Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1656
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " كَمْ مَضَى مِنَ الشَّهْرِ؟ " . قَالَ: قُلْنَا: اثْنَانِ وَعِشْرُونَ وَبَقِيَتْ ثَمَانٍ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا " . ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ وَأَمْسَكَ وَاحِدَةً .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Abu Muawiyah narrated to us, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, ‘How many days of the month have passed?’ We said, ‘Twenty-two, and eight remain.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A month is like this, a month is like this, a month is like this,’ three times, and once held one back.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final phrase describes holding one back but does not name what was held back; the translation leaves the object unstated.
ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ وَأَمْسَكَ وَاحِدَةً .
After the repeated ‘a month is like this’ phrase, the source says he held one back once but does not state the object in words.
Does ‘once held one back’ adequately preserve the gesture without supplying an unstated object?