Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:161
It is not [attributable] to any prophet that he would act unfaithfully [in regard to war booty]. And whoever betrays, [taking unlawfully], will come with what he took on the Day of Resurrection. Then will every soul be [fully] compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The word concerning the explanation of His statement: وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَغُلَّ (And it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful / to be defrauded) (3:161).
The reciters have differed concerning the reading of it.
A group of the reciters of the Ḥijāz and Iraq read it: وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَغُلَّ, with the meaning: that he should be unfaithful to his companions concerning that which Allah has allotted to them as spoils from the possessions of their enemies. Some of the reciters of this reading have adduced as proof that this verse was sent down upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning a cloak that went missing from the spoils of the people on the Day of Badr, whereupon some of those who were with the Prophet ﷺ said: "Perhaps the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has taken it!" And they have transmitted narrations concerning that, among them that:
8136 — Mohammed ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī l-Shawārib related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ziyād related to us, saying: Khuṣayf related to us, saying: Miqsam related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās related to me: that this verse وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful" was sent down concerning a red cloak that went missing on the Day of Badr. He said: Some people said: he has taken it! He said: They spoke much about that, whereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted, sent down: وما كان لنبي أن يغل ومن يغلل يأت بما غل يوم القيامة "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful, and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection".
8137 — Ibn Abī l-Shawārib related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid related to us, saying: Khuṣayf related to us, saying: I asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: how do you read this verse, وما كان لنبي أن يغُل "yaghulla" or يُغَل "yughalla"? He said: no, rather "yaghulla"; for by Allah, the prophet was defrauded (of something) and killed.
8138 — Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb ibn al-Shahīd related to me, saying: ʿAttāb ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", he said: that was concerning a red cloak that went missing during the campaign of Badr, whereupon some people from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ said: "Perhaps the Prophet has taken it!" Whereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted, sent down: وما كان لنبي أن يغُل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful" — [Saʿīd said: yes indeed, by Allah, the prophet is defrauded (of something) and killed].
8139 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Khallād related to us, on the authority of Zuhayr, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: There was a cloak that went missing on the Day of Badr, and they said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has taken it!" Whereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted, sent down: وما كان لنبيّ أن يغُلّ "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful".
8140 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, saying: Zuhayr related to us, saying: Khuṣayf related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and ʿIkrima, concerning His statement: وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", they both said: "yaghullu" — he said: ʿIkrima or another said, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said — there was a cloak that went missing on the Day of Badr, and they said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has taken it! He said: whereupon Allah sent down this verse: وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful".
8141 — Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Qazaʿa ibn Suwayd al-Bāhilī related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: This verse, وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", was sent down concerning a red cloak that went missing from the spoils (ghanīma) on the Day of Badr.
8142 — Naṣr ibn ʿAlī al-Jahḍamī related to us, saying: Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Sulaymān al-Aʿmash, he said: Ibn Masʿūd read: وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يُغَلَّ "yughalla" (to be defrauded), whereupon Ibn ʿAbbās said: yes indeed, and to be killed — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās mentioned that it was only concerning a cloak, that they said: verily, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has defrauded (us of) it, on the Day of Badr. Whereupon Allah sent down: وما كان لنبيّ أن يَغُل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful".
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And others who read it thus, with the fatḥa on the "yāʾ" and the ḍamma on the "ghayn", said: this verse was sent down only concerning vanguards (scouting detachments) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had dispatched in some direction, after which the Prophet ﷺ took spoils and allotted nothing to the vanguards, whereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted, sent down this verse to His prophet ﷺ, and instructed him therein that the deed he had done was an error, and that in the ruling it was his duty to allot to the vanguards the same as he had allotted to the others, and He makes known to him his duty in the ruling concerning that which Allah had allotted to him as spoils, and that it is not permitted to him to allot anything thereof to someone who had attended the battle — or who was their support (ridʾ) in their campaign — to the exclusion of another.
Mention of who said that:
8143 — Mohammed ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement: وما كان لنبي أن يغل ومن يغلل يأت بما غلَّ يوم القيامة "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful, and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection", he says: it does not befit the prophet to allot to one group of the Muslims and to leave a group, and to be unjust in the division, but rather he divides with justice, and adheres therein to the command of Allah, and judges therein according to what Allah has sent down. He says: Allah would not make a prophet who would be unfaithful to his companions, for if the prophet ﷺ were to do that, they would follow his example.
8144 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: that he read: ما كان لنبي أن يغلَّ "it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", he said: that he gives to some and leaves some, when he obtains spoils.
8145 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Salama ibn Nubayṭ, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched vanguards, and the Prophet ﷺ took spoils and allotted nothing to the vanguards, whereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted, sent down: وما كان لنبيّ أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful".
8146 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān brought us a report, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: ما كان لنبي أن يغل "it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", he says: it does not befit a prophet to allot to one group of his companions and to leave a group, but rather he is just and adheres therein to the command of Allah, Mighty and Exalted, and judges therein according to what Allah has sent down.
8147 — Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Yazīd brought us a report, saying: Juwaybir brought us a report, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His statement: ما كان لنبي أن يغل "it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", he said: it does not befit him, when he obtains spoils, to allot to some of his companions and to leave some, but rather he divides among them in equality.
* * *
And others who read it thus, with the fatḥa on the "yāʾ" and the ḍamma on the "ghayn", said: this was sent down only as instruction to the people that the Prophet ﷺ conceals nothing of the revelation of Allah.
Mention of who said that:
8148 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: وما كان لنبيّ أن يغل ومن يغلل يأت بما غل يوم القيامة ثم توفى كل نفس ما كسبت وهم لا يظلمون "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful, and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection; then every soul shall be repaid in full for what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged", that is to say: it does not befit a prophet to conceal from the people that with which Allah has sent him to them, out of fear of the people nor out of desire, and whoever does that shall bring it on the Day of Resurrection.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The explanation of the reading of whoever reads it thus is: it does not befit a prophet to be one who is unfaithful (ghāll) — in the sense that it is not among the deeds of the prophets to betray their communities.
* * *
One says of this: "ghalla l-rajulu fa-huwa yaghullu" (the man was unfaithful, and he is unfaithful), when he commits treachery, "ghulūlan" (unfaithfulness). And one also says of it: "aghalla l-rajulu fa-huwa yughillu ighlālan", as Shurayḥ said: "Upon the borrower who is not unfaithful (ghayr al-mughill) there rests no liability", that is to say: whoever is not a traitor. And one says of this: "aghalla l-jāzir" (the butcher committed ghalal), when he steals away something of the meat along with the hide.
* * *
And along the lines of what we have said concerning that came the explanation of the people of exegesis.
Mention of who said that:
8149 — Mohammed ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ما كان لنبي أن يغل "it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", he says: it does not befit him to commit treachery, and just as it does not befit him to commit treachery, you too commit no treachery.
8150 — Mohammed ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: ما كان لنبي أن يغل "it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", he said: to commit treachery.
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And others read it: وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يُغَلَّ with the ḍamma on the "yāʾ" and the fatḥa on the "ghayn", and that is the reading of the majority of the reciters of the people of Medina and Kūfa.
* * *
And the reciters of it in that manner have differed concerning the explanation of it.
Some said: its meaning is: it does not befit a prophet that his companions should be unfaithful to him (yaghullahu), after which "the companions" was omitted, so that the verb remained without a named agent. And the explanation of it is: it does not befit a prophet that treachery should be done to him.
Mention of who said that:
8151 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAwf brought us a report, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, that he read: وما كان لنبيّ أن يُغَل "and it does not befit a prophet that he should be defrauded". ʿAwf said: al-Ḥasan said: that treachery should be done to him.
8152 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his statement: وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be defrauded", he says: it does not befit a prophet that his companions who are with him, the believers, should be unfaithful to him — it has been related to us that this verse was sent down upon the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Badr, when groups of his companions had been unfaithful.
8153 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq brought us a report, saying: Maʿmar brought us a report, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وما كان لنبي أن يُغَل "and it does not befit a prophet to be defrauded", he said: that his companions should be unfaithful to him.
8154 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, his statement: وما كان لنبي أن يُغَلَّ "and it does not befit a prophet to be defrauded", al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas said, he says: it does not befit a prophet that his companions who are with him should be unfaithful to him — he said: it has been related to us, and Allah knows best: that this verse was sent down upon the prophet of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Badr, when groups of his companions had been unfaithful.
* * *
And others among them said: its meaning is: and it does not befit a prophet that he should be accused of unfaithfulness, so that treachery and theft should be ascribed to him. And it appears that those who explained it thus took His statement وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet" to mean that "yughallal" was intended thereby, after which the "ʿayn" of "yufaʿʿal" was lightened, so that it became "yufʿal", like the one who read His statement فَإِنَّهُمْ لا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ (for indeed they do not call you a liar) [Surah Al-Anʿām: 33] with the explanation: yukadhdhibūnaka.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the more correct of the two readings therein, in my view, is the reading of whoever read: وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَغُلَّ in the sense: unfaithfulness (ghulūl) is not among the attributes of the prophets, and whoever is unfaithful is not a prophet.
And we preferred that only because Allah, Mighty and Exalted, after His statement وما كان لنبي أن يغل "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful", threatened the people of unfaithfulness and said: وَمَنْ يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ (and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection), the verse and what follows it. And in His threat against the people of unfaithfulness after that lies the clear proof that He thereby forbade only unfaithfulness, and instructed His servants that unfaithfulness is not among the attributes of His prophets, by His statement وما كان لنبيّ أن يغلّ "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful". For had He thereby forbidden only the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from suspecting the Messenger of Allah ﷺ of unfaithfulness, then He would have followed it with the threat upon suspicion and evil thinking concerning the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, not with the threat upon unfaithfulness. And in the fact that He followed it with the threat upon unfaithfulness lies a clear proof that He instructed the believers and the rest of His servants only that unfaithfulness is absent from the attributes and character of the prophets, because that is a great crime, and the prophets do not commit the like of it.
* * *
If one of those who read it thus were to say: "Then more fitting than that is: 'and it does not befit a prophet that his companions should be unfaithful to him', if that is as you mentioned, and Allah followed His statement وما كان لنبي أن يغل 'and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful' only with the threat upon unfaithfulness; but the ruling of correctness is owed to the reading of whoever read 'yughallu' with the ḍamma on the 'yāʾ' and the fatḥa on the 'ghayn', because the meaning of it is: and it does not befit a prophet that his companions should be unfaithful to him and betray him concerning the spoils?"
Then it is said to him: was it then permitted to them to be unfaithful to someone other than the Prophet ﷺ and to betray him, so that they were specifically forbidden from betraying the Prophet ﷺ?
If they say: "yes", then they have departed from the statement of the people of Islam, for Allah has not permitted the betrayal of anyone, in the statement of any of the people of Islam, ever.
And if one says: that was not permitted to them, neither with a prophet nor with another.
Then it is said: what then is the point of specifically forbidding the betrayal of the Prophet ﷺ, while unfaithfulness to him and unfaithfulness to some of the Jews stand on one level regarding what Allah has forbidden to the unfaithful one of the possessions of them both, and what is owed by the one entrusted regarding returning the deposit to them both?
And since that is so, it is known that its meaning is that which we have said, namely that Allah, Mighty and Exalted, thereby denied that unfaithfulness and treachery should be among the attributes of His prophets, and thereby forbade His servants unfaithfulness, and commanded them to follow the path of their prophet, as Ibn ʿAbbās said in the narration which we have mentioned from the narration of ʿAṭiyya; then He, exalted is His mention, followed His forbidding of unfaithfulness to them with the threat upon it and said: وَمَنْ يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ (and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection), the two verses together.
* * *
The word concerning the explanation of His statement, exalted: وَمَنْ يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ (and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection).
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means, exalted is His mention: and whoever defrauds anything of the spoils of the Muslims, their war-booty (fayʾ) or anything else, shall bring it on the Day of Resurrection at the gathering-place. As:
8155 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd Abī Ḥayyān, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: that he stood up to deliver a sermon, and he admonished and reminded, and then said: Now then, perhaps a man of you will come on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck a sheep that bleats, saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me! And I say: I possess nothing for you, I have conveyed it to you! Now then, perhaps a man of you will come on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck a horse that neighs, saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me! And I say: I possess nothing for you, I have conveyed it to you! Now then, perhaps a man of you will come on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck something mute (gold and silver), saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me! And I say: I possess nothing for you, I have conveyed it to you! Now then, perhaps a man of you will come on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck a cow that lows, saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me! And I say: I possess nothing for you, I have conveyed it to you! Now then, perhaps a man of you will come on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck rags of cloth that flutter, saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me! And I say: I possess nothing for you, I have conveyed it to you!
8156 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥayyān, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, the like of this — he added to it: "Let me not find any of you with upon his neck a soul (human being) that screams."
8157 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Abū Ḥayyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa ibn ʿAmr ibn Jarīr, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up among us one day, and he mentioned unfaithfulness, and he made it weighty and made its matter weighty, and said: Let me not find any of you who comes on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck a camel that grunts, saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me — then he mentioned the like of the narration of Abū Kurayb, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.
8158 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of Yaʿqūb al-Qummī, he said: Ḥafṣ ibn Ḥumayd related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Let me surely not find any of you who comes on the Day of Resurrection carrying a sheep that bleats, calling out: O Mohammed! O Mohammed! And I say: I possess nothing for you against Allah, I have conveyed it to you! And let me surely not find any of you who comes on the Day of Resurrection carrying a camel that grunts, saying: O Mohammed! O Mohammed! And I say: I possess nothing for you against Allah, I have conveyed it to you! And let me surely not find any of you who comes on the Day of Resurrection carrying a horse that neighs, calling out: O Mohammed! O Mohammed! And I say: I possess nothing for you against Allah, I have conveyed it to you! And let me surely not find any of you who comes on the Day of Resurrection carrying a worn piece of leather, calling out: O Mohammed! O Mohammed! And I say: I possess nothing for you against Allah, I have conveyed it to you."
8159 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Asbāṭ ibn Mohammed related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq al-Shaybānī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn Dhakwān, on the authority of ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, on the authority of Abū Ḥumayd, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched a collector of the alms (ṣadaqa), and he came with much wealth. He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent someone to receive it from him. When they came to him, he began to say: this is for me, and this is for you. He said: They said: from where did you get this? He said: it was given to me as a gift! Then they came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him of that, whereupon he went out and delivered a sermon and said: "O people, what is the matter with me that I dispatch a people to the alms, and one of them comes with much wealth, and when I send someone to receive it, he says: this is for me, and this is for you! If he were truthful, was it not given to him as a gift while he was in the house of his father or in the house of his mother?" Then he said: "O people, whoever among you we dispatch for a task and he defrauds something, shall bring it on the Day of Resurrection carrying it upon his neck. So fear Allah, that one of you should come on the Day of Resurrection with upon his neck a camel that grunts, or a cow that lows, or a sheep that bleats."
8160 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya and Ibn Numayr and ʿAbda ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Ḥumayd al-Sāʿidī, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed a man of the Azd, called "Ibn al-Utbiyya", over the alms of Banū Sulaym. When he came, he said: "This is for you, and this is a gift that was given to me." Whereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Could not one of you sit in his house, so that his gift would come to him!" Then he praised Allah and lauded Him, and then said: "Now then, verily, I appoint men of you over matters of that which Allah has entrusted to me, and one of them says: this is what is for you, and this is a gift that was given to me! Could he not sit in the house of his father or in the house of his mother, so that his gift would come to him? By Him in Whose hand is my soul, none of you takes anything thereof, but that he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection carrying it upon his neck; so let me surely not find that a man comes carrying a camel that grunts, or a cow that lows, or a sheep that bleats!" Then he raised his hand and said: "Now then, have I conveyed it?"
8161 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥīm related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Ḥumayd, who related to him the like of this narration — he said: "Could you not sit in the house of your father and your mother until your gift comes to you?" Then he raised his hand until I truly saw the whiteness of his armpits, and then said: "O Allah, have I conveyed it?" — Abū Ḥumayd said: it is the seeing of my eye and the hearing of my ear.
8162 — Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Wahb related to us, saying: my uncle ʿAbdallāh ibn Wahb related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith brought me a report: that Mūsā ibn Jubayr related to him: that ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥubāb al-Anṣārī related to him: that ʿAbdallāh ibn Unays related to him: that he and ʿUmar one day spoke together about the alms, and he said: did you not hear the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, when he mentioned the defrauding of the alms: "Whoever defrauds thereof a camel or a sheep, verily he carries it on the Day of Resurrection"? ʿAbdallāh ibn Unays said: yes indeed.
8163 — Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā al-Umawī related to us, saying: my father related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Anṣārī related to us, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched Saʿd ibn ʿUbāda as a collector of the alms, and said: beware, O Saʿd, that you do not come on the Day of Resurrection with a camel that you carry while it grunts! He said: I will not take it and will not come with it! Whereupon he excused him.
8164 — Aḥmad ibn al-Mughīra al-Ḥimṣī Abū Ḥumayd related to us, saying: al-Rabīʿ ibn Rawḥ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, saying: ʿUbaydallāh ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ related to me, on the authority of Nāfiʿ, the freedman of Ibn ʿUmar, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUmar, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ: that he appointed Saʿd ibn ʿUbāda, and he came to the Prophet ﷺ and greeted him, whereupon the Prophet ﷺ said to him: beware, O Saʿd, that you do not come on the Day of Resurrection while you carry upon your neck a camel that grunts! Saʿd said: if I do that, O Messenger of Allah, will that indeed happen? He said: yes! Saʿd said: I know, O Messenger of Allah, that I am asked and I give! So excuse me. Whereupon he excused him.
8165 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Zayd ibn al-Ḥubāb related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith related to us, saying: my grandfather ʿUbayd ibn Abī ʿUbayd related to me — and he was the first-born in Medina — he said: I was appointed over the alms of Daws, and Abū Hurayra came to me on the day on which I set out, and greeted, whereupon I went to him and greeted him, and he said: how do you stand regarding the camel? How do you stand regarding the cows? How do you stand regarding the sheep? Then he said: I heard my beloved, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, say: "Whoever takes a camel without right to it, comes with it on the Day of Resurrection while it grunts; and whoever takes a cow without right to it, comes with it on the Day of Resurrection while it lows; and whoever takes a sheep without right to it, comes with it on the Day of Resurrection upon his neck while it bleats. So beware of the cows, for they have sharper horns and stronger hooves."
8166 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Khālid ibn Makhlad related to us, saying: Mohammed related to me, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of his grandfather ʿUbayd ibn Abī ʿUbayd, he said: I was appointed over the alms of Daws, and when I had completed the work I returned, and Abū Hurayra came to me and greeted me and said: inform me, how do you stand regarding the camels — then he mentioned the like of his narration on the authority of Zayd, except that he said: he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection upon his neck while it grunts.
8167 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq brought us a report, saying: Maʿmar brought us a report, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: وما كان لنبي أن يغل ومن يغلل يأت بما غل يوم القيامة "and it does not befit a prophet to be unfaithful, and whoever is unfaithful shall bring that in which he was unfaithful on the Day of Resurrection", Qatāda said: The Prophet ﷺ used to, when he had taken spoils, send a crier: "Now then, let no man defraud a needle, or what is less; now then, let no man defraud a camel, so that he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection upon his back while it grunts; now then, let no man defraud a horse, so that he comes with it on the Day of Resurrection upon his back while it neighs."
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The word concerning the explanation of His statement: ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ (Then every soul shall be repaid in full for what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged) (3:161).
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means, exalted is His praise: ثم توفى كل نفس "then every soul shall be repaid in full", then to every soul shall be given the recompense for what it has earned by its earning, in full and without diminution of what it has thereby deserved and made due — وهم لا يظلمون "and they shall not be wronged", he says: there is done with them only what ought to be done with them, without their being wronged so that they are short-changed in what they have deserved. As:
8168 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: ثم توفى كل نفس ما كسبت وهم لا يظلمون "then every soul shall be repaid in full for what it has earned, and they shall not be wronged", then he is repaid for his earning, without his being wronged or transgressed against.
