Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1894
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَلَفٍ الْعَسْقَلاَنِيُّ، قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، عَنِ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ، عَنْ قُرَّةَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " كُلُّ أَمْرٍ ذِي بَالٍ لاَ يُبْدَأُ فِيهِ بِالْحَمْدِ أَقْطَعُ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘Every important matter that is not begun with praise of Allah is cut off.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The word abtar literally means cut off; the report does not specify whether this means deficient, deprived of blessing, or an outcome of another kind.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " كُلُّ أَمْرٍ ذِي بَالٍ لاَ يُبْدَأُ فِيهِ بِالْحَمْدِ أَقْطَعُ " .
The word abtar (‘cut off’) is figurative here, and the precise consequence is not specified.
Should the phrase be rendered literally as ‘cut off’ or interpreted as ‘deficient’ or ‘deprived of blessing’?