Sunan Abi Dawud

AbdurRahman ibn Samurah said: I was holding the hand of Ibn Umar on one of the ways of Medina. He suddenly came to a hanging head. He said: Unhappy is the one who killed him. When he proceeded, he said: I do not consider him but unfortunate. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If anyone goes to a man of my community in order to kill him, he should say in this way, the one who kills will go to Hell and the one who is killed will go to Paradise. Abu Dawud said: Al-Thawri has transmitted it from 'Awn from 'Abd al-Rahman b. Sumair or Sumairah ; and Laith b. Abu Sulaim transmitted it from 'Awn from 'Abd al-Rahman b. Sumairah. Abu Dawud said: Al-Hasan b. 'Ali said to me: Abu al-Walid transmitted this tradition to us from Abu 'Awanah, and said: It (the name Ibn Samurah) is in my notebook Ibn Sabrah. The people also transmitted it as Samurah and Sumairah. These are wordings of Abu al-Walid.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: O AbuDharr. I replied: At thy service and at thy pleasure, Messenger of Allah. He then mentioned the tradition in which he said: What will you do when there the death of the people (in Medina) and a house will reach the value of a slave (that is, a grave will be sold for a slave). I replied: Allah and His Apostle know best. Or he said: What Allah and His Apostle choose for me. He said: You must show endurance. Or he said; you may endure. He then said to me: What will you do, AbuDharr, when you see the Ahjar az-Zayt covered with blood? I replied: What Allah and His Apostle choose for me. He said: You must go to those who are like-minded. I asked: Should I not take my sword and put it on my shoulder? He replied: you would then associate yourself with the people. I then asked: What do you order me to do? You must stay at home. I asked: (What should I do) if people enter my house and find me? He replied: If you are afraid the gleam of the sword may dazzle you, put the end of your garment over your face in order that (the one who kills you) may bear the punishment of your sins and his. Abu Dawud said: No one mentioned al-Mush'ath in the chain of this tradition except Hammad b. Zaid.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Before you there will be commotions like pieces of a dark night in which a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel in the evening. He who sits during them will be better than he who gets up, and he who gets up during them is better than he who walks, and he who walks during them is better than he who runs. They (the people) said: What do you order us to do? He replied: Keep to your houses.

I swear by Allah, I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The happy man is he who avoids dissensions: happy is the man who avoids dissensions; happy is the man who avoids dissensions: but how fine is the man who is afflicted and shows endurance.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: There will be civil strife (fitnah) which will render people deaf, dumb and blind regarding what is right. Those who contemplate it will be drawn by it, and giving rein to the tongue during it will be like smiting with the sword.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: There will be civil strife which wipe out the Arabs, and their slain will go to Hell. During it the tongue will be more severe than blows of the sword. Abu Dawud said: Al-Thawri transmitted it from Laith, from Tawus on the authority of Al-A'jam.

Ziyad, one who has white ears.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: A Muslim's best property will soon be sheep which he will take to the tops of the mountains and the places where the rain falls, fleeing with his religion from the civil strife (fitan).

I came out with the intention of (participating in) fighting. Abu Bakrah met me and said: Go back, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: When two Muslims face each other with their swords, the killer and the slain will go to Hell. He asked: Messenger of Allah, this is the killer (so naturally he should go to Hell), but what is the matter with the slain ? He replied: He intended to kill his companion.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted briefly by al-Hasan through a different chain of narrators to the same effect.

Khalid ibn Dihqan said: When we were engaged in the battle of Constantinople at Dhuluqiyyah, a man of the people of Palestine, who was one of their nobility and elite and whose rank was known to them, came forward. He was called Hani ibn Kulthum ibn Sharik al-Kinani. He greeted Abdullah ibn Zakariyya who knew his rank. Khalid said to us: Abdullah ibn AbuZakariyya told us: I heard Umm ad-Darda' say: I heard AbudDarda' say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: It is hoped that Allah may forgive every sin, except in the case of one who dies a polytheist, or one who purposely kills a believer. Hani ibn Kulthum ar-Rabi' then said: I heard Mahmud ibn ar-Rabi' transmitting a tradition from Ubadah ibn as-Samit who transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: If a man kills a believer unjustly, Allah will not accept any action or duty of his, obligatory or supererogatory. Khalid then said to us: Ibn AbuZakariyya transmitted a tradition to us from Umm ad-Darda' on the authority of AbudDarda' from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who said: A believer will continue to go on quickly and well so long as he does not shed unlawful blood; when he sheds unlawful blood, he becomes slow and heavy-footed. A similar tradition has been transmitted by Hani ibn Kulthum from Mahmud ibn ar-Rabi' on the authority of Ubadah ibn as-Samit from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

I asked Yahya b. Yahya al-Ghassani about the word i'tabata bi qatlihi spoken by him (as mentioned in the previous tradition). He said: It means those people who fight during the period of commotion (fitnah), and one of them kills (the other people) presuming that he is in the right, so he does not beg pardon of Allah of that (sin). Abu Dawud said: And he said: The word fa'tabata means "he shed blood profusely"

The verse "If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein for ever" was revealed six months after the verse "And those who invoke not with Allah any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred, except for just cause in Surat al-Furqan.

I asked Ibn 'Abbas (about the verse relating to intentional homicide in Surat An-Nisa') He said: When the verse "Those who invoke not with Allah any other god, nor slay such life as Allah had made sacred, except for just cause" was revealed, the polytheists of Mecca said: We have killed the soul prohibited by Allah, invoked another god along with Allah for worship, and committed shameful deeds. So Allah revealed the verse "unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good." This is meant for them. As regards the verse "if a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell" He said: If a man knows the command of Islam and intentionally kills a believer, his repentance wil not be accepted. I then mentioned it to Mujahid. He said: "Except the one who is ashamed (of his sin)."

The verse: "Those who invoke not with Allah" applied to polytheists. He said: About them another verse, "Say: O my servants who have transgressed against their souls" was also revealed.

No other verse has repealed the verse "If a man kills a believer intentionally"

This is his recompense. If Allah wishes to disregard him, He may do do.

We were with the Prophet (ﷺ). He mentioned civil strife (fitnah) and expressed its gravity. We or the people said: Messenger of Allah, if this happens to us it will destroy us. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said; No. It is enough for you that you would be killed. Sa'id said: I saw that my brethren were killed.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: This people of mine is one to which mercy is shown. It will have no punishment in the next world, but its punishment in this world will be trials, earthquakes and being killed.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The religion will continue to be established till there are twelve caliphs over you, and the whole community will agree on each of them. I then heard from the Prophet (ﷺ) some remarks which I could not understand. I asked my father: What is he saying: He said: all of them will belong to Quraysh.