Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2028
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَجُلَيْنِ، قَدِمَا فِي زَمَانِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَخَطَبَا فَعَجِبَ النَّاسُ مِنْ كَلاَمِهِمَا فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ سِحْرًا " أَوْ " إِنَّ بَعْضَ الْبَيَانِ سِحْرٌ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ عَمَّارٍ وَابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الشِّخِّيرِ . وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutaybah narrated to us: ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Muhammad narrated to us, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from Ibn ‘Umar, that two men arrived during the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and delivered speeches that amazed the people. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned toward us and said: “Indeed, some eloquence is magic”—or, “Indeed, a certain kind of eloquence is magic.” Abu ‘Isa said: Reports on this topic are also related from ‘Ammar, Ibn Mas‘ud, and ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Shikhkhir. This hadith is hasan sahih.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives two alternative wordings, one with “among eloquence” and one explicitly “some eloquence.” It does not explain the comparison to magic further.
قَدِمَا فِي زَمَانِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَخَطَبَا فَعَجِبَ النَّاسُ مِنْ كَلاَمِهِمَا فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ سِحْرًا " أَوْ " إِنَّ بَعْضَ الْبَيَانِ سِحْرٌ " .
The report offers two variants and compares eloquence to magic; the passage itself does not explain the comparison’s intended force.
Does the translation retain both variants without resolving the comparison as either praise or condemnation?