Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1011
حَدَّثَنَا مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلاَنَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَهْبُ بْنُ جَرِيرٍ، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى، إِمَامِ بَنِي تَيْمِ اللَّهِ عَنْ أَبِي مَاجِدٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الْمَشْىِ خَلْفَ الْجَنَازَةِ فَقَالَ " مَا دُونَ الْخَبَبِ فَإِنْ كَانَ خَيْرًا عَجَّلْتُمُوهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ شَرًّا فَلاَ يُبَعَّدُ إِلاَّ أَهْلُ النَّارِ الْجَنَازَةُ مَتْبُوعَةٌ وَلاَ تَتْبَعُ وَلَيْسَ مِنْهَا مَنْ تَقَدَّمَهَا " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ لاَ يُعْرَفُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ . قَالَ سَمِعْتُ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ إِسْمَاعِيلَ يُضَعِّفُ حَدِيثَ أَبِي مَاجِدٍ هَذَا . وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ قَالَ الْحُمَيْدِيُّ قَالَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ قِيلَ لِيَحْيَى مَنْ أَبُو مَاجِدٍ هَذَا قَالَ طَائِرٌ طَارَ فَحَدَّثَنَا . وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَغَيْرِهِمْ إِلَى هَذَا رَأَوْا أَنَّ الْمَشْىَ خَلْفَهَا أَفْضَلُ . وَبِهِ يَقُولُ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَإِسْحَاقُ . قَالَ إِنَّ أَبَا مَاجِدٍ رَجُلٌ مَجْهُولٌ لاَ يُعْرَفُ إِنَّمَا يُرْوَى عَنْهُ حَدِيثَانِ عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ . وَيَحْيَى إِمَامُ بَنِي تَيْمِ اللَّهِ ثِقَةٌ يُكْنَى أَبَا الْحَارِثِ وَيُقَالُ لَهُ يَحْيَى الْجَابِرُ وَيُقَالُ لَهُ يَحْيَى الْمُجْبِرُ أَيْضًا وَهُوَ كُوفِيٌّ رَوَى لَهُ شُعْبَةُ وَسُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَأَبُو الأَحْوَصِ وَسُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Mahmud ibn Ghaylan narrated to us: Wahb ibn Jarir narrated to us, from Shu'bah, from Yahya, the imam of Banu Taym Allah, from Abu Majid, from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who said: We asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about walking behind a funeral procession. He said: "At a pace slower than a trot. If the deceased was righteous, you are hastening him toward good; if he was otherwise, none is being removed except a person of the Fire. The funeral procession is followed; it does not follow, and whoever goes ahead of it is not of it." Abu Isa said: This hadith from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud is known only through this chain. He said: I heard Muhammad ibn Isma'il consider this hadith of Abu Majid weak. Muhammad said: Al-Humaydi said that Ibn 'Uyaynah said: Yahya was asked, "Who is this Abu Majid?" He replied, "A bird flew by, and he narrated to us." Some scholars among the Prophet's Companions and others held this view and considered walking behind the procession preferable. This was also the view of Sufyan al-Thawri and Ishaq. He said: Abu Majid is an unknown man; he is not known, and only two hadiths from Ibn Mas'ud are transmitted from him. Yahya, the imam of Banu Taym Allah, is trustworthy. He was known by the teknonym Abu al-Harith, and is also called Yahya al-Jabir and Yahya al-Mujbir. He was from Kufa; Shu'bah, Sufyan al-Thawri, Abu al-Ahwas, and Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah transmitted from him.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
قَالَ سَأَلْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الْمَشْىِ خَلْفَ الْجَنَازَةِ فَقَالَ " مَا دُونَ الْخَبَبِ فَإِنْ كَانَ خَيْرًا عَجَّلْتُمُوهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ شَرًّا فَلاَ يُبَعَّدُ إِلاَّ أَهْلُ النَّارِ الْجَنَازَةُ مَتْبُوعَةٌ وَلاَ تَتْبَعُ وَلَيْسَ مِنْهَا مَنْ تَقَدَّمَهَا " .
The Arabic uses a compact proverbial formulation whose referent and force are not fully explicit.
Does the literal rendering preserve the intended contrast about walking ahead of or behind the funeral procession?
وَقَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ قَالَ الْحُمَيْدِيُّ قَالَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ قِيلَ لِيَحْيَى مَنْ أَبُو مَاجِدٍ هَذَا قَالَ طَائِرٌ طَارَ فَحَدَّثَنَا .
The remark about Abu Majid is terse and may be a dismissive comment about the narrator's unknown identity.
Should this be kept literally or treated as an idiom, given that the source supplies no further explanation?