Sunan Ibn Majah

Sunan Ibn Majah 2158

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Sunan Ibn Majah 2158
Arabic hadith text

حَدَّثَنَا سَهْلُ بْنُ أَبِي سَهْلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ ثَوْرِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ مَعْدَانَ، حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ سَلْمٍ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ الْكَلاَعِيِّ، عَنْ أُبَىِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ، قَالَ عَلَّمْتُ رَجُلاً الْقُرْآنَ فَأَهْدَى إِلَىَّ قَوْسًا فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ إِنْ أَخَذْتَهَا أَخَذْتَ قَوْسًا مِنْ نَارٍ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَرَدَدْتُهَا ‏.‏

Translation

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Sahl ibn Abi Sahl narrated to us; Yahya ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Thawr ibn Yazid; Khalid ibn Maʿdan narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Salm informed me, from ʿAtiyyah al-Kalaʿi, from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, who said: ‘I taught a man the Qur’an, and he gave me a bow as a gift. I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he said, “If you take it, you will have taken a bow of fire.”’ So I returned it.

Notes and open questions — unreviewed
  • قَالَ عَلَّمْتُ رَجُلاً الْقُرْآنَ فَأَهْدَى إِلَىَّ قَوْسًا فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ إِنْ أَخَذْتَهَا أَخَذْتَ قَوْسًا مِنْ نَارٍ ‏"‏ ‏.

    إِنْ أَخَذْتَهَا أَخَذْتَ قَوْسًا مِنْ نَارٍ literally says ‘if you take it, you have taken a bow of fire’; the report frames the gift as a severe warning.

    Does ‘a bow of fire’ preserve the metaphor literally and retain the conditional warning?