Sunan an-Nasa'i

Sunan an-Nasa'i 1595

Arabic hadith text

أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ خَشْرَمٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَوْزَاعِيُّ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَسْتُرُنِي بِرِدَائِهِ وَأَنَا أَنْظُرُ إِلَى الْحَبَشَةِ يَلْعَبُونَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَنَا أَسْأَمُ فَاقْدُرُوا قَدْرَ الْجَارِيَةِ الْحَدِيثَةِ السِّنِّ الْحَرِيصَةِ عَلَى اللَّهْوِ ‏.‏

Translation

‘Ali ibn Khashram narrated to us; he said: al-Walid narrated to us; he said: al-Awza‘i narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) screen me with his cloak while I watched the Ethiopians playing in the mosque, until I became tired. So take into account the eagerness for play of a young girl who is still of tender age.

Translation notes
  • The closing sentence asks the listener to appreciate a young girl’s natural enthusiasm for play; it is rendered idiomatically.