Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2869
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الأَبَحُّ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ الْبُنَانِيِّ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَثَلُ أُمَّتِي مَثَلُ الْمَطَرِ لاَ يُدْرَى أَوَّلُهُ خَيْرٌ أَمْ آخِرُهُ " . قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ عَمَّارٍ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو وَابْنِ عُمَرَ وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ . وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ مَهْدِيٍّ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُثَبِّتُ حَمَّادَ بْنَ يَحْيَى الأَبَحَّ وَكَانَ يَقُولُ هُوَ مِنْ شُيُوخِنَا .
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.