| Grade: | Sahih (Darussalam) [Bukhari 1448] (Darussalam) |
| Reference | : Musnad Ahmad 72 |
| In-book reference | : Book 1, Hadith 68 |
It was narrated that Ibn Ya’mar said: I asked Ibn `Umar-or a man asked him: We travel in this land and we meet people who say, There is no qadar (divine decree), Ibn `Umar said: If you meet those people, tell them that ‘Abdullah bin `Umar has nothing to do with them and they have nothing to do with him - he said it three times. Then he told us. Whilst we were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), a man came and said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), may I draw closer? He said: `Come closer.` So he came a little closer, then he said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), may I come closer? He said: `Come closer.” So he came a little closer, then he said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), may I come closer? He said: `Come closer.” So he came a little closer until his knees were almost touching the knees of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) . Then he said: O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), what is faith? - and he mentioned a similar report.
| Grade: | Sahih (Darussalam), Muslim (8)] Sahih (Darussalam) [ like the previous report] (Darussalam) |
| Reference | : Musnad Ahmad 374, 375 |
| In-book reference | : Book 2, Hadith 276 |
Malik said, "The best of what is said about a man who buys the mukatab of a man is that if the man wrote the slave's kitaba for dinars or dirhams, he does not sell him unless it is for merchandise which is paid immediately and not deferred, because if it is deferred, it would be a debt for a debt. A debt for a debt is forbidden."
He said, "If the master gives a mukatab his kitaba for certain merchandise of camels, cattle, sheep, or slaves, it is more correct that the buyer buy him for gold, silver, or different goods than the ones his master wrote the kitaba for, and that must be paid immediately, not deferred."
Malik said, "The best of what I have heard about a mukatab when he is sold is that he is more entitled to buy his kitaba than the one who buys him if he can pay his master the price for which he was sold in cash. That is because his buying himself is his freedom, and freedom has priority over what bequests accompany it. If one of those who have written the kitaba for the mukatab sells his portion of him, so that a half, a third, a fourth, or whatever share of the mukatab is sold, the mukatab does not have the right of pre-emption in what is sold of him. That is because it is like the severance of a partner, and a partner can only make a settlement for a partner of the one who is mukatab with the permission of his partners because what is sold of him does not give him complete rights as a free man and his property is barred from him, and by buying part of himself, it is feared that he will become incapable of completing payment because of what he had to spend. That is not like the mukatab buying himself completely unless whoever has some of the kitaba remaining due to him gives him permission. If they give him permission, he is more entitled to what is sold of him."
Malik said, "Selling one of the instalments of a mukatab is not halal. That is because it Is an uncertain transaction. If the mukatab cannot pay it, what he owes is nullified. If he dies or goes bankrupt and he owes debts to people, then the person who bought his instalment does not take any of his portion with the creditors. The person who buys one of the instalments of the mukatab is in the position of the master of the mukatab. The master of the mukatab does not have a share with the creditors of the mukatab for what he is owed of the kitaba of his slave. It is also like that with the kharaj, (a set amount deducted daily from the slave against his earnings), which accumulates for a master from the earnings of his slave. The creditors of his slave do not allow him a share for what has accumulated for him from those deductions."
Malik said, "There is no harm in a mukatab paying off his kitaba with coin or merchandise other than the merchandise for which he wrote his kitaba if it is identical with it, on time (for the instalment) or delayed. "
Malik said that if a mukatab died and left an umm walad and small children by her or by someone else and they could not work and it was feared that they would be unable to fulfil their kitaba, the umm walad of the father was sold if her price would pay all the kitaba for them, whether or not she was their mother. They were paid for and set free because their father did not forbid her sale if he feared that he would be unable to complete his kitaba. If her price would not pay for them and neither she nor they could work, they all reverted to being slaves of the master.
Malik said, "What is done among us in the case of a person who buys the kitaba of a mukatab, and then the mukatab dies before he has paid his kitaba, is that the person who bought the kitaba inherits from him. If, rather than dying, the mukatab cannot pay, the buyer has his person. If the mukatab pays his kitaba to the person who bought him and he is freed, his wala' goes to the person who wrote the kitaba and the person who bought his kitaba does not have any of it."
| USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Book 39, Hadith 7 |
| Reference | : Hisn al-Muslim 107 |
| صَحِيح (الألباني) | حكم : |
| Reference | : Mishkat al-Masabih 2555 |
| In-book reference | : Book 10, Hadith 49 |
| Reference | : Mishkat al-Masabih 5482 |
| In-book reference | : Book 27, Hadith 103 |
When 'Amr bin 'Abasah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated this Hadith to Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) a Companion of the Prophet (PBUH), the latter said to him, "Watch what you are saying. O 'Amr bin 'Abasah, a man will be getting all of this in one shot?" 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with him) replied, "O Abu Umamah, I have attained old age, my bones have become dry, my death is approaching and there is no need for me to tell lies concerning Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). Had I not heard this from the Messenger of Allah only once, twice, thrice (and he counted up to seven) I would never have reported it. Indeed I have heard this frequently".
[Muslim].
| Reference | : Riyad as-Salihin 438 |
| In-book reference | : Introduction, Hadith 438 |
According to another narration: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "That is the best fasting." I said, "But I am capable of doing more than this". Thereupon, Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "There is nothing better than this." 'Abdullah bin 'Amr (May Allah be pleased with them) said (when he grew old): "Had I accepted the three days (fasting during every month) as the Messenger of Allah had said, it would have been dearer to me than my family and my property".
In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to me, "O 'Abdullah! Have I not been informed that you observe fast during the day and offer prayer all the night." I replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Don't do that. Observe fast for few days and then leave off for few days, perform prayers and also sleep at night, as your body has a right upon you, and your eyes have a right upon you; and your wife has a right upon you; your visitors have a right upon you. It is sufficient for you to observe fast three days in a month, as the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times, so it will be like fasting the whole year." I insisted (on fasting) and so I was given a hard instruction. I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have strength." Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Observe fast like the fasting of Prophet Dawud (PBUH); and do not fast more than that." I said: "How was the fasting of Prophet Dawud?" He (PBUH) said, "Half of the year (i.e., he used to fast on every alternate day)."
Afterwards when 'Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) grew old, he used to say: "Would that I had availed myself of the concession granted to me by Messenger of Allah."
In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "I have been informed that you observe fast continuously and recite (the whole of the Qur'an) every night." I said, "Messenger of Allah! It is right, but I covet thereby nothing but good," whereupon he (PBUH) said, "Then observe fasts like the fasting of Prophet Dawud (PBUH) as he was the most ardent worshipper of Allah; recite the Qur'an once every month." I said, "O Prophet of Allah! I am capable of doing more than that." He said, "Then recite it (the complete Qur'an) in every twenty days." I said, "O Prophet of Allah I am capable of reciting more than that." He said, "Then recite it once in every ten days." I said, "O Prophet of Allah! I am capable of reciting more than that." He said, "Then recite it once in every seven days, but not recite more than that." The Prophet of Allah also said to me, "You do not know, you may have a longer life". When I grew old I wished I had availed myself of the concession (granted to me by) the Prophet of Allah.
In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The best fasting with Allah is that of (Prophet) Dawud, and the best prayer with Allah is that of Dawud (PBUH) for he would sleep half of the night and stand for prayer for the third of it and (then) would sleep sixth part of it; he observed fast one day and leave off the other. He would not flee on meeting the enemy".
In another narration 'Abdullah is reported to have said: My father helped me marry a noble woman and he used to inquire of his daughter-in-law regarding her husband. She would say: "He is, indeed, a fine man. Since I have come to him, he has neither stepped on my bed nor he has had sexual intercourse with me". When this state of affairs lasted for some time, my father mentioned the matter to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) who directed my father saying, "Send him to me". I went to him accordingly. He asked me, "How often do you observe fast?" I replied; "Daily". He asked me, "How long do you take in reading the Noble Qur'an completely." I said, "Once every night". Then he narrated the whole story. He (in his old age) would recite one seventh of his nightly recitation to some members of his family during the day to lighten his task at night. Whenever he wished to have a relief from his fast on alternate days, he would give up fasting for a few days and make up deficiency later by observing the number of fasts he had missed. He would not give up the number of fasts altogether because he did not like to abandon what he had settled with Messenger of Allah (PBUH).
| Reference | : Riyad as-Salihin 150 |
| In-book reference | : Introduction, Hadith 150 |
Yahya related to me from Malik from Humayd ibn Qays al-Makki from Tawus al Yamani that from thirty cows, Muadh ibn Jabal took one cow in its second year, and from forty cows, one cow in its third or fourth year, and when less than that (i.e. thirty cows) was brought to him he refused to take anything from it. He said, "I have not heard anything about it from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. When I meet him, I will ask him." But the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died before Muadh ibn Jabal returned.
Yahya said that Malik said, "The best that I have heard about some one who has sheep or goats with two or more shepherds in different places is that they are added together and the owner then pays the zakat on them. This is the same situation as a man who has gold and silver scattered in the hands of various people. He must add it all u p and pay whatever zakat there is to pay on the sum total."
Yahya said that Malik said, about a man who had both sheep and goats, that they were added up together for the zakat to be assessed, and if between them they came to a number on which zakat was due, he paid zakat on them. Malik added, "They are all considered as sheep, and in Umar ibn al-Khattab's book it says, 'On grazing sheep and goats, if they come to forty or more, one ewe.' "
Malik said, "If there are more sheep than goats and their owner only has to pay one ewe, the zakat collector takes the ewe from the sheep. If there are more goats than sheep, he takes it from the goats. If there is an equal number of sheep and goats, he takes the ewe from whichever kind he wishes."
Yahya said that Malik said, "Similarly, Arabian camels and Bactrian camels are added up together in order to assess the zakat that the owner has to pay. They are all considered as camels. If there are more Arabian camels than Bactrians and the owner only has to pay one camel, the zakat collector takes it from the Arabian ones. If, however, there are more Bactrian camels he takes it from those. If there is an equal number of both, he takes the camel from whichever kind he wishes."
Malik said, "Similarly, cows and water buffaloes are added up together and are all considered as cattle. If there are more cows than water buffalo and the owner only has to pay one cow, the zakat collector takes it from the cows. If there are more water buffalo, he takes it from them. If there is an equal number of both, he takes the cow from whichever kind he wishes. So if zakat is necessary, it is assessed taking both kinds as one group."
Yahya said that Malik said, "No zakat is due from anyone who comes into possession of livestock, whether camels or cattle or sheep and goats, until a year has elapsed over them from the day he acquired them, unless he already had in his possession a nisab of livestock. (The nisab is the minimum amount on which zakat has to be paid, either five head of camels, or thirty cattle, or forty sheep and goats). If he already had five head of camels, or thirty cattle, or forty sheep and goats, and he then acquired additional camels, or cattle, or sheep and goats, either by trade, or gift, or inheritance, he must pay zakat on them when he pays the zakat on the livestock he already has, even if a year has not elapsed over the acquisition. And even if the additional livestock that he acquired has had zakat taken from it the day before he bought it, or the day before he inherited it, he must still pay the zakat on it when he pays the zakat on the livestock he already has "
Yahya said that Malik said, "This is the same situation as some one who has some silver on which he pays the zakat and then uses to buy some goods with from somebody else. He then has to pay zakat on those goods when he sells them. It could be that one man will have to pay zakat on them one day, and by the following day the other man will also have to pay."
Malik said, in the case of a man who had sheep and goats which did not reach the zakatable amount, and who then bought or inherited an additional number of sheep and goats well above the zakatable amount, that he did not have to pay zakat on all his sheep and goats until a year had elapsed over them from the day he acquired the new animals, whether he bought them or inherited them.This was because none of the livestock that a man had, whether it be camels, or cattle, or sheep and goats, was counted as a nisab until there was enough of any one kind for him to have to pay zakat on it. This was the nisab which is used for assessing the zakat on what the owner had additionally acquired, whether it were a large or small amount of livestock.
Malik said, "If a man has enough camels, or cattle, or sheep and goats, for him to have to pay zakat on each kind, and then he acquires another camel, or cow, or sheep, or goat, it must be included with the rest of his animals when he pays zakat on them "
Yahya said that Malik said, "This is what I like most out of what I heard about the matter."
Malik said, in the case of a man who does not have the animal required of him for the zakat, "If it is a two-year-old she-camel that he does not have, a three-year-old male camel is taken instead. If it is a three- or four- or five-year-old she-camel that he does not have, then he must buy the required animal so that he gives the collector what is due. I do not like it if the owner gives the collector the equivalent value."
Malik said, about camels used for carrying water, and cattle used for working water-wheels or ploughing, "In my opinion such animals are included when assessing zakat."
| USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Book 17, Hadith 24 |
| Arabic reference | : Book 17, Hadith 603 |
Malik said, "There is no harm in buying dates from specified trees or a specified orchard or buying milk from specified sheep when the buyer starts to take them as soon as he has payed the price. That is like buying oil from a container. A man buys some of it for a dinar or two and gives his gold and stipulates that it be measured out for him. There is no harm in that. If the container breaks and the oil is wasted, the buyer has his gold back and there is no transaction between them."
Malik said, "There is no harm in everything which is taken right away as it is, like fresh milk and fresh picked dates which the buyer can take on a day-to-day basis. If the supply runs out before the buyer has what he has paid for in full, the seller gives him back the portion of the gold that is owed to him, or else the buyer takes other goods from him to the value of what he is owed and which they mutually agree about. The buyer should stay with the seller until he has taken it. It is disapproved of for the seller to leave because the transaction would then come into the forbidden category of a debt for a debt. If a stated time period for payment or delivery enters into the transaction, it is also disapproved. Delay and deferment are not permitted in it, and are only acceptable when it is standard practice on definite terms by which the seller guarantees it to the buyer, but this is not to be from one specific orchard or from any specific ewes."
Malik was asked about a man who bought an orchard from another man in which there were various types of palm-trees - excellent ajwa palms, good kabis palms, adhq palms and othertypes. The seller kept aside from the sale the produce of a certain palm of his choice. Malik said, "That is not good because if he does that, and keeps aside, for instance, dates of the ajwa variety whose yield would be 15 sa, and he picks the dates of the kabis in their place, and the yield of their dates is 10 sa or he picks the ajwa which yield 15 sa and leaves the kabis which yield 10 sa, it is as if he bought the ajwa for the kabis making allowances for their difference of quality. This is the same as if a man dealing with a man who has heaps of dates before him - a heap of 15 sa of ajwa, a heap of 10 sa of kabis, and a heap of 12 sa of cadhq, gives the owner of the dates a dinar to let him choose and take whichever of the heaps he likes." Malik said, "That is not good."
Malik was asked what a man who bought fresh dates from the owner of an orchard and advanced him a dinar was entitled to if the crop was spoilt. Malik said, "The buyer makes a reckoning with the owner of the orchard and takes what is due to him of the dinar. If the buyer has taken two-thirds of a dinar's worth of dates, he gets back the third of a dinar which is owed him. If the buyer has taken three-quarters of a dinar's worth of dates, then he gets back the quarter which is owed to him, or they come to a mutual agreement, and the buyer takes what is owed him from his dinar from the owner of the orchard in something else of his choosing. If, for instance, he prefers to take dry dates or some other goods, he takes them according to what is due. If he takes dry dates or some other goods, he should stay with him until he has been paid in full."
Malik said, "This is the same situation as hiring out a specified riding-camel or hiring out a slave tailor, carpenter or some other kind of worker or letting a house and taking payment in advance for the hire of the slave or the rent of the house or camel. Then an accident happens to what has been hired resulting in death or something else. The owner of the camel, slave or house returns what remains of the rent of the camel, the hire of the slave or the rent of the house to the one who advanced him the money, and the owner reckons what will settle that up in full. If, for instance, he has provided half of what the man paid for, he returns the remaining half of what he advanced, or according to whatever amount is due." Malik said, "Paying in advance for something which is on hand is only good when the buyer takes possession of what he has paid for as soon as he hands over the gold, whether it be slave, camel, or house, or in the case of dates, he starts to pick them as soon as he has paid the money."
It is not good that there be any deferment or credit in such a transaction.
Malik said, "An example illustrating what is disapproved of in this situation is that, for instance, a man may say that he will pay someone in advance for the use of his camel to ride in the hajj, and the hajj is still some time off, or he may say something similar to that about a slave or a house. When he does that, he only pays the money in advance on the understanding that if he finds the camel to be sound at the time the hire is due to begin, he will take it by virtue of what he has already paid. If an accident, or death, or something happens to the camel, then he will get his money back and the money he paid in advance will be considered as a loan."
Malik said, "This is distinct from someone who takes immediate possession of what he rents or hires, so that it does not fall into the category of 'uncertainty,' or disapproved payment in advance. That is following a common practice. An example of that is that a man buys a slave, or slave-girl, and takes possession of them and pays their price. If something happens to them within the period of the year indemnification contract, he takes his gold back from the one from whom he bought it. There is no harm in that. This is the precedent of the sunna in the matter of selling slaves."
Malik said, "Someone who rents a specified slave, or hires a specified camel, for a future date, at which time he will take possession of the camel or slave, has not acted properly because he did not take possession of what he rented or hired, nor is he advancing a loan which the person is responsible to pay back."
| USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Book 31, Hadith 26 |
| Sunnah.com reference | : Book 4, Hadith 2 |
| English translation | : Book 4, Hadith 624 |
| Arabic reference | : Book 4, Hadith 599 |
Malik said, The best of what I have heard about a mukatab whose master frees him at death, is that the mukatab is valued according to what he would fetch if he were sold. If that value is less than what remains against him of his kitaba, his freedom is taken from the third that the deceased can bequeath. One does not look at the number of dirhams which remain against him in his kitaba. That is because had he been killed, his killer would not be in debt for other than his value on the day he killed him. Had he been injured, the one who injured him would not be liable for other than the blood-money of the injury on the day of his injury. One does not look at how much he has paid of dinars and dirhams of the contract he has written because he is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains. If what remains in his kitaba is less than his value, only whatever of his kitaba remains owing from him is taken into account in the third of the property of the deceased. That is because the deceased left him what remains of his kitaba and so it becomes a bequest which the deceased made."
Malik said, "The illustration of that is that if the price of the mukatab is one thousand dirhams, and only one hundred dirhams remain of his kitaba, his master leaves him the one hundred dirhams which complete it for him. It is taken into account in the third of his master and by it he becomes free."
Malik said that if a man wrote his slave a kitaba at his death, the value of the slave was estimated. If there was enough to cover the price of the slave in one third of his property, that was permitted for him.
Malik said, "The illustration of that is that the price of the slave is one thousand dinars. His master writes him a kitaba for two hundred dinars at his death. The third of the property of his master is one thousand dinars, so that is permitted for him. It is only a bequest which he makes from one third of his property. If the master has left bequests to people, and there is no surplus in the third after the value of the mukatab, one begins with the mukatab because the kitaba is setting free, and setting free has priority over bequests. When those bequests are paid from the kitaba of the mukatab, they follow it. The heirs of the testator have a choice. If they want to give the people with bequests all their bequests and the kitaba of the mukatab is theirs, they have that. If they refuse and hand over the mukatab and what he owes to the people with bequests they can do that, because the third commences with the mukatab and because all the bequests which he makes are as one."
If the heirs then say, "What our fellow bequeathed was more than one third of his property and he has taken what was not his," Malik said, "His heirs choose. It is said to them, 'Your companion has made the bequests you know about and if you would like to give them to those who are to receive them according to the deceased's bequests, then do so. If not, hand over to the people with bequests one third of the total property of the deceased.' "
Malik continued, "If the heirs surrender the mukatab to the people with bequests, the people with bequests have what he owes of his kitaba. If the mukatab pays what he owes of his kitaba, they take that in their bequests according to their shares. If the mukatab cannot pay, he is a slave of the people with bequests and does not return to the heirs because they gave him up when they made their choice, and because when he was surrendered to the people with bequests, they were liable. If he died, they would not have anything against the heirs. If the mukatab dies before he pays his kitaba and he leaves property which is more than what he owes, his property goes to the people with bequests. If the mukatab pays what he owes, he is free and his wala' returns to the paternal relations of the one who wrote the kitaba for him."
Malik spoke about a mukatab who owed his master ten thousand dirhams in his kitaba, and when he died he remitted one thousand dirhams from it. He said, "The mukatab is valued and his value is taken into consideration. If his value is one thousand dirhams and the reduction is a tenth of the kitaba, that portion of the slave's price is one hundred dirhams. It is a tenth of the price. A tenth of the kitaba is therefore reduced for him. That is converted to a tenth of the price in cash. That is as if he had had all of what he owed reduced for him. Had he done that, only the value of the slave - one thousand dirhams - would have been taken into account in the third of the property of the deceased. If that which he had remitted is half of the kitaba, half the price is taken into account in the third of the property of the deceased. If it is more or less than that, it is according to this reckoning."
Malik said, "When a man reduces the kitaba of his mukatab by one thousand dirhams at his death from a kitaba of ten thousand dirhams, and he does not stipulate whether it is from the beginning or the end of his kitaba, each instalment is reduced for him by one tenth."
Malik said, "If a man remits one thousand dirhams from his mukatab at his death from the beginning or end of his kitaba, and the original basis of the kitaba is three thousand dirhams, the mukatab's cash value is estimated. Then that value is divided. That thousand which is from the beginning of the kitaba is converted into its portion of the price according to its proximity to the term and its precedence and then the thousand which follows the first thousand is according to its precedence also until it comes to its end, and every thousand is paid according to its place in advancing and deferring the term because what is deferred of that is less in respect of its price. Then it is placed in the third of the deceased according to whatever of the price befalls that thousand according to the difference in preference of that, whether it is more or less, then it is according to this reckoning."
Malik spoke about a man who willed a man a fourth of a mukatab or freed a fourth, and then the man died and the mukatab died and left a lot of property, more than he owed. He said, "The heirs of the first master and the one who was willed a fourth of the mukatab are given what they are still owed by the mukatab. Then they divide what is left over, and the one willed a fourth has a third of what is left after the kitaba is paid. The heirs of his master gets two-thirds. That is because the mukatab is a slave as long as any of his kitaba remains to be paid. He is inherited from by the possession of his person."
Malik said about a mukatab whose master freed him at death, "If the third of the deceased will not cover him, he is freed from it according to what the third will cover and his kitaba is decreased according to that. If the mukatab owed five thousand dirhams and his value is two thousand dirhams cash, and the third of the deceased is one thousand dirhams, half of him is freed and half of the kitaba has been reduced for him." Malik said about a man who said in his will, "My slave so-and-so is free and write a kitaba for so-and- so", that the setting free had priority over the kitaba.
| USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Book 39, Hadith 15 |
Isma'il's mother went on suckling Isma'il and drinking from the water which she had. When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at Isma'il, tossing in agony. She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of As-Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from As-Safa, and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble till she crossed the valley and reached Al-Marwah mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between As-Safa and Al-Marwah) seven times." Ibn 'Abbas further related: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "This is the source of the tradition of the Sa'y - i.e., the going of people between the two mountains. When she reached Al-Marwah (for the last time), she heard a voice and she exclaimed: 'Shshs!' (Silencing herself) and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said: 'O (whoever you may be) You have made me hear your voice; have you any succour for me?' And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or with his wing), till water flowed out from that place. She started to make something like of a basin around it, using her hands in this way and began to fill her water- skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out until she had scooped some of it." The Prophet (PBUH) further said, "May Allah bestow mercy on Isma'il's mother! Had she let the Zamzam flow without trying to control it (or had she not scooped in that water) while filling her water-skin, Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet (PBUH) further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her: 'Do not be afraid of being neglected, for this is the site on which the House of Allah will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah will never let neglected His people.' The House of Allah (the Ka'bah) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She continued living in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum passed by her and her child. As they were coming from through the way of Kada', in the lower part of Makkah where they saw a bird that had a habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said: 'This bird must be flying over water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came towards the water." The Prophet (PBUH) added, "Isma'il's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her: 'Do you allow us to stay with you?' She replied: 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that." The Prophet (PBUH) further said, "Isma'il's mother was pleased with the whole situation as she used to love the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them. The child (i.e., Isma'il) grew up and learnt Arabic from them (his virtues) caused them to love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty, they gave him one of their daughters in marriage. After Isma'il's mother had died, Ibrahim came after Isma'il's marriage in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not find Isma'il there. When he asked Isma'il's wife about him, she replied: 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their condition, and she replied complaining to him: 'We are living in hardship, misery and destitution.' He said: 'When your husband returns, convey my salutations to him and tell him to change the threshold of the door of his house.' When Isma'il came, he seemed to have perceived something unusual. He asked his wife: 'Did anyone visit you?' She replied: 'Yes, an old man of such and such description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and, I told him that we were living in hardship and poverty.' Thereupon Isma'il said: 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied: 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutations to you and to change the threshold of your door.' Isma'il said: 'That was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce you. Go back to your family.' So Isma'il divorced her and married another woman from amongst them (Jurhum). Then Ibrahim stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them again but did not find Isma'il. So he came to Isma'il's wife and asked her about him. She said: 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Ibrahim asked her about their sustenance and living: 'How are you getting on?' She replied: 'We are prosperous and well off.' Then she praised Allah, the Exalted. Ibrahim asked: 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said: 'Meat.' He said: 'What do you drink?' She said: 'Water.' He said, 'O Allah! Bless their meat and water!"' The Prophet (PBUH) added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet (PBUH) further said, "If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected because these things do not suit him unless he lives in Makkah." The Prophet (PBUH) added, "Then Ibrahim said to Isma'il's wife, 'When your husband comes, give my regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his door.' When Isma'il came back, he asked his wife: 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied: 'Yes, a good looking old man came to me.' She praised him and added: 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in good condition.' Isma'il asked her: 'Did he give you a piece of advice?' She said: 'Yes, he told me to convey his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your door.' On that Isma'il said: 'He was my father and you are the threshold of the door. He has ordered me to keep you with me.' Then Ibrahim stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them afterwards. He saw Isma'il under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Ibrahim, he rose up to welcome him, and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a son does with his father. Ibrahim said: 'O Isma'il! Allah has given me an order.' Isma'il said: 'Do what your Rubb has commanded you to do.' Ibrahim asked: 'Will you help me?' Isma'il said: 'I will help you.' Ibrahim said: 'Allah has ordered me to build a house here, pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it."' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e., Ka'bah). Isma'il brought the stones and Ibrahim was building (the house). When the walls became high, Isma'il brought stone and placed it for Ibrahim who stood over it and carried on building the House, while Isma'il was handing over the stones to him, both of them prayed: 'O our Rubb! Accept this service from us! Verily, You are the All- Hearer and the All-Knower."'
[Al-Bukhari].
There are some more narrations about this incident, some adding details and some with minor variations in the wordings.
| Reference | : Riyad as-Salihin 1867 |
| In-book reference | : Book 18, Hadith 60 |
| Reference | : Bulugh al-Maram 742 |
| In-book reference | : Book 6, Hadith 35 |
| English translation | : Book 6, Hadith 761 |
* It appears that the speaker is Ja’far bin Muhammad who is narrating from his father, from Jabir.
**And they say that the meaning if ‘your furniture’ or, ‘your special place’ in which case the objective is to say that the wife is not to admit anyone in the house whom the husband would be displeased with.
***Sakharat plural of Sakhrah rock or boulder. Nawawi said: “They are the rocks that lay at the base of the Mount of Mercy, and it is the mount in the middle of ‘Arafat.”
| Grade: | Sahih (Darussalam) |
| Reference | : Sunan Ibn Majah 3074 |
| In-book reference | : Book 25, Hadith 193 |
| English translation | : Vol. 4, Book 25, Hadith 3074 |