Sunan ad-Darimi

Asim narrated: I asked Imam Sha’bi, may Allah have mercy on him, about a hadith, so he told me that hadith. I said: Is this narrated as marfu’ (attributed) to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? He said: No, attributing it to those after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is more beloved to us, because if there is any addition or omission in the hadith, then it would be attributed to someone other than the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Imam Ibrahim Nakha'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade Muhaqala and Muzabana. It was asked, "Do you not remember any other hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this?" He replied: "I do remember, but I prefer to say, 'Abdullah said, Alqama said.'"

Ismail bin Ubaidullah said: Whenever Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would say: «قال كذا أو نحوه أو شبهه أو شكله» (that is, the Messenger of Allah [peace and blessings be upon him] said something like this, similar to this, or in this meaning).

Rabee’ah bin Yazeed said: Whenever Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a hadith, he would say: «اللهم إلا هكذا أو كشكله», meaning, “This hadith is like this or similar to this.”

Amr bin Maymun said that I used to come to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) every Thursday evening. And I never heard him say, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said." One evening, he said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said," and his eyes filled with tears, the veins of his neck swelled, I saw that the buttons of his shirt were open, and he said: «مثله أو نحوه أو شبيه به» .

Imam Sha'bi and Imam Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on them) narrated that when Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) would narrate any hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the days, his face would turn red and he would say: «هكذا أو نحوه، هكذا أونحوه» (that is, in this way or with similar meaning the Prophet said).

Taubah Ambari said that Imam Sha’bi, may Allah have mercy on him, said to me: What is your opinion about that person who keeps saying, “The Messenger of Allah said, the Messenger of Allah said”? I myself sat with (the Companion of the Messenger) Sayyiduna Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, for two and a half years, and except for “this hadith,” I never heard him narrate any hadith from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

Imam Sha’bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I sat with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) for a year, but I did not hear him mention any hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

Thabit bin Qutbah Ansari said that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to narrate two or three hadiths in a month.

Abdul Malik bin Ubaid said that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by us, so we said: Please narrate to us something from what you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: «واتحلل» that is, by saying «أو كما قال» and the like, I will make it permissible.

Imam Muhammad (Ibn Sirin), may Allah have mercy on him, said that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, used to narrate less from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and when he would narrate something from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he would say: «أو كما قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم» .

Muhammad said: Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), whenever he narrated a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would say: «أو كما قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم» .

Saib bin Yazid narrated: I set out towards Makkah with Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), and until our return to Madinah, I did not hear him narrate any hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

Qarza bin Ka'b said that when the Ansar were leaving Madinah, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them as he bid them farewell: "Do you know why I have come with you to see you off?" We said: "Because of the virtue of the Ansar." He said: "You are going to a people whose tongues move with the recitation of the Holy Qur'an like the branches of a date palm. So do not narrate the hadith of the Messenger to them, and I am your partner in this." Qarza said: "Therefore, I did not narrate any hadith, even though I had heard hadiths from them just as my companions had heard hadiths from them."

Qarazah bin Ka'b said that Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, sent a group of the Ansar towards Kufa, and I was among them. Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, walked with us until he reached Sirar, which is a place with water on the road to Madinah. Then, while dusting off his feet, he said: "You will reach people in Kufa who will have the humming of the Qur'an. They will come to you and say, 'The companions of Muhammad have arrived.' They will come and ask you about hadith, so listen! «اسباغ الوضوء» is three times, and two times (also) suffices." Then he said: "When you reach Kufa, you will meet a group who will have the humming of the Qur'an. They will say, 'The companions of Muhammad have arrived, the companions of Muhammad have arrived.' They will come to you and ask about hadith, so narrate to them the least from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and I am also with you in this matter (i.e., in this regard)." Qarazah said: "I used to sit with the people, they would discuss hadith, and I was the one who remembered the most among them, but when I remembered the advice of Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, I would remain silent." Imam Darimi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "In my view, what is meant by this is narrating hadith about the battles of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and it is not intended to avoid narrating his Sunnah and obligations."

Alqamah said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: «قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم» Then he began to tremble and said: «نحو ذلك أو فوق ذلك» (that is, «قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نحو ذلك أوفوق ذلك» the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said something like this or more or less like this).

Mujahid said: I was with Sayyiduna Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, on the road to Madinah. I never heard him narrate any hadith from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, except that he said: I was with the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when a cluster of dates was brought to him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Among the trees, there is a tree whose example is like that of a Muslim." I thought to say that it is the date palm tree, but I saw that I was the youngest, so I remained silent. Sayyiduna Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: If only you had said it, and I would have attained this honor and distinction.

Salih al-Dhan said: I never heard Jabir bin Zayd say: «قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم» and he considered this a very serious matter and avoided it, lest a lie be attributed to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

Abdullah bin Shaqiq said that Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) asking about him. Sayyiduna Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: What do you want from him? Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I do not know anyone who preserves his hadith more than me. Sayyiduna Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Surely, you will find every seeker, except the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of the world, to become weary one day. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Are you Ka'b? He said: Yes! He said: I have come to someone just like that.

Tawoos said: It was asked from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): O Messenger of Allah! Who is the most knowledgeable among the people? He replied: "The one who gathers the knowledge of people along with his own knowledge, and every seeker of knowledge is hungry for knowledge."

Muawiyah bin Qurrah said: I was in a gathering of elders who were consulting Abid bin Amr, when a young man sitting to one side said: (People) Engage yourselves in the remembrance of Allah «بارك الله فيكم». The people looked at each other, as if to say, "What does he see us occupied with?" Then one of them said: "Who commanded you to say this? Go away, run off! If you say this again, we will see to you, surely we will."

Awn bin Abdullah said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: How excellent is the gathering in which wisdom is spread and mercy is hoped for in it.