سنن ابي داود
Abu Dawud
كتاب الحدودPrescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud)
باب فِي قَطْعِ النَّبَّاشِChapter: Cutting off the hand of a grave-robber.
Hadith 4409
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ ، عَنْ أَبِي عِمْرَانَ ، عَنِ الْمُشَعَّثِ بْنِ طَرِيفٍ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ ، عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ ، قَالَ : قَالَ لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " يَا أَبَا ذَرٍّ ، قُلْتُ : لَبَّيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَسَعْدَيْكَ ، فَقَالَ : كَيْفَ أَنْتَ إِذَا أَصَابَ النَّاسَ مَوْتٌ يَكُونُ الْبَيْتُ فِيهِ بِالْوَصِيفِ يَعْنِي الْقَبْرَ ؟ قُلْتُ : اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ ، أَوْ مَا خَارَ لِي اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ، قَالَ : عَلَيْكَ بِالصَّبْرِ ، أَوْ قَالَ : تَصْبِرُ " ، قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُد : قَالَ حَمَّادُ بْنُ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ يُقْطَعُ النَّبَّاشُ : لِأَنَّهُ دَخَلَ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ بَيْتَهُ .
Narrated Abu Dharr: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: O Abu Dharr: I replied: At your service and at your pleasure, Messenger of Allah! He said: how will you do when death smites people, and a house, meaning a grave, will cost as much as a slave. I said: Allah and His Messenger know best, or he said: What Allah and His Messenger choose for me. He said: Show endurance, or he said: You may show endurance. Abu Dawud said: Hammad bin Abi Sulaiman said: The hand of one who rifles a grave should be cut off because he had entered the deceased's house.
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
➊ In reality, now in urban densely populated areas, obtaining a grave for the deceased has become beyond the means of a poor person, and in times of tribulation this issue will become even more severe. These are prophecies that serve as evidence of the truthfulness and messengership of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
➋ The prescribed punishment (hadd) for a shroud-thief is the cutting of his hand, because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used the word "house" for the grave.
➊ In reality, now in urban densely populated areas, obtaining a grave for the deceased has become beyond the means of a poor person, and in times of tribulation this issue will become even more severe. These are prophecies that serve as evidence of the truthfulness and messengership of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
➋ The prescribed punishment (hadd) for a shroud-thief is the cutting of his hand, because the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used the word "house" for the grave.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 4409
Maulana Ataullah Sajid
Benefits and Issues:
➊ In difficult circumstances, patience is the best course of action.
➋ In times of famine and hunger, refraining from theft and robbery is a very courageous act.
➌ In times of killing and bloodshed, when ordinary people abandon the distinction between truth and falsehood and, under the pretense of supporting the truth, begin to spread corruption and commit murder, it is better to remain aloof from all parties.
➍ In times of widespread disorder, there is no benefit in killing a single mischief-maker; rather, there is a need to dispel misunderstandings and establish peace.
➎ In such situations, when Muslims are grappling with one another, it is better to withdraw from everyone and sit aside. If, even in this state, a mischief-maker kills such a peace-loving citizen, then he is a martyr (shaheed).
➏ The meaning of “the price of a grave will become equal to that of a slave” is that deaths will occur in such abundance that it will become difficult to find even two yards of land, and a small plot for a grave will be worth as much as a house, or grave diggers will become so scarce that their wages will be equal to the price of a house. Another interpretation is that, due to the abundance of deaths, houses will become empty of inhabitants and their prices will fall so much that they will be equal to the price of a slave, whereas in normal circumstances the price of a house is much greater than that of a slave.
➊ In difficult circumstances, patience is the best course of action.
➋ In times of famine and hunger, refraining from theft and robbery is a very courageous act.
➌ In times of killing and bloodshed, when ordinary people abandon the distinction between truth and falsehood and, under the pretense of supporting the truth, begin to spread corruption and commit murder, it is better to remain aloof from all parties.
➍ In times of widespread disorder, there is no benefit in killing a single mischief-maker; rather, there is a need to dispel misunderstandings and establish peace.
➎ In such situations, when Muslims are grappling with one another, it is better to withdraw from everyone and sit aside. If, even in this state, a mischief-maker kills such a peace-loving citizen, then he is a martyr (shaheed).
➏ The meaning of “the price of a grave will become equal to that of a slave” is that deaths will occur in such abundance that it will become difficult to find even two yards of land, and a small plot for a grave will be worth as much as a house, or grave diggers will become so scarce that their wages will be equal to the price of a house. Another interpretation is that, due to the abundance of deaths, houses will become empty of inhabitants and their prices will fall so much that they will be equal to the price of a slave, whereas in normal circumstances the price of a house is much greater than that of a slave.
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 3958
