Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2876
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْخَلاَّلُ الْحُلْوَانِيُّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، مَوْلَى أَبِي أَحْمَدَ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْثًا وَهُمْ ذُو عَدَدٍ فَاسْتَقْرَأَهُمْ فَاسْتَقْرَأَ كُلَّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ مَا مَعَهُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ فَأَتَى عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ مِنْ أَحْدَثِهِمْ سِنًّا فَقَالَ " مَا مَعَكَ يَا فُلاَنُ " . قَالَ مَعِي كَذَا وَكَذَا وَسُورَةُ الْبَقَرَةِ . قَالَ " أَمَعَكَ سُورَةُ الْبَقَرَةِ " . فَقَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ " فَاذْهَبْ فَأَنْتَ أَمِيرُهُمْ " . فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَشْرَافِهِمْ وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا مَنَعَنِي أَنْ أَتَعَلَّمَ سُورَةَ الْبَقَرَةِ إِلاَّ خَشْيَةَ أَلاَّ أَقُومَ بِهَا . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " تَعَلَّمُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَاقْرَءُوهُ وَأَقْرِئُوهُ فَإِنَّ مَثَلَ الْقُرْآنِ لِمَنْ تَعَلَّمَهُ فَقَرَأَهُ وَقَامَ بِهِ كَمَثَلِ جِرَابٍ مَحْشُوٍّ مِسْكًا يَفُوحُ بِرِيحِهِ كُلُّ مَكَانٍ وَمَثَلُ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَهُ فَيَرْقُدُ وَهُوَ فِي جَوْفِهِ كَمَثَلِ جِرَابٍ وُكِئَ عَلَى مِسْكٍ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ . وَقَدْ رَوَاهُ اللَّيْثُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ عَنْ سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، مَوْلَى أَبِي أَحْمَدَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مُرْسَلاً وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ فِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ . حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ عَنِ اللَّيْثِ فَذَكَرَهُ .
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 sent out a sizable expedition and asked each man how much of the Qur’an he knew. When he came to one of the youngest, he asked, ‘What do you know, so-and-so?’ He replied, ‘Such-and-such, and Surah al-Baqarah.’ The Prophet asked, ‘You know Surah al-Baqarah?’ He said yes. The Prophet said, ‘Go; you are their commander.’ One of their leading men said, ‘By Allah, Messenger of Allah, I only refrained from learning Surah al-Baqarah because I feared I would not be able to stand in prayer with it.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Learn the Qur’an, recite it, and stand in prayer with it. The example of the Qur’an for one who learns it, recites it, and stands in prayer with it is that of a bag filled with musk, whose fragrance spreads everywhere. The example of one who learns it and then sleeps while it remains within him is that of a bag tied shut over musk.’ Abu ‘Isa graded this hadith hasan.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic says the Messenger asked the men to recite what they knew, and the young man became their commander because he knew Surah al-Baqarah. The Arabic ‘qama bihi’ means standing in prayer with the Qur’an. The English witness clarifies this as voluntary night prayer. Abu ‘Isa notes that al-Layth ibn Sa‘d transmitted the report from Sa‘id al-Maqburi, from ‘Ata’, from the client of Abu Ahmad, from the Prophet as a mursal report, omitting Abu Hurayrah. Qutaybah related that version from al-Layth.