Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2107
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَبْدَةَ، أَنْبَأَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا غَيْلاَنُ بْنُ جَرِيرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَبِي مُوسَى، قَالَ أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فِي رَهْطٍ مِنَ الأَشْعَرِيِّينَ نَسْتَحْمِلُهُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " وَاللَّهِ مَا أَحْمِلُكُمْ وَمَا عِنْدِي مَا أَحْمِلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ " . قَالَ فَلَبِثْنَا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أُتِيَ بِإِبِلٍ فَأَمَرَ لَنَا بِثَلاَثَةِ إِبِلٍ ذَوْدٍ غُرِّ الذُّرَى فَلَمَّا انْطَلَقْنَا قَالَ بَعْضُنَا لِبَعْضٍ أَتَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ نَسْتَحْمِلُهُ فَحَلَفَ أَلاَّ يَحْمِلَنَا ثُمَّ حَمَلَنَا ارْجِعُوا بِنَا . فَأَتَيْنَاهُ فَقُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا أَتَيْنَاكَ نَسْتَحْمِلُكَ فَحَلَفْتَ أَنْ لاَ تَحْمِلَنَا . ثُمَّ حَمَلْتَنَا فَقَالَ " وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا حَمَلْتُكُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ حَمَلَكُمْ وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا حَمَلْتُكُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ حَمَلَكُمْ إِنِّي وَاللَّهِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لاَ أَحْلِفُ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَأَرَى غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِلاَّ كَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَأَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ " . أَوْ قَالَ " أَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ وَكَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn ʿAbdah narrated to us; Hammad ibn Zayd informed us; Ghaylan ibn Jarir narrated to us, from Abu Burdah, from his father, Abu Musa, who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) with a group of Ashʿarites to ask him for mounts. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘By Allah, I have no mounts for you, nor do I have anything on which to carry you.’ We stayed for as long as Allah willed. Then some camels were brought, and he assigned us three camels with bright humps. When we set out, some of us said to one another, ‘We came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) asking him for mounts, and he swore that he would not provide us with any, yet he did. Let us go back.’ So we went to him and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we came asking you for mounts, and you swore that you would not provide us with any, but then you did.’ He said, ‘By Allah, it was not I who provided you with mounts; Allah provided you with them. By Allah, whenever I swear an oath and then see that something else is better, I expiate for my oath and do what is better’—or he said, ‘I do what is better and expiate for my oath.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ فَلَبِثْنَا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أُتِيَ بِإِبِلٍ فَأَمَرَ لَنَا بِثَلاَثَةِ إِبِلٍ ذَوْدٍ غُرِّ الذُّرَى فَلَمَّا انْطَلَقْنَا قَالَ بَعْضُنَا لِبَعْضٍ أَتَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ نَسْتَحْمِلُهُ فَحَلَفَ أَلاَّ يَحْمِلَنَا ثُمَّ حَمَلَنَا ارْجِعُوا بِنَا .
ثلاثة إبل ذود غر الذرى describes three camels with غرّ الذرى; the adjective likely evokes bright/white or prominent humps, but the precise camel description is compressed.
Does ‘three camels with bright humps’ preserve the descriptive phrase without over-specifying the animals?
ثُمَّ حَمَلْتَنَا فَقَالَ " وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا حَمَلْتُكُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ حَمَلَكُمْ وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنَا حَمَلْتُكُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ حَمَلَكُمْ إِنِّي وَاللَّهِ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ لاَ أَحْلِفُ عَلَى يَمِينٍ فَأَرَى غَيْرَهَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِلاَّ كَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي وَأَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ " .
The Prophet denies being the ultimate provider and attributes the provision to Allah, then describes expiation and doing what is better after an oath.
Does the translation preserve both the attribution to Allah and the expiation procedure without adding detail?
أَوْ قَالَ " أَتَيْتُ الَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ وَكَفَّرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي " .
The narrator explicitly gives an alternative ordering: doing what is better and expiating, or expiating and doing what is better.
Does the closing alternative retain the reported variant order?