Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Chapters on Parables
كتاب الأمثال عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
Chapter 76
مَا جَاءَ فِي مَثَلِ اللَّهِ لِعِبَادِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Nawwas ibn Sam‘an al-Kilabi reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Allah has set forth the example of a straight path, with two walls along its sides. The walls have open doors, each covered by a curtain. A caller summons at the head of the path, and another caller summons from above it. “Allah invites to the Abode of Peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path” (Qur’an 10:25). The doors along the sides of the path are Allah’s limits. No one falls into Allah’s limits until the curtain is lifted. The caller above the path is an admonisher from his Lord.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib. He then quoted ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman reporting that Zakariyya ibn ‘Adi heard Abu Ishaq al-Fazari say: ‘Take from Baqiyyah what he narrates from reliable authorities; do not take from Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash what he narrates from either reliable or unreliable authorities.’ The Arabic says the caller above is wa‘iz rabbihi (an admonisher from his Lord), whereas the English witness renders it ‘his Lord.’ The metaphor’s curtain signals the barrier before violating the limits.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sa‘id ibn Abi Hilal reported from Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah came out to them one day and said, ‘I saw in a dream that Jibril was by my head and Mika’il by my feet. One said to the other, “Give him an example.” He said, “Listen, may your ears hear, and understand, may your heart grasp: Your example and that of your community is like a king who took a residence, built a house there, set out a banquet, and sent a messenger to invite people to his meal. Some answered the messenger and others refused. Allah is the King, the residence is Islam, the house is Paradise, and you, Muhammad, are the Messenger. Whoever answers you enters Islam, whoever enters Islam enters Paradise, and whoever enters Paradise will eat what is in it.”’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic explicitly places Jibril by the Prophet’s head and Mika’il by his feet; the English witness omits Mika’il. It says the king took a residence (ittakhadha daran), not that he conquered a land as the English witness states. The report is mursal: Sa‘id ibn Abi Hilal did not meet Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah. Abu ‘Isa says versions through other routes have sounder chains, and cites a report from Ibn Mas‘ud on this topic.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud reported: The Messenger of Allah prayed the night prayer, then took me by the hand and led me out to the open plain of Makkah. He sat me down, drew a line around me, and said, ‘Stay within your line. Men will come to you. Do not speak to them, for they will not speak to you.’ The Messenger of Allah went on his way. As I sat inside my line, men came to me who looked like al-Zutt, with their hair and bodies [strange in appearance]. I could see neither nakedness nor covering. They came up to me but did not cross the line, then went back toward the Messenger of Allah. Near the end of the night, the Messenger of Allah came to me while I was sitting and said, ‘I have been shown them throughout this night.’ He entered the line, rested his head on my thigh, and slept. When the Messenger of Allah slept, he breathed audibly. As I sat with him asleep on my thigh, men in white garments appeared; Allah knows best how beautiful they were. They came to me, and some sat by the Messenger of Allah’s head and others by his feet. They said to one another, ‘We have never seen a servant given what this Prophet has been given: his eyes sleep, but his heart remains awake. Set forth an example for him: a chief builds a palace, sets out a banquet, and invites people to his food and drink. Whoever accepts the invitation eats and drinks; whoever refuses is punished—or, he said, tormented.’ Then they rose up, and the Messenger of Allah awoke. He said, ‘Did you hear what they said? Do you know who they were?’ I replied, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘They were the angels. Do you know the meaning of the example they gave?’ I replied, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘The example they gave is this: the Most Merciful, Blessed and Exalted, built Paradise and invited His servants to it. Whoever accepts His invitation enters Paradise; whoever refuses is punished or tormented.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih gharib through this route. He identifies Abu Tamimah al-Hujaymi as Tarif ibn Mujalid, and Abu ‘Uthman al-Nahdi as ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mill. Mu‘tamir transmitted this hadith from Sulayman al-Taymi, whose name was Sulayman ibn Tarhan; he was not from the Taym tribe but lived among Banu Taym and was attributed to them. ‘Ali quoted Yahya ibn Sa‘id: ‘I have never seen anyone more in awe of Allah than Sulayman al-Taymi.’ The mysterious first visitors are compared in the Arabic to al-Zutt; the English witness explains this as a dark people, either from North Africa or India.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah reported that the Prophet said, ‘My example and that of the prophets before me is like a man who built a house, completing and beautifying it except for the place of one brick. People entered and admired it, saying, “If only that one brick were in its place!”’ Reports from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b and Abu Hurayrah are also cited on this topic. Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih gharib through this route.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The parable’s missing brick represents the final place in the prophetic succession, completed by Muhammad.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Harith al-Ash‘ari reported that the Prophet said: ‘Allah commanded Yahya ibn Zakariyya to practice five teachings and instruct the Children of Israel to practice them. Yahya was slow to convey them, so ‘Isa said, “Allah commanded you to practice five teachings and tell the Children of Israel to practice them. Either instruct them, or I will.” Yahya said, “I fear that if you precede me, I will be swallowed by the earth or punished.” So Yahya gathered the people in Jerusalem. The mosque filled, and they sat on its balconies. He said, “Allah commanded me to practice five teachings and tell you to practice them. First: worship Allah and associate nothing with Him. The example of one who associates others with Allah is like a man who bought a servant with his own pure wealth, gold or silver, and said, ‘This is my home and this is my work; work and give your earnings to me.’ But the servant worked and paid someone other than his master. Which of you would be pleased for his servant to do that? Allah commanded you to pray: when you pray, do not turn away, for Allah turns toward the face of His servant in prayer as long as he does not turn away. He commanded you to fast: fasting is like a man among a group carrying a pouch of musk, whose fragrance delights them all; the breath of the fasting person is more fragrant before Allah than musk. He commanded you to give charity: this is like a man captured by the enemy, whose hands are bound to his neck and who is brought forward to be executed. He says, ‘I ransom myself from you for little or much,’ and thus frees himself. He commanded you to remember Allah: this is like a man whom enemies pursue swiftly until he reaches a strong fortress and protects himself from them. So a servant cannot protect himself from Satan except through remembrance of Allah.”’ The Prophet then said, ‘I command you with five things Allah commanded me: listening, obedience, jihad, migration, and the community. Whoever separates from the community by even a handspan has cast off Islam’s bond from his neck, unless he returns. Whoever makes a call to the ways of the pre-Islamic age is among the fuel heaps of Hell.’ A man asked, ‘Even if he prays and fasts?’ He replied, ‘Even if he prays and fasts. So call yourselves by the call Allah gave you: Muslims, believers, servants of Allah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih gharib. Muhammad ibn Isma‘il said al-Harith al-Ash‘ari was a Companion and narrated other hadiths. Key Arabic imagery is preserved: Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis); Allah turning toward the worshipper during prayer; and the one who invokes pre-Islamic tribal identity among the heaps or fuel of Hell (juthā Jahannam). The final five teachings are listening, obedience, jihad, hijrah (migration), and communal unity. The hadith first describes five teachings given to Yahya, then separately the five the Prophet says Allah commanded him.
Chapter 78
مَا جَاءَ فِي مَثَلِ الصَّلاَةِ وَالصِّيَامِ وَالصَّدَقَةِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi transmitted the same report with a similar meaning through another chain: Aban ibn Yazid, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, from Zayd ibn Salam, from Abu Salam, from al-Harith al-Ash‘ari, from the Prophet. Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih gharib. He noted that Abu Salam al-Habashi’s name was Mamṭur, and that ‘Ali ibn al-Mubarak also transmitted it from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic provides the alternate chain and narrator identification, which are omitted from the English witness’s brief note ‘another chain with similar meaning.’
Chapter 79
مَا جَاءَ فِي مَثَلِ الْمُؤْمِنِ الْقَارِئِ لِلْقُرْآنِ وَغَيْرِ الْقَارِئِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The believer who recites the Qur’an is like a citron: its fragrance is pleasant and its taste is pleasant. The believer who does not recite the Qur’an is like a date: it has no fragrance, but its taste is sweet. The hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is like sweet basil: its fragrance is pleasant, but its taste is bitter. The hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an is like a colocynth: its fragrance is bitter and its taste is bitter.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih. Shu‘bah also transmitted it from Qatadah. The English witness says the colocynth’s smell is ‘better’; the Arabic says it is bitter (murr), matching the bitter taste. The plants are citron (utrujjah), date (tamr), fragrant basil (rayhanah), and colocynth/bitter gourd (hanzalah).
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘The believer is like a plant, continually bent by the winds; likewise, the believer continually faces trials. The hypocrite is like a cedar tree: it does not sway until it is cut down.’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic verb tufī’uhu suggests the winds repeatedly bend or sway the plant. The cedar’s stillness contrasts with the believer’s responsiveness under trials.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Among the trees there is one that does not shed its leaves; it is like the believer. Tell me, what is it?’ People began naming the trees of the wilderness, while it occurred to me that it was the date palm. The Prophet said, ‘It is the date palm.’ I felt too shy to answer. ‘Abd Allah said, ‘I told ‘Umar what had occurred to me, and he said, “I would have been happier if you had said it than to have such-and-such.”’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih; a report from Abu Hurayrah is also cited on this topic.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says ‘its leaves’ (waraquha), though the English witness has the typo ‘foilage.’ The closing ‘such-and-such’ (kadha wa-kadha) is deliberately unspecified in the source. ‘Abd Allah here is Ibn ‘Umar, recounting his own answer and his father’s reaction.
Chapter 80
مَثَلُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘If there were a river at one of your doors and you bathed in it five times each day, would any grime remain on you?’ They replied, ‘No grime would remain.’ He said, ‘That is the example of the five prayers: through them Allah wipes away sins.’ A report from Jabir is also cited on this topic. Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses daran, dirt or grime, as the analogy for sins.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutaybah also transmitted a similar version through another chain: Bakr ibn Mudar al-Qurashi, from Ibn al-Had.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic identifies the transmitters in this alternate route; the English witness only says another chain reports a similar narration.
Chapter 81
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘My community is like rain: it is not known whether its beginning or its end is better.’ Reports from ‘Ammar, ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr, and Ibn ‘Umar are also cited on this topic. Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib through this route. It is reported that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi regarded Hammad ibn Yahya al-Abahh as reliable and said that he was one of their teachers.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic presents the rain comparison as a question of which part is better (awwaluhu am akhiruhu). The note on Hammad ibn Yahya al-Abahh is an assessment attributed to ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi.
Chapter 82
مَا جَاءَ فِي مَثَلِ ابْنِ آدَمَ وَأَجَلِهِ وَأَمَلِهِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abd Allah ibn Buraydah reported from his father that the Prophet said, ‘Do you know what these two are?’ and threw two pebbles. They replied, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘That one is hope, and that one is death.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan gharib through this route. The English witness specifies which pebble was farther and which closer; the Arabic source simply says ‘this one’ for each, without identifying their positions.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Your appointed term, compared with the terms of the earlier communities, is like the time between the ‘Asr prayer and sunset. Your example, compared with that of the Jews and Christians, is like a man who hired workers and said, “Who will work for me until midday for one qirat each?” The Jews worked for one qirat each. Then he said, “Who will work for me from midday until the ‘Asr prayer for one qirat each?” The Christians worked for one qirat each. Then you worked from the ‘Asr prayer until sunset for two qirats each. The Jews and Christians grew angry and said, “We did more work but received less pay!” He asked, “Have I withheld any of your due?” They replied, “No.” He said, “This is My bounty, which I grant to whomever I will.”’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The parable states the shorter final work period receives double pay as divine bounty; the Jews and Christians acknowledge that none of their due was withheld.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘People are like a hundred camels among which a man can hardly find one suitable for riding.’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The image conveys how rare a truly suitable, dependable person is, just as a suitable riding camel is rare in a large herd.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sa‘id ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Makhzumi transmitted from Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah, from al-Zuhri, with the same chain and a similar wording: ‘You will not find among them a suitable riding camel’—or he said, ‘You will find only one suitable riding camel.’ The report is from Salim, from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Messenger of Allah.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic explicitly preserves two possible wordings: ‘you will not find a riding camel’ or ‘you will find only one.’ The English witness contains an introductory fragment that reads ‘You can find a mount among them,’ but its quoted variants align with the Arabic’s negative or restrictive sense.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘My example and that of my community is like a man who lit a fire, then flies and moths began falling into it. I am holding you by your waistbands while you rush into it.’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan sahih; it has also been transmitted through other routes.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic image is of the Prophet grasping the community by their waistbands (hujaz) to restrain them, while they plunge into the fire. The English witness describes him as trying to prevent them, which captures the sense.