Sunan Ibn Majah
The Book of the Sunnah
كتاب المقدمة
Chapter 10
فِي الْقَدَرِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Abdullah ibn 'Amir ibn Zurarah narrated to us; Sharik narrated to us, from Mansur, from Rib'i, from 'Ali, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No servant believes until he believes in four things: Allah alone, without partner; that I am the Messenger of Allah; the resurrection after death; and divine decree.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and 'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; they said: Waki' narrated to us; Talhah ibn Yahya ibn Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullah narrated to us, from his paternal aunt 'Aishah bint Talhah, from 'Aishah, Mother of the Believers, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was called to the funeral of a boy from the Ansar. I said: Messenger of Allah, glad tidings for him! He is a little bird among the birds of Paradise; he did no evil and had not yet reached its age. He said: Or is it otherwise, Aishah? Allah created people for Paradise, creating them for it while they were in their fathers' loins; and He created people for the Fire, creating them for it while they were in their fathers' loins.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
“Or is it otherwise?” renders the terse challenge أو غير ذلك in context; the Arabic does not include the witness parenthetical about reaching the age of accountability.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and 'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; they said: Waki' narrated to us; Sufyan al-Thawri narrated to us, from Ziyad ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi, from Muhammad ibn 'Abbad ibn Ja'far, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Quraysh polytheists came disputing with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about divine decree, and this verse was revealed: The day they are dragged upon their faces into the Fire: Taste the touch of Saqar. Indeed, We created everything according to a decree.
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; he said: Malik ibn Isma'il narrated to us; Yahya ibn 'Uthman, the freedman of Abu Bakr, narrated to us; Yahya ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abi Mulaykah narrated to us, from his father, who entered upon 'Aishah and mentioned something about divine decree to her. She said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever speaks about anything concerning divine decree will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection, and whoever does not speak about it will not be questioned about it.
Abu al-Hasan al-Qattan said: Khazim ibn Yahya narrated this to us; 'Abd al-Malik ibn Shayban narrated to us; Yahya ibn 'Uthman narrated to us, and he mentioned something similar.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us; Dawud ibn Abi Hind narrated to us, from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out to his Companions while they were disputing about divine decree. It was as though pomegranate seeds were bursting across his face from anger. He said: Were you commanded to do this, or were you created for this? You set parts of the Quran against one another. It was through this that the nations before you perished. 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said: I never considered myself fortunate to have missed a gathering with the Messenger of Allah as much as I did that gathering and missing it.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and 'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; they said: Waki' narrated to us; Yahya ibn Abi Hayyah, Abu Janab al-Kalbi, narrated to us, from his father, from Ibn 'Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no contagion, no ill omen, and no Hamah. A Bedouin man stood and said: Messenger of Allah, what do you think of a camel with mange that then gives mange to all the camels? He said: That is divine decree; so who gave the first one mange?
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic gives the terms contagion, ill omen, and Hamah without explanation. The witness adds an extended scholarly note interpreting them; that note is not part of this source text.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Yahya ibn 'Isa al-Jarrar narrated to us, from 'Abd al-A'la ibn Abi al-Musawir, from al-Sha'bi, who said: When 'Adi ibn Hatim arrived in Kufah, we came to him among a group of Kufah's jurists and said: Tell us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: I came to the Prophet, and he said: 'Adi ibn Hatim, embrace Islam and you will be safe. I said: What is Islam? He said: To testify that there is no deity but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and to believe in all the decrees—their good and evil, their sweetness and bitterness.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Numayr narrated to us; Asbat ibn Muhammad narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from Yazid al-Raqashi, from Ghunaym ibn Qays, from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The heart is like a feather, turned about by the winds in an open plain.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; my maternal uncle Ya'la narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Salim ibn Abi al-Ja'd, from Jabir, who said: A man from the Ansar came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, I have a slave woman and practice coitus interruptus with her. He said: What has been decreed for her will reach her. Later the man came to him and said: The slave woman has become pregnant. The Prophet said: Nothing is decreed for a person except that it will come to pass.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic identifies the transmitter simply as my maternal uncle Yaala; the English witness names only the Companions in its abridged chain.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Waki' narrated to us, from Sufyan, from 'Abdullah ibn 'Isa, from 'Abdullah ibn Abi al-Ja'd, from Thawban, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Nothing increases a lifespan except righteousness, nothing repels divine decree except supplication, and a man is indeed deprived of provision because of a sin he commits.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn 'Ammar narrated to us; 'Ata ibn Muslim al-Khaffaf narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from Mujahid, from Suraqah ibn Ju'shum, who said: I asked: Messenger of Allah, are deeds within what the Pen has already dried upon and the decrees have set in motion, or are they a future matter? He said: Rather, they are within what the Pen has already dried upon and the decrees have set in motion; each person is facilitated toward that for which he was created.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic answer begins with bal, meaning “rather/indeed”; the English witness says “No,” which does not reflect that wording.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Musaffa al-Himsi narrated to us; Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid narrated to us, from al-Awza'i, from Ibn Jurayj, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Magians of this community are those who deny Allah's decrees. If they fall ill, do not visit them; if they die, do not attend their funerals; and if you meet them, do not greet them.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says “Magians” (Majus); the English witness says “Magicians.” The witness also adds Salam after greet, which is not explicit in the Arabic.
Chapter 12
فَضْلِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ رضى الله عنه
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Waki' narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from 'Abdullah ibn Murrah, from Abu al-Ahwas, from 'Abdullah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, I am free of every close friend and the bond of close friendship. Were I to take a close friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend. Your companion is Allah's close friend. Waki' said: He meant himself.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The witness renders the opening as “I have no need of the friendship”; the Arabic uses the verb baraa, “I am free/disassociate myself,” and the wording has been kept close to that.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and 'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; they said: Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No one's wealth has ever benefited me as much as Abu Bakr's wealth. Abu Bakr wept and said: Am I and my wealth anything but yours, Messenger of Allah?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hisham ibn 'Ammar narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Hasan ibn 'Umarah, from Firas, from al-Sha'bi, from al-Harith, from 'Ali, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Abu Bakr and 'Umar are the leaders of the mature men of Paradise, among the first and the last, except for the prophets and messengers. Do not tell the two of them while they are alive, 'Ali.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad and 'Amr ibn 'Abdullah narrated to us; they said: Waki' narrated to us; al-A'mash narrated to us, from 'Atiyyah ibn Sa'd, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The people of the highest ranks will be seen by those below them as a rising star is seen on the horizon of the sky. Abu Bakr and 'Umar are among them—and excellent are they.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase wa-anama is rendered “and excellent are they”; the witness paraphrases it as “how blessed they are.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Waki' narrated to us. (H) Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; Mu'ammal narrated to us; they said: Sufyan narrated to us, from 'Abd al-Malik ibn 'Umayr, from a client of Rib'i ibn Hirash, from Rib'i ibn Hirash, from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I do not know how long I will remain among you, so follow the example of the two who come after me. He pointed to Abu Bakr and 'Umar.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic preserves an unnamed freedman/client of RibI ibn Hirash in the chain; the witness abbreviates the chain.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us; Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us; Ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us, from 'Umar ibn Sa'id ibn Abi Husayn, from Ibn Abi Mulaykah, who said: I heard Ibn 'Abbas say: When 'Umar was placed on his bier, people gathered around him, praying for him—or he said: praising him and praying for him—before it was lifted. I was among them when suddenly a man pushed through and seized my shoulder. I turned, and it was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. He prayed for mercy upon 'Umar, then said: You have left behind no one whose deeds I would rather meet Allah with than yours. By Allah, I truly thought that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, would place you with your two companions. That is because I often heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: I went, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar; I entered, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar; and I left, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar. So I thought Allah would place you with your two companions.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Both wordings concerning the crowd—praying for him, or praising and praying for him—are preserved. The English witness adds a parenthetical identification of the bier, which is not in the Arabic.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
'Ali ibn Maymun al-Raqqi narrated to us; Sa'id ibn Maslamah narrated to us, from Isma'il ibn Umayyah, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out between Abu Bakr and 'Umar and said: Thus shall we be resurrected.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses the first-person plural “we shall be resurrected”; the English witness has singular “I shall be resurrected.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Shu'ayb Salih ibn al-Haytham al-Wasiti narrated to us; 'Abd al-Quddus ibn Bakr ibn Khunays narrated to us; Malik ibn Mighwal narrated to us, from 'Awn ibn Abi Juhaifah, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Abu Bakr and 'Umar are the leaders of the mature men of Paradise, among the first and the last, except the prophets and messengers.