Sunan an-Nasa'i
The Book of Fighting [The Prohibition of Bloodshed]
كتاب تحريم الدم
Chapter 1
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harun ibn Muhammad ibn Bakkar ibn Bilal reported to us, from Muhammad ibn ʿIsa—namely, Ibn Sumayʿ—who said: Humayd al-Tawil narrated to us, from Anas ibn Malik, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the polytheists until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. If they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, pray as we pray, face our qiblah, and eat from our slaughtered animals, then their lives and property are inviolable to us, except by a right they owe.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Hatim ibn Nuʿaym reported to us; he said: Hibban informed us; he said: ʿAbdullah narrated to us, from Humayd al-Tawil, from Anas ibn Malik, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. When they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, face our qiblah, eat from our slaughtered animals, and pray as we pray, then their lives and property are inviolable to us, except by a right they owe. They shall have the same rights and obligations as the Muslims.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullah al-Ansari informed us; he said: Humayd narrated to us: Maymun ibn Siyah asked Anas ibn Malik, ‘Abu Hamzah, what makes a Muslim’s life and property inviolable?’ He replied: ‘Whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, faces our qiblah, prays as we pray, and eats from our slaughtered animals is a Muslim. He has the same rights and obligations as the Muslims.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar reported to us; he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAsim narrated to us; he said: ʿImran Abu al-ʿAwwam narrated to us; he said: Maʿmar narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, died, the Arabs apostatized. ʿUmar said: ‘Abu Bakr, how can you fight the Arabs?’ Abu Bakr replied: ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and establish prayer and give zakah.” By Allah, if they withhold from me even a young goat that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah, I will fight them over it.’ ʿUmar said: ‘When I saw that Allah had opened Abu Bakr’s heart to this, I knew it was the truth.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source uses ʿanaq, a young female goat, as the example of a small amount of zakah they had previously paid.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutaybah ibn Saʿid reported to us; he said: al-Layth narrated to us, from ʿUqayl, from al-Zuhri; ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUtbah informed me, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, died and Abu Bakr was appointed as his successor, some of the Arabs rejected the faith. ʿUmar said to Abu Bakr: ‘How can you fight the people when the Messenger of Allah said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ Whoever says, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ has made his life and property safe from me, except by a right that is due, and his reckoning is with Allah”?’ Abu Bakr said: ‘By Allah, I will fight whoever separates prayer from zakah, for zakah is a due right on wealth. By Allah, if they withhold from me even a tethering cord that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah, I will fight them for withholding it.’ ʿUmar said: ‘By Allah, as soon as I saw that Allah had opened Abu Bakr’s heart to fighting, I knew it was the truth.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The ‘tethering cord’ represents even a very small due amount of zakah that was withheld.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ziyad ibn Ayyub reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Yazid narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUtbah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” When they say it, they have made their lives and property inviolable to me, except by a right that is due, and their reckoning is with Allah.’ When the apostasy occurred, ʿUmar said to Abu Bakr: ‘Will you fight them when you heard the Messenger of Allah say such and such?’ He replied: ‘By Allah, I will not separate prayer from zakah, and I will fight whoever separates them.’ We fought alongside him and considered that to be right guidance.
Abu ʿAbd al-Rahman said: ‘Sufyan is not strong in his transmission from al-Zuhri; this is Sufyan ibn Husayn.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase ‘such and such’ reflects the report’s deliberately unspecified quotation.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Harith ibn Miskin read this to us while I listened; he said: Ibn Wahb narrated to us; he said: Yunus informed me, from Ibn Shihab; he said: Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab narrated to me that Abu Hurayrah informed him that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” Whoever says, “There is no god but Allah,” has made his life and property inviolable to me, except by a right that is due, and his reckoning is with Allah, Mighty and Sublime.’ Shuʿayb ibn Abi Hamzah combined both hadiths in full.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The opening phrase records that al-Harith read the report aloud while the compiler listened.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mughirah reported to us; he said: ʿUthman narrated to us, from Shuʿayb, from al-Zuhri; he said: ʿUbaydullah ibn ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUtbah narrated to us that Abu Hurayrah said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, died and Abu Bakr succeeded him, some of the Arabs rejected the faith, ʿUmar said: ‘Abu Bakr, how can you fight the people when the Messenger of Allah said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ Whoever says, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ has made his life and property inviolable to me, except by a right that is due, and his reckoning is with Allah, Mighty and Sublime”?’ Abu Bakr said: ‘I will fight whoever separates prayer from zakah, for zakah is a due right on wealth. By Allah, if they withhold from me even a young goat that they used to pay to the Messenger of Allah, I will fight them for withholding it.’ ʿUmar said: ‘By Allah, when I saw that Allah had opened Abu Bakr’s heart to fighting, I knew it was the truth.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source uses ʿanaq, a young female goat, to stress that even a small zakah obligation would not be waived.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Mughirah reported to us; he said: ʿUthman narrated to us, from Shuʿayb, from al-Zuhri; he said: Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab narrated to me that Abu Hurayrah informed him that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” Whoever says it has made his life and property inviolable to me, except by a right that is due, and his reckoning is with Allah.’ Al-Walid ibn Muslim differed from him.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Sulayman reported to us; he said: Muʾammal ibn al-Fadl narrated to us; he said: al-Walid narrated to us; he said: Shuʿayb ibn Abi Hamzah and Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to me—and he mentioned another—from al-Zuhri, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: Abu Bakr resolved to fight them. ʿUmar said: ‘Abu Bakr, how can you fight the people when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ When they say it, their lives and property are inviolable to me, except by a right that is due”?’ Abu Bakr said: ‘I will fight whoever separates prayer from zakah. By Allah, if they withhold from me even a young goat that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah, I will fight them for withholding it.’ ʿUmar said: ‘By Allah, when I saw that Allah had opened Abu Bakr’s heart to fighting them, I knew it was the truth.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The chain as transmitted says ‘and he mentioned another’ without naming the additional transmitter.
The ʿanaq is a young female goat, representing even a small amount due in zakah.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mubarak reported to us, and Ahmad ibn Harb reported to us; both said: Abu Muʿawiyah narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” When they say it, their lives and property are protected from me, except by a right that is due, and their reckoning is with Allah, Mighty and Sublime.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: Yaʿla ibn ʿUbayd informed us, from al-Aʿmash, from Abu Sufyan, from Jabir, and from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, who both said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” When they say it, their lives and property are protected from me, except by a right that is due, and their reckoning is with Allah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report is transmitted here on two companion routes, from Jabir and from Abu Hurayrah.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
al-Qasim ibn Zakariyya ibn Dinar reported to us; he said: ʿUbaydullah ibn Musa narrated to us; he said: Shayban narrated to us, from ʿAsim, from Ziyad ibn Qays, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘We fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” When they say, “There is no god but Allah,” their lives and property become inviolable to us, except by a right that is due, and their reckoning is with Allah.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mubarak reported to us; he said: al-Aswad ibn ʿAmir narrated to us; he said: Israʾil narrated to us, from Simak, from al-Nuʿman ibn Bashir, who said: We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when a man came and spoke privately to him. He said: ‘Kill him.’ Then he asked: ‘Does he testify that there is no god but Allah?’ The man replied: ‘Yes, but he only says it to protect himself.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘Do not kill him. I have only been commanded to fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.” When they say it, their lives and property are protected from me, except by a right that is due, and their reckoning is with Allah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report gives the command ‘Kill him’ before the question about his testimony, then explicitly says not to kill him; the sequence is retained as transmitted.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
[Ahmad ibn Sulayman reported to us.] ʿUbaydullah said: Israʾil narrated to us, from Simak, from al-Nuʿman ibn Salim, from a man who related to him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to us while we were in a tent in the mosque of Madinah. He said in this report: ‘It has been revealed to me that I should fight the people until they say, “There is no god but Allah.”’ The report is similar.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The transmitter in the chain is left unnamed; the bracketed opening narrator is supplied as a source-side variant.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ahmad ibn Sulayman reported to us; he said: al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Aʿyan narrated to us; he said: Zuhayr narrated to us; he said: Simak narrated to us, from al-Nuʿman ibn Salim, who said: I heard Aws say: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to us while we were in a tent. The narrator continued with the rest of the hadith.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Bashshar reported to us; he said: Muhammad narrated to us; he said: Shuʿbah narrated to us, from al-Nuʿman ibn Salim, who said: I heard Aws say: ‘I came with the delegation of Thaqif to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and was with him in a tent. Everyone in the tent fell asleep except him and me. A man came and spoke privately to him, and he said: “Go and kill him.” Then he asked: “Does he not testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah?” The man replied: “He does testify.” The Messenger of Allah said: “Leave him.” Then he said: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ When they say it, their lives and property are inviolable, except by a right that is due.”’ Muhammad said: I asked Shuʿbah, ‘Doesn’t the hadith include the words, “Does he not testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah”?’ He replied: ‘I think that wording is included, but I am not sure.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final exchange records Shuʿbah’s uncertainty about whether the testimony included both parts of the declaration.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Harun ibn ʿAbdullah informed me; he said: ʿAbdullah ibn Bakr narrated to us; he said: Hatim ibn Abi Saghirah narrated to us, from al-Nuʿman ibn Salim, that ʿAmr ibn Aws informed him that his father, Aws, said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah. Then their lives and property are inviolable, except by a right that is due.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported to us; he said: Safwan ibn ʿIsa narrated to us, from Thawr, from Abu ʿAwn, from Abu Idris, who said: I heard Muʿawiyah delivering a sermon—he narrated only a few hadiths from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He said: I heard him preach, saying: I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘Allah may forgive every sin except when a man deliberately kills a believer, or when a man dies as a disbeliever.’
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿAmr ibn ʿAli reported to us, from ʿAbd al-Rahman, who said: Sufyan narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from ʿAbdullah ibn Murrah, from Masruq, from ʿAbdullah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: ‘No person is killed unjustly without a share of responsibility for that blood falling upon the first son of Adam, because he was the first to establish the practice of killing.’