيتِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from Salim, from his father, that the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Do not leave a fire burning in your homes when you go to sleep.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Abu Musa said: A house in Madinah caught fire with its occupants inside. The Prophet ﷺ was informed about them and said, ‘This fire is your enemy. When you go to sleep, put it out.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Jabir said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed us and forbade us, and he instructed us to extinguish our lamps.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic leaves the matters commanded and forbidden unspecified, then names extinguishing lamps as one instruction.
Chapter 47
النَّهْىِ عَنِ النُّزُولِ، عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Jabir said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Do not camp in the middle of roads, or relieve yourselves there.’
Chapter 48
رُكُوبِ ثَلاَثَةٍ عَلَى دَابَّةٍ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned from a journey, we would go out to welcome him. One time, I went out with al-Hasan or al-Husayn. He carried one of us in front of him and the other behind him, until we arrived in Madinah.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘al-Hasan or al-Husayn,’ preserving the narrator’s uncertainty about which one accompanied him.
Chapter 49
تَتْرِيبِ الْكِتَابِ
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?
Chapter 50
لاَ يَتَنَاجَى اثْنَانِ دُونَ الثَّالِثِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘When you are three, two should not speak privately to the exclusion of their companion, for that would make him sad.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade two people from speaking privately to the exclusion of a third.