Sunan an-Nasa'i
Sunan an-Nasa'i 3521
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الأَعْلَى، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ عَوْنٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ كُنْتُ جَالِسًا فِي نَاسٍ بِالْكُوفَةِ فِي مَجْلِسٍ - لِلأَنْصَارِ - عَظِيمٍ فِيهِمْ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى فَذَكَرُوا شَأْنَ سُبَيْعَةَ فَذَكَرْتُ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِ ابْنِ عَوْنٍ حَتَّى تَضَعَ . قَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى لَكِنَّ عَمَّهُ لاَ يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ فَرَفَعْتُ صَوْتِي وَقُلْتُ إِنِّي لَجَرِيءٌ أَنْ أَكْذِبَ عَلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ وَهُوَ فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْكُوفَةِ . قَالَ فَلَقِيتُ مَالِكًا قُلْتُ كَيْفَ كَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ فِي شَأْنِ سُبَيْعَةَ قَالَ قَالَ أَتَجْعَلُونَ عَلَيْهَا التَّغْلِيظَ وَلاَ تَجْعَلُونَ لَهَا الرُّخْصَةَ لأُنْزِلَتْ سُورَةُ النِّسَاءِ الْقُصْرَى بَعْدَ الطُّولَى .
Muhammad ibn Abd al-A'la informed us; he said: Khalid narrated to us; he said: Ibn Awn narrated to us, from Muhammad, who said: I was sitting among people in Kufa at a large gathering of the Ansar, which included Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla. They discussed Subay'ah’s case, and I cited Abd Allah ibn Utbah ibn Mas'ud in support of the meaning of Ibn Awn’s statement, ‘until she gives birth.’ Ibn Abi Layla said, ‘But his uncle does not say that.’ I raised my voice and said, ‘How bold of me it would be to lie about Abd Allah ibn Utbah when he is nearby in Kufa!’ He said: Then I met Malik and asked, ‘What did Ibn Mas'ud say about Subay'ah’s case?’ He replied, ‘He said: “Would you impose hardship on her and deny her the concession? The shorter Surah of Women was revealed after the longer one.”’
Translation notes
The pronoun in Ibn Abi Layla’s statement ‘his uncle’ is left as in the source; it likely refers to Ibn Mas'ud, whom Abd Allah ibn Utbah is named after.
قَالَ ابْنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى لَكِنَّ عَمَّهُ لاَ يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ فَرَفَعْتُ صَوْتِي وَقُلْتُ إِنِّي لَجَرِيءٌ أَنْ أَكْذِبَ عَلَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ وَهُوَ فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْكُوفَةِ .
The Arabic says عمّه (‘his uncle’) without explicitly naming the pronoun’s referent; it may refer to Ibn Mas'ud.
Should the referent be made explicit in a reader-facing translation, or left as an ambiguous pronoun?