Hadith 1651

This hadith is listed as number 4275 in Maktaba Shamila

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ يَعْنِي ابْنَ رُفَيْعٍ ، عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ طَرَفَةَ ، قَالَ : " جَاءَ سَائِلٌ إِلَى عَدِيِّ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ فَسَأَلَهُ نَفَقَةً فِي ثَمَنِ خَادِمٍ أَوْ فِي بَعْضِ ثَمَنِ خَادِمٍ ، فَقَالَ : لَيْسَ عِنْدِي مَا أُعْطِيكَ إِلَّا دِرْعِي وَمِغْفَرِي ، فَأَكْتُبُ إِلَى أَهْلِي أَنْ يُعْطُوكَهَا ، قَالَ : فَلَمْ يَرْضَ فَغَضِبَ عَدِيٌّ ، فَقَالَ : أَمَا وَاللَّهِ لَا أُعْطِيكَ شَيْئًا ثُمَّ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ رَضِيَ ، فَقَالَ : أَمَا وَاللَّهِ لَوْلَا أَنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ : مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ ثُمَّ رَأَى أَتْقَى لِلَّهِ مِنْهَا ، فَلْيَأْتِ التَّقْوَى مَا حَنَّثْتُ يَمِينِي " .
Tamim bin Tarafa reported: A beggar came to 'Adi bin Hatim and he begged him to give him the price of a slave, or some portion of the price of the slave. He ('Adi) said: I have nothing to give you except my coat-of-mail and helmet. I will, however, write to my family to give that to you, but he did not agree to that. Thereupon 'Adi was enraged, and said: By Allah, I will not give you anything. The person (then) agreed to accept that, whereupon he said: By Allah, had I not heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying: "He who took an oath, but then found something more pious in the sight of Allah, he should (break the oath) and do that which is more pious," I would not have broken the oath (and thus paid you anything).
Hadith Reference صحيح مسلم / كتاب القسامة / 1651
Hadith Grading محدثین: أحاديث صحيح مسلم كلها صحيحة
Hadith Takhrij «أحاديث صحيح مسلم كلها صحيحة»
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Muhammad Ameen
In the previous ahadith, the mention of expiation (kaffarah) comes before breaking the oath, whereas in this hadith (and the forthcoming ahadith), breaking the oath is mentioned first and expiation afterwards. Thus, both are permissible. There is no explicit statement making either sequence obligatory. If one particular method were necessary, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would have explicitly instructed to adopt it, but he did not do so. In any case, this is the position of the majority of the scholars, and it is the correct one. Acting upon authentic ahadith is far better than acting upon analogical reasoning (qiyas).
Source: Sunan Nasa'i: Translation and Benefits by Shaykh Hafiz Muhammad Amin Hafizullah, Page: 3816
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: "You ask me for a hundred dirhams? And I am the son of Hatim"—according to Imam Qurtubi, the purpose of this statement is that "I am the son of Hatim, who is well-known and famous for his abundance of generosity and liberality, and yet you are asking me for such a small amount." And according to Qadi Iyad, the beggar asked Adi (radi Allahu anhu) at a time when he knew that at present he had nothing to give. The beggar's intention was to express Adi's miserliness and his refusal to give anything. That is why Adi (radi Allahu anhu) said this in a state of displeasure: "You are deliberately asking me this question to disgrace me, so that it may be said that the son of Hatim is miserly and stingy, even though you know that at this moment I have nothing to give. Go, I will write to my family, and they will fulfill your request." But the beggar was not satisfied with this, so Adi (radi Allahu anhu) swore an oath not to give anything.
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 4279