Beginning of the Musnad of Ibn Abbas

Abd al-Rahman bin Mahdi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated: I heard Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) say: "Indeed this hadith (that is, excessive absorption in acquiring and seeking it) turns you away from the remembrance of Allah, from prayer and from keeping the ties of kinship; 'so will you not desist?'"

It is narrated from Dhakwan (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) sought permission to visit Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) during her final illness. The narrator said: I came (to her), and Abdullah bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) was at her head, so I said: "This is Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), seeking permission to come in to you?" She said: "Spare me Ibn Abbas; I have no need of him, nor of having him praise me." Then Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "O mother, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is one of your righteous sons; he wishes to greet you with salam." She said: "Give him permission if you wish." Then Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) came, sat down and said: "Glad tidings to you! By Allah, between you and your being relieved of every hardship and meeting Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his beloved companions there is nothing but your soul departing from your body." She asked: "Ibn Abbas, and what other virtue?" He said: "You were the most beloved of all the wives to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) only ever loved what was good and pure. When your necklace was lost at al-Abwa', the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed there to search for it, and the people had no water; then Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed this command: 'Then perform tayammum with clean earth.' So you were the cause of the relief and concession that Allah revealed for this Ummah. Then Allah Almighty revealed your innocence and chastity from above the seven heavens, and now there is no mosque among the mosques of Allah in which Allah is remembered except that the verses of your innocence are recited in it night and day." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Ibn Abbas, leave me (from these words); by Allah, I wished that I had been something forgotten and unknown."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) heard him say: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon to the people on Friday when a man of Banu Layth bin Bakr bin Abd Manah bin Kinanah came, stepping over the people's necks, until he came very close to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and said: "O Messenger of Allah, carry out the prescribed punishment (hadd) on me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Sit down," so he sat down. Then he stood up a second time, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Sit down." Then he stood up a third time, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said the same again. After that he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is your hadd?" He said: "I went to a woman unlawfully (to commit fornication)." Upon this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered some of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), among whom were Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib, Sayyiduna al-Abbas, Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah and Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with them): "Take him away and give him one hundred lashes." That man of Layth was unmarried. It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, will you not lash the woman with whom he did this?" So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bring him to me after he has been lashed." When he was brought after the punishment, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who is that woman, your partner?" He said: "It is such-and-such a woman, who belongs to Banu Bakr." He (peace and blessings be upon him) summoned her and asked her about this matter, and she said: "By Allah, he has lied! I do not know him at all, and I am completely innocent of what he is saying, and Allah is witness over what I say." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the man: "Who testifies that you committed fornication with her? She denies it. If you have witnesses, I will carry out the hadd on her; otherwise we will give you the hadd for slander." He said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have no witnesses." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the order, and he was given eighty lashes as the hadd for slander.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not kill the people of the hermitages (secluded worshippers)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "This verse, 'It is not for a prophet to act dishonestly,' was revealed concerning a red velvet cloak that went missing on the day of the Battle of Badr. Some people said (by way of conjecture) that perhaps the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had taken it, so Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this: 'It is not for any prophet to act dishonestly, and whoever acts dishonestly will come with what he took dishonestly on the Day of Resurrection.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "A goat passed in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he (peace and blessings be upon him) was praying; it passed between him (peace and blessings be upon him) and the qiblah, but it did not break his (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer."

It is narrated from Habib bin Abi Thabit (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) recited some verses of poetry before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said: "I bear witness, by Allah's leave, that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of the One who is above the heavens on high; and that Abu Yahya (that is, Sayyiduna Zakariyya, peace be upon him) and Yahya (peace be upon him) both have deeds in their religion that are accepted by Allah; and that the brother of the people of al-Ahqaf (that is, Sayyiduna Hud, peace be upon him), when he stood among his people to call them to the truth, spoke among them for the sake of Allah and acted with justice." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (in confirmation): "And I (too bear witness to this)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for a man of the Ansar, and he was (somewhat) slow in coming. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "What held you back?" He said that when your (peace and blessings be upon him) messenger came to me, I was with my wife (in intimacy), so I got up and performed ghusl. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There was no harm on you had you not performed ghusl, as long as you had no ejaculation." (The narrator said:) Then the Ansar acted upon this (for some time).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was shrouded in a red suit (hullah) which he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to wear, and in a shirt."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that, concerning the words of Allah Almighty, 'When the lote tree was covered by what covered it,' the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw it (the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary) until I recognised it thoroughly; then golden butterflies came between me and it (and covered it)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Close up your rows, standing joined to one another, for I have seen the devils slipping in among you (into the gaps) as though they were small black sheep." In the chain of this hadith, there is an unnamed (unknown) narrator between al-Walid bin Jumay' and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), because of which, technically, the chain of this narration is broken.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) reported concerning these words of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, 'Then look at your food and your drink; it has not lam yatasannah,' that he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It means that it has not changed (that is, despite the long time that passed, no change or spoiling occurred in its taste, colour or smell)."

Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that, concerning these words of Allah Almighty, 'We shall add to them punishment upon punishment,' he said: "Scorpions will be added to their punishment whose stings (or venomous fangs) are like tall, lofty palm trees."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the words of Allah Almighty, 'We shall add to them punishment upon punishment,' that he said: "These are five rivers beneath the Throne; with some of them they are punished by night and with some of them by day."

It is narrated from Talhah bin Abdullah bin Awf (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: I prayed a funeral prayer behind Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he recited Surah al-Fatihah and a surah, and recited so loudly that he made us hear it. When he finished the prayer, I took hold of his hand and asked him about this (reciting aloud), and he said: "It is the Sunnah and the truth."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) departed from Makkah, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah, I am leaving you, though I know well that of all the lands of Allah's earth you are the most beloved to me and the most honoured in the sight of Allah; and had your people not forced me to leave, I would never have left. O Banu Abd Manaf, if you become responsible for this matter (the custodianship of the Sanctuary) after me, then never prevent anyone performing tawaf of the House of Allah at any hour of the night or day. And were it not feared that Quraysh would become arrogant, I would surely tell them how great a reward they have with Allah. 'Allahumma innaka adhaqta awwalahum wabalan fa-adhiq akhirahum nawalan' (O Allah, You made the first of them taste ruin, so make the last of them taste Your bounty and favours)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the interpretation of the words of Allah Almighty, 'And We sent down from al-mu'sirat water thajjajan,' that he said: "Al-mu'sirat means the winds; and concerning thajjajan he said that it means water that flows and pours down forcefully."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the interpretation of the words of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, 'Or like a sayyib from the sky,' that he said: "The word al-sayyib means rain."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the words of Allah Almighty, 'gently (rukha'an) wherever he willed (haythu asab),' that he said: "Al-rukha' means the wind that is obedient (to the command)." And concerning the words of Allah Almighty 'haythu asab' he said: "It means the place that he intended." And in the interpretation of the words of Allah Almighty, 'He sends the winds, and they stir up clouds, and He spreads them in the sky however He wills and makes them into fragments (kisafan),' he said: "It means pieces of cloud that lie layer upon layer, one above another." And concerning 'and you see the wadq' he said: "It means rain, which comes out from between the clouds."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the words of Allah Almighty, 'a whirlwind (i'sar) containing fire, and it was burnt,' that he said: "Al-i'sar means a very violent, fierce wind."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), in the interpretation of the words of Allah Almighty, 'confused dreams (adghathu ahlam),' that he said: "It means dreams that are false and confused."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the words of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, 'Those who consume usury (riba) will not stand except as one stands whom Satan has driven to madness by his touch,' that he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection they will be recognised by this condition; they will not have the strength to stand except as one stands whom Satan has touched and made bewildered and insane." And in the interpretation of the divine words, 'That is because they said: Trade is only like usury,' he said: "They said this, lying against Allah." Then he recited from 'But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury. So whoever receives an admonition from his Lord and desists' up to 'And whoever returns,' that is, "whoever consumes usury again," 'those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein forever.' And concerning the words of Allah Almighty, 'O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains of usury, if you are believers. And if you do not, then be informed of a war from Allah,' to the end of the verse: it has reached us, and Allah knows best, that this verse was revealed concerning Banu Amr bin Umayr bin Awf of the tribe of Thaqif and Banu al-Mughirah of Banu Makhzum. Banu al-Mughirah used to do usurious business for Banu Thaqif. Then, when Allah Almighty granted His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) victory over Makkah, he (peace and blessings be upon him) abolished all usurious dealings on that day. The people of Ta'if had made peace on the condition that their usury (owed to them by others) would remain, while whatever usury they owed would be considered cancelled. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote at the end of their document that they have the same rights as the Muslims and the same obligations as the Muslims, and that they will neither consume usury nor deal in usury. Then the people of Banu Amr bin Umayr and Banu al-Mughirah came to Sayyiduna Attab bin Asid (may Allah be pleased with him), the governor of Makkah, and Banu al-Mughirah said: "Why have we been made the most deprived of people in the matter of usury, when it has been abolished for everyone besides us?" Upon this Banu Amr bin Umayr said: "Our peace was made on the basis that we would receive our usury." Sayyiduna Attab bin Asid (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this situation, and this verse was revealed: 'And if you do not, then be informed of a war from Allah and His Messenger.' So Banu Amr understood that they had been given an ultimatum of war from Allah and His Messenger. Then Allah said: 'But if you repent, you may have your principal; you will not wrong, nor will you be wronged,' that is, "you are not to do wrong (by taking more), nor are you to be wronged by having your principal reduced." And the meaning of 'And if one is in hardship' is: "you should grant him respite; that is better for you, if you only knew": 'then let there be respite until a time of ease. And that you give it as charity is better for you, if you only knew. And fear a Day on which you will be returned to Allah; then every soul will be paid in full what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.' The narrators mentioned that this verse and the last verse of Surah al-Nisa' are among the last verses of the Noble Qur'an to be revealed.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It has been revealed to me that I should prostrate on seven bones (limbs), and that I should not tuck up (during prayer) either my hair or my garments." In the chain of this narration, Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated it from Abdullah al-Azdi or Ubaydullah al-Azdi, about which Abu Uthman was in doubt.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (during ablution) rinsed his mouth, sniffed water into his nose, washed his blessed face, washed both his forearms and hands once each, and wiped his blessed head and both his ears."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "And he (peace and blessings be upon him) washed both his feet."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) rinsed his mouth and sniffed water into his nose from a single handful of water."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): Abu Musa al-Saffar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated: I asked Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), or he was asked, which charity is the best? He said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best charity is (giving) water. Have you not heard how the people of Hell, when they cried for help to the people of Paradise, said: 'Pour upon us some water, or some of what Allah has provided for you'?"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah, I will surely fight Quraysh; by Allah, I will surely fight Quraysh; by Allah, I will surely fight Quraysh, if Allah wills." The narrator said that these words are according to my memory, or he (peace and blessings be upon him) said something similar to them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah, I will surely fight against Quraysh; by Allah, I will surely fight against Quraysh; by Allah, I will surely fight against Quraysh." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while and after that said: "If Allah wills."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked: "How did your morning find you (that is, how are you)?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am in a better state than people who have neither visited a sick person nor attended a funeral."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: I mentioned the night prayer (tahajjud), and some of those present related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Standing in tahajjud may be) half the night, a third of it, a quarter of it, or the length of the interval between two milkings of a she-camel, or even the length of the interval between two milkings of a goat."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the Zuhr and Asr prayers together, and the Maghrib and Isha prayers together, without any excuse of travel or rain." Salih (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked (Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both)) what he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended by this. He replied: "His (peace and blessings be upon him) aim was to create latitude and ease for his Ummah."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Damrah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) left his house intending to emigrate and said to his family: "Carry me and take me out of the land of the polytheists to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." So he died on the way before reaching the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then this divine revelation came down: 'And whoever leaves his home emigrating to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him (on the way, his reward has become due with Allah),' until the verse ended at 'And Allah is Ever Forgiving, Most Merciful.'

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been helped by the saba (the east wind), while the people of Ad were destroyed by the dabur (the west wind)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray two rak'ahs at night, and then, when he finished the prayer, he would use the miswak."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), concerning the spoils of the slain man which he had taken: "Leave him and his spoils."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "My mother has died, and she owed a vow which she was not able to fulfil." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Fulfil it on her behalf."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards (the mountain of) Uhud and said: "It would never please me that this (mountain) were turned into gold for the family of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which I would spend in the way of Allah, and that on the day I die two dinars of it should still remain with me."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), concerning the words of Allah Almighty, 'while you are samidun,' that: "The disbelievers and polytheists used to pass by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with their necks raised, in arrogance." (To explain this meaning he said:) "Have you not seen the calf, how it struts with its head held high?"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) proposed marriage to a woman of Quraysh who was called Sayyidah Sawdah (may Allah be pleased with her), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "The best of all the women who ride on the backs of camels are the women of Quraysh: they are the most tender towards their children in childhood, and the best guardians of their husbands' wealth and belongings."