Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2714
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ عَنْبَسَةَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زَاذَانَ، عَنْ أُمِّ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ دَخَلْتُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ كَاتِبٌ فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ " ضَعِ الْقَلَمَ عَلَى أُذُنِكَ فَإِنَّهُ أَذْكَرُ لِلْمُمْلِي " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ وَهُوَ إِسْنَادٌ ضَعِيفٌ . وَعَنْبَسَةُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ زَاذَانَ يُضَعَّفَانِ فِي الْحَدِيثِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Zayd ibn Thabit reported: I entered upon Allah’s Messenger while a scribe was sitting before him, and I heard him say: ‘Place the pen behind your ear, for that helps the one dictating remember.’
Abu ‘Isa said: This is a gharib hadith; we know it only through this route, and its chain is weak. ‘Anbasah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman and Muhammad ibn Zadhan are both considered weak in hadith.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The instruction is directed to the scribe; the stated benefit is helping the person dictating remember. The source grades the chain weak.