Mukhtasar Muslim

‘Sayyiduna ‘Ubada bin Walid bin ‘Ubada bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I and my father set out towards the tribe of Ansar for the purpose of acquiring knowledge, lest any of their members remain (either they pass away or migrate elsewhere). So, the first person we met was Abu al-Yasar, who was a companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). With him was his slave, who was carrying a bundle of books (letters). Abu al-Yasar was wearing a sheet and a garment called ma’afiri. His slave was also wearing a sheet and a ma’afiri garment (i.e., both master and slave were dressed alike). I said to him, “O uncle, you seem to be upset.” He replied, “So-and-so from the tribe of Banu Haram owed me a debt. I went to his family, greeted them, and asked where he was. They said he was not there. Meanwhile, his young son came out. I asked him, ‘Where is your father?’ He replied, ‘When he heard your voice, he hid in my mother’s hut.’ So I called out and said, ‘O so-and-so! Come out, I know where you are.’ Hearing this, he came out. I said, ‘Why are you hiding from me?’ He replied, ‘By Allah, I will not lie to you. By Allah, I was afraid that I might lie to you or make a promise and then break it, and you are a companion of the Messenger of Allah. By Allah, I am in need.’ I made him swear by Allah, ‘Are you really in need?’ He swore by Allah and said, ‘I am in need.’ I made him swear again, and he swore again. I made him swear a third time, and he swore by Allah again. Then his document or note (debt note) was brought. Abu al-Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) erased it with his own hand and said, ‘If you get money, pay it; otherwise, you are free.’ So I bear witness, my two eyes saw, and Abu al-Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) placed his two fingers on his eyes, and my two ears heard, and my heart remembered, and Abu al-Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) pointed to the vein of his heart (and said): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: Whoever gives respite to a debtor in difficulty or forgives the debt, Allah will keep him under His shade. ‘Ubada said: I said to him, ‘O uncle, if you take your slave’s sheet and give him your ma’afiri garment, then you will both have a complete set of clothes.’ Abu al-Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) placed his hand on my head and said, ‘O Allah, bless this boy. O my nephew! My two eyes saw, my two ears heard, and my heart remembered,’ and he pointed to the vein of his heart (and said): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: Feed your slave and maidservant what you eat, and clothe them with what you wear. If I give him worldly goods, it is easier for me than that he should take my good deeds on the Day of Resurrection. ‘Ubada (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then we went on until we reached Sayyiduna Jabir bin ‘Abdullah Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) in his mosque. He was wrapped in a cloth and was praying. I stepped over people’s necks and sat between him and the qiblah. I said, ‘May Allah have mercy on you, you pray in a single garment while your (other) sheet is lying beside you.’ He gestured to my chest with his hand, spreading his fingers and bending them like a bow, and said, ‘I wanted that a fool like you would come to me, see what I do, and do the same. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to our mosque, and in his hand was a stick of Ibn Tab (a type of date palm). He saw phlegm (spittle) facing the qiblah in the mosque, so he scraped it off with the stick. Then he turned to us and said, “Who among you would like Allah to turn away from him?” We became afraid upon hearing this. Then he said again, “Who among you would like Allah to turn away from him?” We became afraid. Then he said a third time, “Who among you would like Allah to turn away from him?” We said, “O Messenger of Allah! None of us wants that.” He said, “When any of you stands in prayer, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is in front of his face (Nawawi said: meaning the direction which Allah has honored, i.e., the Ka‘bah), so do not spit in front of your face, nor to your right, but to your left, under your left foot.” If phlegm comes out quickly, then spit into your garment and fold it over. Then he said, “Bring me perfume.” A young man from our tribe rushed and ran to his house and brought perfume in his palm. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) applied the perfume to the tip of the stick and put it where the phlegm was in the mosque. Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: From this hadith, you keep perfume in your mosques. Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We went with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to the battle of Buwat (which is one of the mountains of Juhaynah). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was searching for Majdi bin ‘Amr al-Juhani (who was a disbeliever), and our situation was such that five, six, or seven men shared one camel, riding it in turns. So, when it was the turn of one Ansari, he made the camel sit, mounted it, then made it stand, but the camel ran off. The Ansari said, “Shay!” (a word used to scold the camel), “May Allah curse you!” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Who is it that curses his camel?” The Ansari said, “It is I, O Messenger of Allah!” He said, “Get down from the camel, for it should not accompany us one upon whom a curse has been invoked. Do not invoke curses upon yourselves, your children, or your wealth, lest it coincide with a time when Allah is asked for something and He grants it (so your curse is accepted and calamity befalls you).” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We went with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When evening came and we reached near a spring of the Arabs, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Who will go ahead of us and fix the pond, drink from it, and give us to drink?” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I am that person.” He said, “And who will go with Jabir?” So Jabbar bin Sakhr stood up. So we both went to the well/spring, drew one or two buckets, then plastered it with mud. After that, we started filling it with water until it was full to the brim. The first to appear to us was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, “Do you both permit me (and my animals to drink)?” We said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah!” He let his she-camel loose, it drank, then he pulled its rein, it stopped drinking and urinated. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took it aside and made it sit. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the pond, performed ablution from it. I also stood up and performed ablution from the same place where he had performed ablution. Jabbar bin Sakhr (may Allah be pleased with him) went to relieve himself. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to pray. I had a sheet on my body. I tried to wrap its two ends, but it was short and had loops. Finally, I turned it inside out, then wrapped its two ends, then tied it around my neck, then came and stood to the left of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He took my hand, turned me, and made me stand on his right. Then Jabbar bin Sakhr came, performed ablution, and stood to the left of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (to pray). He took both our hands and moved us back until he made us stand behind him (it is understood that such an action is permissible in prayer). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began to stare at me, and I did not know. When I realized, he gestured with his hand to tie my waist (so that my ‘awrah would not be exposed). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he said, “O Jabir!” I said, “Here I am, O Messenger of Allah!” He said, “When the sheet is wide, wrap its two ends, and when it is tight, tie it around your waist.” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then we went with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and each of us would get one date a day for food, and he would suck it, then chew it with his teeth. We would shake leaves from the trees with our bows and eat them, until (due to heat, dryness, and eating leaves) our mouths became wounded inside. Then one day, the distributor of dates forgot one person. We picked him up and testified that he had not received a date. The distributor gave him a date. He stood up and took the date. Then we went with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) until we descended into a wide valley. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to relieve himself. I followed him with a bucket of water. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) found no cover. He saw two trees at the edge of the valley. He went to one tree, took hold of a branch, and said, “By Allah’s command, follow me.” The tree followed him as a camel with a nose ring follows its leader. Then he went to the other tree, took hold of a branch, and said, “By Allah’s command, follow me.” It also followed him in the same way, until when he reached between the two trees, he joined them together and said, “By Allah’s command, join together before me.” So the two trees joined together. Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I ran out, fearing that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) might see me nearby and go farther away. I sat, talking to myself, when suddenly I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) coming from the front, and the two trees had separated and returned to their places. I saw that he stood for a while and gestured with his head to the right and left, then came forward. When he reached me, he said, “O Jabir! Did you see where I stood?” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah!” He said, “Go to those two trees and cut a branch from each. When you reach the place where I stood, place one branch on your right and one on your left.” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I stood up, took a stone, broke it, and sharpened it. When it was sharp, I went to the two trees, cut a branch from each, then dragged the branches to the place where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had stood, and placed one branch on the right and one on the left. Then I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “I have done what you commanded, but what is the reason for it?” He said, “I saw two graves there, and their occupants were being punished, so I wanted to intercede for them. As long as these branches remain fresh, perhaps their punishment will be lessened.” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then we returned to the army. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O Jabir! Call out for water for ablution.” I called out three times and said, “O Messenger of Allah! There is not a drop of water in the caravan.” There was an Ansari man who used to cool water for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a water skin that hung from tree branches. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Go to that Ansari and see if there is any water in his water skin.” I went and saw that there was no water in the water skin, only a drop at its mouth, which, if I poured out, the dry water skin would absorb it. I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! There is no water in the water skin, only a drop at its mouth, which, if I pour out, the dry water skin would absorb it.” He said, “Go and bring that water skin to me.” I brought the water skin. He took it in his hand, then began to say something I could not understand, and pressed the water skin with his hand. Then he handed it to me and said, “O Jabir! Call for the caravan’s pot (i.e., the large water vessel).” I called out, and it was brought. I placed it before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He passed his hand over the pot, spread his fingers, and placed his hand at its bottom, and said, “O Jabir! Take the water skin and pour it over my hand, saying ‘Bismillah’.” I said ‘Bismillah’ and poured the water. Then I saw water gushing from between his fingers, until the pot boiled and spun and was filled. He said, “O Jabir! Call out to whoever needs water.” Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: People came and took water until all were satisfied. I said, “Is there anyone left who needs water?” Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted his hand from the pot, and it was full of water. And people complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of hunger. He said, “Soon Allah will feed you.” Then we came to the river (i.e., the sea). The sea surged and threw out a creature. We lit a fire on its side and roasted and cooked its meat and ate to our fill. Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I and so-and-so, five men, entered its eye socket, and no one could see us until we came out (the creature was so large). Then we took one of its ribs and called the biggest man in the caravan, who was riding the largest camel with the largest saddle, and he passed under the rib without lowering his head (the rib was so high). Indeed, Allah provides for those who go out in His path.