Sahih Muslim (Volume 2). Imam Abul-Husain Muslim

يَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ يَفْعَلُونَ، وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا لاَ يُؤْمَرُونَ. فَمَنْ جَاهَدَهُمْ بِيَدِهِ فَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَمَنْ جَاهَدَهُمْ بِلِسَانِهِ فَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَمَنْ جَاهَدَهُمْ بِقَلْبِهِ فَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَلَيْسَ وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الإِيمَانِ حَبَّةُ خَرْدَلٍ». قَالَ أَبُو رَافِعٍ: فَحَدَّثْتُهُ عَبْدَ اللهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ فَأَنْكَرَهُ عَلَىَّ. فَقَدِمَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ فَنَزَلَ بِقَنَاةَ، فَاسْتَتْبَعَنِي إِلَيْهِ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ عُمَرَ يَعُودُهُ، فَانْطَلَقْتُ مَعَهُ فَلَمَّا جَلَسْنَا سَأَلْتُ ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ، فَحَدَّثَنِيهِ كَمَا حَدَّثْتُهُ ابْنَ عُمَرَ. قَالَ صَالِحٌ وَقَدْ تُحُدِّثَ بِنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ .

      [84–000]. (Dar al-Salam 0082) This hadith was also narrated to me by Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq ibn Muhammad: Ibn Abi Maryam reported; [Abd al-[Aziz ibn Muhammad narrated; al-Harith ibn al-Fudayl al-Khatmi reported to me; from Ja[far ibn [Abdullah ibn al-Hakam; from [Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Miswar ibn Makhramah; from Abu Rafi[, the Prophet’s servant; from [Abdullah ibn Mas[ud that God’s Messenger said: ‘Every prophet God sent before me had some disciples and companions who followed his way and fulfilled his bidding …’. This is the same as Salih’s hadith, but does not mention Ibn Mas[ud’s arrival and his meeting with Ibn [Umar.²

      وَحَدَّثَنِيهِ أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي الْحَارِثُ بْنُ الْفُضَيْلِ الْخَطْمِيُّ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْـمِسْوَرِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، مَوْلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ «مَا كَانَ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ كَانَ لَهُ حَوَارِيُّونَ يَهْتَدُونَ بِهَدْيِهِ وَيَسْتَنُّونَ بِسُنَّتِهِ». مِثْلَ حَدِيثِ صَالِحٍ وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ قُدُومَ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَاجْتِمَاعَ ابْنِ عُمَرَ مَعَهُ.

      Text Explanation

      2. The Prophet mentions that every earlier prophet had disciples and companions. For disciples the Prophet uses the Arabic word hawariyyun, and commentators give different explanations of it. Al-Azhari and others explain it as ‘their closest followers’ who are ‘free of all negative characteristics’. Others say that it means ‘their sincere supporters’, or those who fight for the cause, or those who are qualified to succeed the prophets.

      The hadith mentions that Ibn Mas[ud stopped at Qanah, which is a valley close to Madinah, which produced some of its resources.

      Transmission

      The chain of transmission of hadith No. 82 mentions the following: ‘al-A[mash narrated; from Isma[il ibn Raja’; from his father; from Abu Sa[id al-Khudri; also from Qays ibn Muslim; from Tariq ibn Shihab; from Abu Sa[id al-Khudri’. This means that al-A[mash narrated this hadith from both Isma[il ibn Raja’ and Qays ibn Muslim. Each of these two learned it from a different teacher: Isma[il from his father and Qays from Tariq ibn Shihab, but they both heard it from Abu Sa[id.

      The chain of transmission of hadith No. 84 includes Abu [Abdullah al-Harith ibn Fudayl al-Khatmi, who was from Madinah and belonged to the Ansar. He narrated from [Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Qirad, a companion of the Prophet. Yahya ibn Ma[in graded al-Harith as reliable. This chain also includes Abu Rafi[, who was the Prophet’s servant. According to the best reports his name was Aslam, but other suggestions give his name as Ibrahim, Hurmuz, Thabit or Yazid. This last suggestion is strange, but it is stated by Ibn al-Jawzi in his book Jami[ al-Masanid.

      An interesting point about this chain of transmission is that it includes four reporters from the Tabi[in generation reporting from each other: Salih, al-Harith, Ja[far and [Abd al-Rahman, and similar cases have been pointed out earlier. I have written a treatise citing hadiths that include four reporters of the same generation. Some of these feature four companions of the Prophet and some four from the Tabi[in generation reporting from one another.

      At the end of this hadith we have the statement: ‘Salih said: A similar report has been attributed to Abu Rafi[’. Qadi [Iyad said: ‘This means that Salih ibn Kaysan said that this hadith has been narrated from Abu Rafi[ who directly quoted the Prophet without mentioning Ibn Mas[ud. In his al-Tarikh, al-Bukhari also mentions it in a shorter form, attributing it to Abu Rafi[ quoting the Prophet. Abu [Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Jayyani, reports that Ahmad ibn Hanbal said that this hadith is not recorded (ghayr mahfuz), and that its wording is unlike Ibn Mas[ud’s speech. Ibn Mas[ud said: “Wait until you meet me”.’

      Shaykh Abu [Amr ibn al-Salah said: ‘This hadith is discounted by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. It is reported by al-Harith from a number of reliable reporters. We find no mention of al-Harith in the books listing unreliable reporters. On the contrary, we find in Ibn Abi Hatim’s book a statement that Yahya ibn Ma[in graded him as reliable. Moreover, al-Harith is not the only one reporting it. The words of Salih ibn Kaysan suggest that it has been endorsed by other reports’.

      Imam al-Daraqutni mentions in his book al-[Ilal, that ‘this hadith is reported with other chains of transmission, including one that includes “Abu Waqid al-Laythi from Ibn Mas[ud from the Prophet”. As for his advice, “Wait until you meet me”, this applies where the situation is likely to lead to bloodshed or to strife or similar problems. The hadith speaks about striving, both physically and verbally, against people who are in the wrong. This applies in situations where there is no fear of causing strife. Moreover, this hadith speaks about past communities. There is nothing in it that mentions the Muslim community’.

      What Shaykh Abu [Amr ibn al-Salah said is very clear. The fact that Imam Ahmad questions and discounts this hadith is amazing, but God knows best.

      i.Related by Abu Dawud, 1140, and in a shorter form, 4340; al-Tirmidhi, 2172; al-Nasa’i, 5023 and 5024 (without mentioning the event); Ibn Majah, 4013.

      i.A controller was a position in early Muslim states ensuring that people remained law-abiding. His authority extended to control of markets and public