Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2502
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ الطَّوِيلِ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، عَنْ مُطَرِّفِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الشِّخِّيرِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " ضَالَّةُ الْمُسْلِمِ حَرَقُ النَّارِ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us: Yahya ibn Said narrated to us, from Humayd al-Tawil, from al-Hasan, from Mutarrif ibn Abdullah ibn al-Shikhkhir, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “A Muslim stray animal is a burning firebrand.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic is an elliptical, forceful warning: ضالة المسلم حرق النار. The English witness expands the image as leading to Hellfire; the source wording itself is retained as a burning firebrand.