Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2285
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ اسْتَسْلَفَ مِنْ رَجُلٍ بَكْرًا وَقَالَ " إِذَا جَاءَتْ إِبِلُ الصَّدَقَةِ قَضَيْنَاكَ " . فَلَمَّا قَدِمَتْ قَالَ " يَا أَبَا رَافِعٍ اقْضِ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ بَكْرَهُ " . فَلَمْ أَجِدْ إِلاَّ رَبَاعِيًا فَصَاعِدًا فَأَخْبَرْتُ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ " أَعْطِهِ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ النَّاسِ أَحْسَنُهُمْ قَضَاءً " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Rafiʿ reported that the Prophet borrowed a young camel from a man and said, ‘When the charity camels arrive, we will repay you.’ When they arrived, he said, ‘Abu Rafiʿ, repay this man with his young camel.’ I found only a four-year-old camel or older, so I informed the Prophet. He said, ‘Give it to him, for the best of people are those best in repayment.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Bakar is a young camel; rubaʿi refers to a camel of a more mature age, commonly rendered as four-year-old. The wording ‘or older’ is explicit.
فَلَمْ أَجِدْ إِلاَّ رَبَاعِيًا فَصَاعِدًا فَأَخْبَرْتُ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ " أَعْطِهِ فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ النَّاسِ أَحْسَنُهُمْ قَضَاءً " .
The age category rubaʿi is a traditional livestock age designation; the source says it or older, while exact modern age reckoning may vary.
Is ‘four-year-old camel or older’ the desired rendering of rubaʿi fa-saʿidan?