Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2157
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا مُغِيرَةُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ الْمَوْصِلِيُّ، عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ نُسَىٍّ، عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ ثَعْلَبَةَ، عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، قَالَ عَلَّمْتُ نَاسًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ الْقُرْآنَ وَالْكِتَابَةَ فَأَهْدَى إِلَىَّ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ قَوْسًا فَقُلْتُ لَيْسَتْ بِمَالٍ وَأَرْمِي عَنْهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَسَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْهَا فَقَالَ " إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تُطَوَّقَ بِهَا طَوْقًا مِنْ نَارٍ فَاقْبَلْهَا " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAli ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil narrated to us; they said: Wakiʿ narrated to us; Mughirah ibn Ziyad al-Mawsili narrated to us, from ʿUbadah ibn Nusayy, from al-Aswad ibn Thaʿlabah, from ʿUbadah ibn al-Samit, who said: ‘I taught some people from the People of the Suffah the Qur’an and writing, and one of them gave me a bow. I said, “It is not much of a possession, and I use it to shoot in the way of Allah.”’ I asked the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) about it, and he said, ‘If it would please you to be encircled with a ring of fire, then accept it.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ عَلَّمْتُ نَاسًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ الْقُرْآنَ وَالْكِتَابَةَ فَأَهْدَى إِلَىَّ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ قَوْسًا فَقُلْتُ لَيْسَتْ بِمَالٍ وَأَرْمِي عَنْهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَسَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْهَا فَقَالَ " إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تُطَوَّقَ بِهَا طَوْقًا مِنْ نَارٍ فَاقْبَلْهَا " .
ليست بمال is literally ‘it is not wealth/property’; the speaker may mean the bow is of little material value, and he notes that he uses it in Allah’s path. The Prophet’s response warns of a ring/collar of fire.
Does ‘not much of a possession’ preserve the speaker’s characterization of the bow without dismissing the recipient’s gift?
قَالَ عَلَّمْتُ نَاسًا مِنْ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ الْقُرْآنَ وَالْكِتَابَةَ فَأَهْدَى إِلَىَّ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ قَوْسًا فَقُلْتُ لَيْسَتْ بِمَالٍ وَأَرْمِي عَنْهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَسَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنْهَا فَقَالَ " إِنْ سَرَّكَ أَنْ تُطَوَّقَ بِهَا طَوْقًا مِنْ نَارٍ فَاقْبَلْهَا " .
تطوق بها طوقًا من نار literally depicts being encircled with a ring/collar of fire as a consequence of accepting the bow.
Does ‘be encircled with a ring of fire’ preserve the warning’s image without softening it?