Sunan an-Nasa'i
Sunan an-Nasa'i 2493
أَخْبَرَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي صَالِحُ بْنُ أَبِي عَرِيبٍ، عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ مُرَّةَ الْحَضْرَمِيِّ، عَنْ عَوْفِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ خَرَجَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَبِيَدِهِ عَصًا وَقَدْ عَلَّقَ رَجُلٌ قِنْوَ حَشَفٍ فَجَعَلَ يَطْعَنُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْقِنْوِ فَقَالَ " لَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّ هَذِهِ الصَّدَقَةِ تَصَدَّقَ بِأَطْيَبَ مِنْ هَذَا إِنَّ رَبَّ هَذِهِ الصَّدَقَةِ يَأْكُلُ حَشَفًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ " .
Yaqoub ibn Ibrahim reported: Yahya informed us, from Abd al-Hamid ibn Jafar, who said: Salih ibn Abi Arib narrated to me, from Kathir ibn Murrah al-Hadrami, from Awf ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out with a stick in his hand. A man had hung up a bunch of dried, inferior dates, and he began poking that bunch with the stick. He said: If the one responsible for this charity wished, he could give something better than this. The one responsible for this charity will be eating inferior dates on the Day of Resurrection.
Translation notes
The source describes the bunch as a cluster of hashaf, inferior dried dates. The final sentence is retained as a warning about the quality of what is given.