Reports on bows, spears and swords

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been sent before the Hour with the sword, so that Allah Almighty alone is worshipped, besides whom there is no god and who has no partner. My provision has been placed beneath the shade of my spear, and humiliation and abasement have been imposed upon whoever opposes my command."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Abd al-Rahman bin Thabit bin Thawban, whom Ibn al-Madini, Abu Hatim and others declared thiqah (trustworthy), while Ahmad and others declared him da'if (weak). The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Uwaym bin Sa'idah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man who had a Persian bow. He said: "Put it down!" Then he pointed to an Arab bow and said: "Through this, and through spears of qana, Allah Almighty will give you power over the lands and will help you against your enemy."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains mastur (unknown-status) narrators, who have been neither declared weak nor declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Busr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) to Khaybar. He tied a black turban on him and let its end hang down behind him; the narrator is unsure whether the words are: he placed it on his left shoulder. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out following the army, leaning on a bow. A man passed by him carrying a Persian bow, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Put it down, for it is accursed, and whoever carries it is accursed. Keep to the qana (spears) and Arab bows, for through them Allah Almighty will grant your religion dominance and will open the lands for you." Yahya bin Hamzah says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this because it was particular to the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); as for today, these bows have become part of the weaponry and strength of the people of Islam.
Al-Tabarani recorded it from his teacher Bakr bin Sahl al-Dimyati. Al-Dhahabi says: He is muqarib al-hadith (his narrations are fairly acceptable). Al-Nasa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: He is da'if (weak). The remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih, except that I have not found any report of Abu Ubaydah Isa bin Sulaym having heard from Abdullah bin Bishr.

Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports, as a marfu' hadith, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep to archery, for it is the best of your pastimes (the narrator is unsure about one word here, but the meaning is the same)."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat with this wording: He narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep to archery, for it is the best of your games." The narrators of al-Bazzar are the narrators of the Sahih, except Hatim bin al-Layth, and he is thiqah (trustworthy). The same holds for the narrators of al-Tabarani.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The angels do not attend any of your wagered contests, except those of arrows and archery."
Al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Amr bin Abd al-Ghaffar, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by some people who were practising archery. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shoot, O children of Isma'il! For your forefather was an archer."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains Muhammad bin Amr bin Alqamah, whose hadith is hasan (good). The remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by some people who were practising archery. He said: "O children of Isma'il! Shoot, for your forefather was an archer."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains Isma'il bin Muslim al-Makki, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Hamzah bin Amr al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the people of the tribe of Aslam: "O children of Isma'il! Shoot, for your forefather was an archer." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am with Mihjan bin al-Adra'." So the people stopped. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is the matter with you?" They said: "Whoever you are with will prevail." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shoot, and I am with all of you."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Abdullah bin Yazid al-Bakri, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Amr bin Atiyyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Soon the land will be opened up for you and you will be provided for sufficiently in worldly matters; so let none of you become incapable of amusing himself with his arrows (that is, let him not abandon it)."
Al-Tabarani recorded it from his teacher Bakr bin Sahl. Al-Dhahabi says: He is muqarib al-hadith (his narrations are fairly acceptable). Al-Nasa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says: He is da'if (weak). Its chain also contains Ibn Lahi'ah.

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no harm for any of you, when worry (or fear of an enemy) besets him, to hang his bow around his neck and dispel his worry with it."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir; its chain contains Muhammad bin al-Zubayr al-Zubaydi, who is extremely da'if (weak).

Qays bin Abi Hazim narrates: I saw Sayyiduna Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of the Battle of Yarmuk, shooting arrows between two targets, and with him were some men from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: We have been commanded to teach our children archery and the Qur'an.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains al-Mundhir bin Ziyad al-Ta'i, who is matruk (abandoned).

Ata' bin Abi Rabah narrates: I saw Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Jabir bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) both practising archery. One of them grew tired and sat down, so the other said to him: "Have you grown tired? I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Everything that is not connected with the remembrance of Allah is idle amusement (lahw), (the narrator is unsure whether the words are:) or heedlessness (sahw), except four things: a man walking between two targets, a man training his horse, a man playing with his wife, and teaching swimming.'"
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and al-Bazzar recorded it. The narrators of al-Tabarani are the narrators of the Sahih, except Abd al-Wahhab bin Bukht, and he is thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Everything that belongs to the amusements of this world is vain, except three things: your shooting with your bow, your training your horse, and your playing with your wife, for these are part of the truth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Practise archery and practise riding, and your practising archery is dearer to me. Allah Almighty will admit three people into Paradise because of a single arrow: the one who makes it, hoping for reward in making it; the one who hands it over; and the one who shoots it." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: After this he mentioned the full narration, and the complete narration has already passed in the chapter on voluntary charity.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Suwayd bin Abd al-Aziz. Ahmad says: He is matruk (abandoned). The majority declared him da'if (weak), while Duhaym declared him thiqah (trustworthy). The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Every amusement is disliked, except a man playing with his wife, his walking between two targets, and his training his horse."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains al-Mundhir bin Ziyad al-Ta'i, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever walks between two targets receives a good deed for every step."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Uthman bin Matar, who is da'if (weak).

Mujahid narrates: I saw Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) running between two targets and saying: "I will get this in return for it! I will get this in return for it!"
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever learns archery and then forgets it, that was a blessing which he denied."
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Qays bin al-Rabi', whom Shu'bah, al-Thawri and others declared thiqah (trustworthy), while a group declared him da'if (weak). The remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).