Sunan Abi Dawud

Abu Hurairah reported the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) as saying “Our Lord Most High is charmed with people who will be led to Paradise in chains.”

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent Abdullah ibn Ghalib al-Laythi along with a detachment and I was also with them. He ordered them to attach Banu al-Mulawwih from all sides at al-Kadid. So we went out and when we reached al-Kadid we met al-Harith ibn al-Barsa al-Laythi, and seized him. He said: I came with the intention of embracing Islam, and I came out to go to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). We said: If you are a Muslim, there is no harm if we keep you in chains for a day and night; and if you are not, we shall tie you with chains. So we tied him with chains.

Abu Hurairah said “ The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) sent some horsemen to Najd and they brought a man of the Banu Hanifah called Thumamah bint Uthal who was the chief of the people of Al Yamamah and bound him to one of the pillars of the mosque. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) came out to him and said “What are you expecting, Thumamah?”. He replied “I expect good, Muhammad. If you kill (me), you will kill one whose blood will be avenged, if you show favor, you will show it to one who is grateful and if you want property and ask you will be given as much of it as you wish. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) left him till the following day and asked him ”What are you expecting, Thumamah?” He repeated the same words (in reply). The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ)left him till the day after the following one and he mentioned the same words. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) then said “Set Thumamah free.” He went off to some palm trees near the mosque. He took a bath there and entered the mosque and said “I testify that there is no god but Allaah and I testify that Muhammd is His servant and His apostle. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. The narrator ‘Isa said “Al Laith narrated to us”. He said “a man of respect and reverence.”

Yahya ibn Abdullah said: When the captives (of the battle of Badr) were brought, Sawdah daughter of Zam'ah was present with the children of Afra' at the halting place of their camels, that is, Awf and Mu'awwidh sons of Afra'. This happened before the prescription of veil for them. Sawdah said: I swear by Allah, I was with them when I came (from there to the people) and I was told: These are captives recently brought (here). I returned to my house, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was there, and AbuZayd Suhayl ibn Amr was in the corner of the apartment and his hands were tied up on his neck with a rope. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. Abu Dawud said: They (the sons of 'Afra') killed Abu Jahl b. Hisham. They were deputed for him though they did not realize him: and they were killed in the battle of Badr.

Anas said “The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) called on his Companions and they proceeded towards Badr. Suddenly they found the watering Camels of the Quraish, there was among them a black slave of Banu Al Hajjaj. The Companions of the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) seized him and began to ask “Where is Abu Sufyan?” He said “I swear by Allaah, I do not know anything about him, but this is the Quraish who have come here, among them are Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah, Shaibah the two sons of Rabi’ah and Umayyah bin Khalaf. When he aid this to them, they beat him and he began to say “Leave me, leave me. I shall tell you. When they left him he said “I know nothing about Abu Sufyan, but this is the Quraish who have come (here), among them are Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah, Shaibah the two sons of Rab’iah and Umayyah bin Khalaf who have come here. The Prophet (ﷺ) was praying and hearing all that (dialogue). When he finished, he said “By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you beat him when he speaks the truth to you and you leave him when he tells a lie. This is the Quraish who have come here to defend Abu Sufyan. Anas said, The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “This will be the place of falling of so and so tomorrow and he placed his hand on the ground. This will be the place of falling of so and so tomorrow and he put his hand on the ground. And this will be the place of falling of so and so tomorrow and he put his hand on the ground. He (Ansas) said “By Him in Whose hand my soul is, no one fell beyond the place of the hand of the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ), The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) ordered for them, and they were caught by their feet and dragged and thrown in a well at Badr.

When the children of a woman (in pre-Islamic days) did not survive, she took a vow on herself that if her child survives, she would convert it a Jew. When Banu an-Nadir were expelled (from Arabia), there were some children of the Ansar (Helpers) among them. They said: We shall not leave our children. So Allah the Exalted revealed; "Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error." Abu Dawud said: Muqlat means a woman whose children do not survive.

On the day when Mecca was conquered, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave protection to the People except four men and two women and he named them. Ibn AbuSarh was one of them. He then narrated the tradition. He said: Ibn AbuSarh hid himself with Uthman ibn Affan. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called the people to take the oath of allegiance, he brought him and made him stand before the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: Messenger of Allah, receive the oath of allegiance from him. He raised his head and looked at him thrice, denying him every time. After the third time he received his oath. He then turned to his Companions and said: Is not there any intelligent man among you who would stand to this (man) when he saw me desisting from receiving the oath of allegiance, and kill him? They replied: We do not know, Messenger of Allah, what lies in your heart; did you not give us an hint with your eye? He said: It is not proper for a Prophet to have a treacherous eye. Abu Dawud said: 'Abd Allah (b. Abi Sarh) was the foster brother of 'Uthman, and Walid b. 'Uqbah was his brother by mother, and 'Uthman inflicted on him hadd punishment when he drank wine.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: on the day of the conquest of Mecca: There are four persons whom I shall not give protection in the sacred and non-sacred territory. He then named them. There were two singing girls of al-Maqis; one of them was killed and the other escaped and embraced Islam. Abu Dawud said: I could not understand its chain of narrators from Ibn al-'Ala' as I liked.

Anas bin Malik said “The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) entered Makkah in the year of the conquest (of Makkah) wearing a helmet on his head. When he took off it a man came to him and said “Ibn Akhtal is hanging with the curtains of the Ka’bah.” He said “Kill him”. Abu Dawud said “The name of Ibn Akhtal is ‘Abd Allaah and Abu Barzat Al Aslami killed him.

Ibrahim said: Ad-Dahhak ibn Qays intended to appoint Masruq as governor. Thereupon Umarah ibn Uqbah said to him: Are you appointing a man from the remnants of the murderers of Uthman? Masruq said to him: Ibn Mas'ud narrated to us, and he was trustworthy in respect of traditions, that when the Prophet (ﷺ) intended to kill your father, he said: Who will look after my children? He replied: Fire. I also like for you what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) liked for you.

We fought along with AbdurRahman ibn Khalid ibn al-Walid. Four infidels from the enemy were brought to him. He commanded about them and they were killed in confinement. Abu Dawud said: The narrators other than Sa'id reported from Ibn Wahb in this tradition: "(killed him) with arrows in confinement." When Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was informed about it, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibiting to kill in confinement. By Him in Whose hands my soul is, if there were a hen, I would not kill it in confinement. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Khalid b. al-Walid was informed about it (the Prophet's prohibition). He set four slaves free.

Anas said “Eighty Meccans came down from the mountain of Al Tan’im against the Prophet(ﷺ) and his Companions at the (time of the) dawn prayer to kill them. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) took them captive without fighting and the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) set them free. Thereupon Allaah Most High sent down “He it is Who averted their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah,” till the end of the verse.

Jubair bin Mut’im reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying about the prisoners taken at Badr. If Mut’im bin ‘Adi had been alive and spoken to me about these filthy ones, I would have left them for him.

‘Umar bin Al Khattab said “During the battle of Badr, the Prophet (ﷺ) took ransom”. Thereupon Allaah Most High sent down “It is not fitting for an Apostle that he should have prisoners of war until he hath thoroughly subdued the land. You look on the temporal goods of this world, but Allaah looketh to the Hereafter”. And Allaah is exalted in might and Wise. Had it not been for a previous ordainment from Allaah, a severe penalty would have reached you for the (ransom) that you took. Allaah then made the spoils of war lawful. Abu Dawud said “I heard that Ahmad bin Hanbal was asked about the name of Abu Nuh”. He said “What will you do with his name? His name is a bad one. Abu Dawud said “the name of Abu Nuh is Qurad. What is correct is that his name is ‘Abd Al Rahman bin Ghazwan.

The Prophet (ﷺ) fixed the ransom of the people of pre-Islamic Arabia at four hundred dirhams per head on the day of the battle of Badr.

When the people of Mecca sent about ransoming their prisoners Zaynab sent some property to ransom Abul'As, sending among it a necklace of hers which Khadijah had had, and (which she) had given to her when she married Abul'As. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw it, he felt great tenderness about it and said: If you consider that you should free her prisoner for her and return to her what belongs to her, (it will be well). They said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made an agreement with him that he should let Zaynab come to him, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent Zayd ibn Harithah and a man of the Ansar (the Helpers) and said: Wait in the valley of Yajij till Zaynab passes you, then you should accompany her and bring her back.

Marwan and Al Miswar bin Makhramah told that when the deputation of the Hawazin came to the Muslims and asked the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) to return to them their property, the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said to them “with me are those whom you see”. The speech dearest to me is the one which is true, so choose (one of the two) either the captives or the property. They said “We choose our captives. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) stood up, extolled Allaah and then said “To proceed, your brethren have come repentant I have considered that I should return their captives to them, so let those of you who are willing to release the captives act accordingly, but those who wish to hold on to what they have till we give them some of the first booty Allaah gives us may do so. The people said “We are willing for that (to release their captives), Apostle of Allaah. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “We cannot distinguish between those of you who have granted that and those who have not , so return till your headmen may tell us about your affair. The people then returned and their headmen spoke to them, then they informed that they were agreeable and had given their permission.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said: Return to them (Hawazin) their women and their sons. If any of you withholds anything from this booty, we have six camels for him from the first booty which Allah gives us. The Prophet (ﷺ) then approached a camel, and taking a hair from its hump said: O people, I get nothing of this booty, not even this (meanwhile raising his two fingers) but the fifth, and the fifth is returned to you, so hand over threads and needles. A man got up with a ball of hair in his hand and said: I took this to repair the cloth under a pack-saddle. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: You can have what belongs to me and to the Banu al-Muttalib. He said: If it produces the result that I now realise, I have no desire for it.

Abu Talhah said “When the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) prevailed on any people, he stayed three nights in the field. Ibn Al Muthanna said “When he prevailed over people, he liked to stay three nights in the field.” Abu Dawud said “Yahya bin Sa’id used to object to this tradition for this is not from his early traditions because his memory was spoiled at the age of forty five. He narrated this tradition in the last days of his age.” Abu Dawud said “ It is said that Waki ‘ recived this tradition from him when his memory was spoiled.”

Ali separated between a slave-girl and her child. The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited it and made the sale transactions withdrawn. Abu Dawud said: The narrator Maimun (b. Abi Shaib) did not meet 'Ali. He (Maimun) was killed in the battle of Jamajim in 83 A.H. Abu Dawud said: The battle of Harrah took place in 63 A.H., and Ibn al-Zubair was killed in 73 A.H.