Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3376
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ لَهِيعَةَ، عَنْ دَرَّاجٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الْهَيْثَمِ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم سُئِلَ أَىُّ الْعِبَادِ أَفْضَلُ دَرَجَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ قَالَ " الذَّاكِرُونَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتُ " . قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمِنَ الْغَازِي فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَالَ " لَوْ ضَرَبَ بِسَيْفِهِ فِي الْكُفَّارِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ حَتَّى يَنْكَسِرَ وَيَخْتَضِبَ دَمًا لَكَانَ الذَّاكِرُونَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا أَفْضَلَ مِنْهُ دَرَجَةً " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ إِنَّمَا نَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ دَرَّاجٍ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutaybah narrated to us: Ibn Lahi‘ah narrated to us, from Darraj, from Abu al-Haytham, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, that the Messenger of Allah was asked, ‘Which servants will have the highest rank with Allah on the Day of Resurrection?’ He said: ‘The men and women who remember Allah often.’ I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, even compared with a fighter in Allah’s cause?’ He said, ‘Even if he were to strike the disbelievers and polytheists with his sword until it broke and was stained with blood, those who remember Allah often would still have a higher rank than he.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This hadith is gharib; we know it only through the narration of Darraj.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The report explicitly includes both men and women among those who remember Allah frequently. Its comparison with the fighter is framed as a hypothetical, even to the point of the sword breaking and being stained with blood.