Muslim, through Abū Bakr b. Abī Shayba, narrates from Salama b. al-Akwaʿ who said:
"A man was eating with his left hand in the presence of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of God said to him:
- Eat with your right hand. The man replied:
- I am not able to eat with my right hand. Thereupon, the Messenger of God said:
- May you not be able to! Nothing but his arrogance prevents this man from eating with his right hand."
And after that, the man was never able to bring his hand to his mouth."
Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī narrates from the father of Iyās who said:
"The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Bishr b. Rāʿī al-Irʿ eating with his left hand and said to him:
- Eat with your right hand. He replied:
- I cannot. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) then said:
- May you not be able to! Thereupon, the man was never able to bring his hand to his mouth again."
In "Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim," it is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās who said:
"I was playing with the children. When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) came,
I ran away and hid. He came to me, made me take one or two steps,
then sent me to Muʿāwiya for an errand. I went to Muʿāwiya.
He was eating. I returned to the Messenger of God and said:
- I went to him, but he was eating. He sent me again. When I went, he was still eating. I returned and said:
- I went to him, but he was still eating. Thereupon, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
- May Allah not fill his belly." Al-Bayhaqī narrates from Ibn ʿAbbās who said: "I was playing with the children. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) came. I said:
'He must have come for me.' So I went and hid behind the door. He came and found me. He made me walk one or two steps by force and said:
- Go, call Muʿāwiya for me. Muʿāwiya was serving as the scribe of revelation. I went and called him, but they told me Muʿāwiya was eating. I returned to the Messenger of God and said: "He is eating." The Prophet said:
- Go, call him for me! I went and called him a second time, but again they said he was eating. I returned and informed the Messenger of God. Thereupon, he said:
- May Allah not fill his belly! Indeed, after that, Muʿāwiya was never satiated. I saw that this supplication was fulfilled even during Muʿāwiya's rule. It is reported that he would eat meat dishes seven times a day, yet would say, "By Allah, I am not satiated, I feel exhausted."
As we have mentioned on previous pages, during the expedition of Tabūk, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was leading the congregation in prayer, a young man passed in front of them. The Prophet cursed him and made him sit down, and he was never able to stand up again.
According to al-Bayhaqī's narration, a man wrinkled his face while conveying a statement to the Messenger of God, and the Messenger of God said to him:
- Remain always like that. After that, the man's face remained wrinkled, and he trembled throughout his life until his death.
Mālik narrates from Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh who said: "We went to the expedition of Banū Anmār with the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). There was a man with two old garments. Both garments were in his bundle. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to wear the new garments from his bundle, and then he turned and left. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
- What is wrong with this man? May Allah strike his neck! But the man said:
- May it be for the sake of Allah. The Messenger of God then said:
- May it be for the sake of Allah. Indeed, that man was killed in the way of Allah."
Many similar hadiths have been transmitted.
As is established in authentic hadiths and through multiple chains from the community of the Companions (ṣaḥāba), in a manner that conveys certainty—as we will discuss later in the chapter on the virtues of the Messenger of God—the Messenger of God said: "O Allah, for whomever I have taken captive, struck, or cursed—if they are not deserving of it—make this punishment a means of drawing near (qurba) to You for them, so that on the Day of Resurrection You bring them close to Yourself."
At the beginning of the chapter on the prophetic mission, we narrated the hadith of Ibn Masʿūd regarding the curse upon seven individuals. One of those seven was Abū Jahl b. Hishām. The others were his companions. These were the ones who... (This Section Is Incomplete)
"They ask you, [O Muhammad], about Dhū al-Qarnayn. Say, 'I will recite to you about him a report.'" (al-Kahf 18:83)
After this, the story of Dhū al-Qarnayn and his journeys to the east and west, and the beneficial works he accomplished in the world, are recounted. These reports clarify the reality of events that have occurred and also correspond to the accounts found in the sacred scriptures held by the People of the Book. Some of the reports in these books are true, while others have been altered and corrupted. The altered and corrupted ones are rejected. In truth, Allah sent Muhammad as a true prophet and revealed to him the Book so that he might clarify to people the matters about which they differed. After mentioning the Torah and the Gospel, Allah says:
"And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it." (al-Māʾida 5:48)
At the beginning of the chapter on the Hijra, we narrated the story of ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām's conversion to Islam. He said:
"When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Medina, people flocked to him. I was among those who went to him. When I saw his blessed face, I said: 'This is not the face of a liar.' The first words I heard from him were:
- O people! Spread peace, visit your relatives and friends, do not sever family ties, feed others, and pray at night while people are asleep. You will enter Paradise in peace."
As is established in "Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī," Anas narrates that ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām asked the Messenger of God three questions that only a prophet could know:
1- What is the first sign of the Hour?
2- What is the first food the people of Paradise will eat?
3- What causes a child to resemble its father or mother?
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied:
- Gabriel has just informed me of their answers:
1- The first sign of the Hour is a fire that will gather people from the east to the west.
2- The first food the people of Paradise will eat is the extra lobe (roe) of the fish liver.
3- As for the child, if the man's semen precedes the woman's, the child will resemble the father and be male; if the woman's precedes, the child will resemble the mother and be female.
According to al-Bayhaqī's narration from Saʿīd al-Maqbarī, ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām, instead of asking about the first sign of the Hour, asked the Prophet about the dark spots on the moon. The Prophet replied:
- As for the dark spots on the moon, in truth, they were two suns. Regarding this, the Mighty and Majestic Allah says:
"And We made the night and the day two signs, and We erased the sign of the night." (al-Isrāʾ 17:12)
The dark spots you see are the erasure of the night sign.
Thereupon, ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām bore witness and said:
- I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī narrates from Thawbān who said: "I was standing by the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) when a Jewish scholar came and said:
- Peace be upon you, O Muhammad. I pushed him, and he almost fell. He asked me:
- Why did you push me? I reproached him, saying:
- Why do you not address him as 'O Messenger of Allah'?
He replied:
- I called him by the name his family gave him. Thereupon, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
- The name my family gave me is Muhammad. Then the Jew said to him:
- I have come to ask you a question.
- If I answer, will it benefit you?
- I am listening with both my ears.
The Messenger of God had a stick in his hand with which he drew something on the ground and said to the Jew:
- Ask what you wish. The Jew began to ask:
- On the Day when the earth is replaced by another earth and the heavens by other heavens, where will people be? - They will be behind the Bridge, in darkness.
- Who among the people will cross the Bridge first?
- The poor among the Emigrants (Muhājirūn) will cross first.
- When they enter Paradise, what will be their gift?
- The extra lobe (roe) of the fish liver.
- What will they eat after that?
- Then a bull from the surroundings of Paradise will be slaughtered and they will eat it.
- What will they drink after that?
- They will drink from the spring called Salsabīl.
- You have spoken the truth. I have come to ask you something that only a prophet or one or two men would know.
- If I answer, will it benefit you?
- I am listening with both my ears. I have come to ask you what determines whether a child is male or female.
- The man's semen is white, the woman's is yellow. When these fluids mix and the man's prevails, the child will be male. If the woman's prevails, the child will be, by Allah's permission, female.
- You have spoken the truth; surely you are a prophet. After saying this, he left. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
- I did not know the answers to the questions he asked me before. I only knew after Allah informed me of them."
The Jew mentioned in this narration may have been ʿAbd Allāh b. Salām, or it may have been someone else. Allah knows best.
Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī narrates from Ibn ʿAbbās who said: "A group of Jews came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) one day and said:
- O Messenger of God, we will ask you some questions that only a prophet can answer. Give us their answers,
- Ask whatever you wish, but if I give you the correct answers, as you truly know them, promise me by Allah's covenant that you will follow me in Islam, just as Jacob took a covenant from his sons. I want a promise from you.
- Agreed.
- Now ask what you wish.
- We will ask you four things:
1- Tell us what food Israel (Jacob) made unlawful for himself before the Torah was revealed. 2- Tell us about the man's semen and what determines whether a child is male or female.
3- Tell us about the sleeping prophet and which of the angels is your friend. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them:
- If I answer your questions, promise me by Allah that you will follow me. They gave the promise and assurance he requested. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered their questions as follows:
- I remind you by Allah who sent down the Torah to Moses: Israel (Jacob) was afflicted with a severe illness that lasted a long time. He vowed to Allah that if he recovered, he would make his favorite drink and food unlawful for himself. Do you know this? His favorite drink was camel's milk, and his favorite food was camel meat. Is that not so?
- By Allah, yes.
- O Allah, bear witness. I remind you by Allah who sent down the Torah to Moses: Do you know that the man's semen is white and the woman's is yellow? Whichever of these fluids prevails, the child will resemble that parent. If the man's semen prevails, the child will, by Allah's permission, be male. If the woman's fluid prevails, the child will, by Allah's permission, be female. Is that not so?
- By Allah, yes.
- O Allah, bear witness. I remind you by Allah who sent down the Torah to Moses and besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the eyes of this prophet sleep, but his heart does not sleep?
- By Allah, yes.
- O Allah, bear witness.
- Now tell us which of the angels is your friend, so that we may either join you or part from you.
- My friend among the angels is Gabriel (peace be upon him). He is the friend of every prophet whom Allah has sent.
- If your friend had been another angel, we would have pledged allegiance to you and affirmed you.
- What prevents you from affirming Gabriel?
- He is one of those among the angels whom we consider an enemy! Thereupon, the Mighty and Majestic Allah revealed the following verse:
"Say, 'Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel—it is [none but] he who has brought the Qur'an down upon your heart, [O Muhammad], by permission of Allah.'" (al-Baqara 2:97)
"So they incurred wrath upon wrath." (al-Baqara 2:90)
Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrates from Ṣafwān b. ʿAssāl al-Murādī who said:
"A Jew said to his companion:
- Let us go to this prophet and ask him: 'Indeed, We gave Moses nine clear signs.' (al-Isrāʾ 17:101)
His companion said to him:
- Do not say anything to him; if he hears you, he will have four eyes. They went and asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) some questions. He said to them:
- Do not associate anything with Allah, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not kill a soul that Allah has made sacred except by right, do not practice magic, do not consume usury, do not falsely accuse an innocent person before the ruler so that he is killed, do not accuse a chaste person of adultery, do not flee from battle. O community of Jews, especially you, do not transgress on the Sabbath! After the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) finished speaking, the two of them kissed his hands and feet and said:
- We bear witness that you are a prophet.
- Then why do you not follow me? What prevents you?
- The prophet David prayed that there would always be a prophet from his lineage. If we become Muslims, we fear the Jews will kill us."
Al-Tirmidhī said this is a ḥasan and ṣaḥīḥ hadith.
I say: Some of the narrators mentioned in the chain of this hadith have been criticized. It also appears that the narrator confused the nine signs with the ten commandments.
That is: When the prophet Moses, together with the other Israelites, left Egypt and was at Mount Ṭūr on the Night of Power, Allah gave him some commandments. At that time, his brother Aaron was also with him at Mount Ṭūr. Then the Exalted Allah gave Moses the ten commandments. I have explained this in this hadith. As for the other nine signs, they are extraordinary events shown to support the prophet Moses. Allah manifested those signs through Moses in Egypt. They are: the staff, the white hand, the flood, locusts, lice, frogs, blood, famine, and the reduction of crops. We have explained these sufficiently in our tafsir. Allah knows best.