Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 1659
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ امْرَأَةً سَوْدَاءَ كَانَتْ تَقُمُّ الْمَسْجِدَ أَوْ شَابٌّ فَفَقَدَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَسَأَلَ عَنْهَا أَوْ عَنْهُ فَقَالُوا: مَاتَ. قَالَ: «أَفَلَا كُنْتُمْ آذَنْتُمُونِي؟» قَالَ: فَكَأَنَّهُمْ صَغَّرُوا أَمْرَهَا أَوْ أَمْرَهُ. فَقَالَ: «دلوني على قَبره» فدلوه فصلى عَلَيْهَا. قَالَ: «إِنَّ هَذِهِ الْقُبُورَ مَمْلُوءَةٌ ظُلْمَةً عَلَى أَهْلِهَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُنَوِّرُهَا لَهُمْ بِصَلَاتِي عَلَيْهِمْ» . وَلَفظه لمُسلم
Abu Hurayra reported that a black woman who used to sweep the mosque—or a young man—was missing, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked about her—or him. They said, ‘He has died.’ He said, ‘Why did you not inform me?’ It seemed that they had regarded her—or his—matter as insignificant. He said, ‘Show me his grave.’ They showed it to him, and he prayed over her. He said, ‘These graves are filled with darkness for their occupants, and Allah illuminates them for them through my prayer over them.’ This is the wording of Muslim.
Translation notes
The source alternates between feminine and masculine forms, leaving the person’s gender uncertain; both possibilities are retained in the translation.
أَوْ شَابٌّ
The Arabic itself offers a woman who swept the mosque or a young man, and shifts between feminine and masculine forms.
Does the alternative شاب refer to a young man, and should the gender uncertainty remain explicit throughout?