2 of 4 · 1–11 AH and after · Madinah and the battlefields
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari رضي الله عنه
A Soldier Who Carried Words
Abu Ayyub fought at Badr, Uhud, the Trench and the campaigns that followed, and the biographers say that after the Prophet ﷺ's death he rarely missed a Muslim expedition unless he was prevented. He was in his fifties and sixties when others of his age had settled at home.
He was also a careful transmitter of the Prophet's teaching. He reported the practical rule about relieving oneself without facing the qiblah, and the saying that whoever fasts Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal has the reward of fasting the whole year. His narrations are found in the Sahih collections.
His life shows how a warrior and a transmitter of knowledge could be one person. He took in the guest of Allah, then he fought for the faith, then he carried the words to those who came after.
Hospitality, courage and knowledge are not rivals; one person can carry all three.
Which of the three, giving, striving or learning, do you tend to neglect?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 394 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 1164 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'ab fi Ma'rifat al-AshabHistorical report
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
Create a free account to keep your place as you go. Create a free account · Sign in