45. THE HADEETH OF THE MAN WHO BORROWED A THOUSAND DINARS FROM HIS COMPANION AND REPAID IT
Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) from the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) that a man from among the Children of Isra’eel asked some of the Children of Isra’eel to lend him a thousand dinars. The second man required witnesses. The former replied, “Allah is sufficient as a witness.” The second said, “I want a surety.” The former replied, “Allah is sufficient as a surety.” The second said, “You are right,” and lent him the money for a certain period. The debtor then traveled across the sea. When he finished his work, he searched for a ship so that he might reach in time for the repayment of the debt, but he could not find any. So he took a piece of wood and made a hole in it, inserted in it one thousand dinars and a letter to the lender and then closed (i.e. sealed) the hole tightly. He took the piece of wood to the sea and said, “O, Allah! You know well that I took a loan of one thousand dinars from so-and-so. He demanded a surety from me but I told him that Allah’s Guarantee was sufficient and he accepted Your Guarantee. He then asked for a witness and I told him that Allah was sufficient as a Witness, and he accepted You as a Witness. No doubt, I tried hard to find a ship so that I could pay his money but could not find, so I hand over this money to You.” Saying that, he threw the piece of wood into the sea till it went out far into it, and then he went away. Meanwhile, he started searching for a ship in order to reach the creditor’s country. One day the lender came out of his house to see whether a ship had arrived bringing his money, and all of a sudden he saw the piece of wood in which his money had been deposited. He took it home to use for fire. When he sawed it, he found his money and the letter inside it. Shortly after that, the debtor came bringing one thousand dinars to him and said, “By Allah, I had been trying hard to get a boat so that I could bring you your money, but failed to get one before the one I have come by.” The lender asked, “Have you sent something to me?” The debtor replied, “I have told you I could not get a boat other than the one I have come by.” The lender said, “Allah has delivered on your behalf the money you sent in the piece of wood. So you may keep your one thousand dinars and depart guided on the right path.”
Imam Ahmad narrated it thus with a chain of narrators, while Al-Bukhari narrated it in a mu‘allaq form, in a place other than his Saheeh, on the authority of Al-Laith Ibn Sa‘d, indicating his firm belief that it is authentic.
Another Story Similar to This Story, Regarding Truth and Trustworthiness
Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “A man bought a piece of land from another man, and the buyer found an earthenware jar filled with gold in the land. The buyer said to the seller, “Take your gold, as I have bought only the land from you, but I have not bought the gold from you.” The (former) owner of the land said, “I have sold you the land with everything in it.” So both of them took their case before a man, who asked, “Do you have children?” One of them said, “I have a boy.” The other said, “I have a girl.” The man said, “Marry the girl to the boy, spend of the money on both of them and give the rest of it in charity.”
Another Story
Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said, “There was a man among the Children of Isra’eel who murdered ninety-nine persons. Then he set out asking (whether his repentance could be accepted or not). He came upon a monk and asked him if his repentance could be accepted. The monk replied in the negative, so the man killed him. He kept on asking till a man advised him to go to such-and-such a village. (So he set out for it) but death overtook him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest toward that village (where he had hoped his repentance would be accepted), and so the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment quarreled among themselves regarding him. Allah ordered the village (toward which he was going) to come closer to him, and ordered the village (from where he had come) to move further away, and then He ordered the angels to measure the distances between his body and the two villages. He was found to be one hand span closer to the village (toward which he was heading) and so he was forgiven.”
Another hadeeth: Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) performed the Fajr prayer, then he faced the people and said, “While a man was driving a cow, he suddenly mounted it and struck it. The cow said, “We have not been created for this, but we have been created for plowing.” On that the people said astonishingly, “Glorified be Allah! A cow speaks!” The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I believe this, and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar believe it too,” although neither of them was present there. While a person was amongst his sheep, a wolf attacked and took one of the sheep. The man chased the wolf till he saved it from the wolf, where upon the wolf said, “You have saved it from me; but who will guard it on the day of the wild beasts when there will be no shepherd to guard them except me (because of riots and afflictions)?” The people said surprisingly, “Glorified be Allah! A wolf speaks!” The Prophet said, “I believe this, and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, believe it too,” although neither of them was present there.”
Another hadeeth: Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he reported from the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) that he said, “Amongst the people who came before you there used to be muhaddithoon (i.e. persons who can guess things that come true later on, as if those persons have been inspired by a Divine Power), and if there is any such person amongst my followers, it is ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab.”
Another hadeeth: Al-Bukhari narrated in his Saheeh, on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The Prophet said, “While a dog was going round a well and was about to die of thirst, an Isra’eelite prostitute saw it and took off her shoe and gave it water to drink. So Allah forgave her because of that (good deed).”
Another hadeeth: Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “A woman was punished because of a cat which she had imprisoned till it died. She entered the Fire because of it, for she neither gave it food nor water as she had imprisoned it, nor set it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.”
Another hadeeth: Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Among the Children of Isra’eel there was a woman who was short in stature and so she made two sandals out of wood and she used to walk between two short women. She had a gold ring and she placed the best of perfumes and musk underneath its stone and when she passed by the meeting-place, she would shake it and it would diffuse its fragrance.”
Another hadeeth: Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Abu Mas‘ood (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “One of the sayings of the prophets which the people have got, is: “If you do not feel ashamed, then do whatever you like.”
Another hadeeth: “Imam Ahmad narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “A man entered upon his family and when he saw how needy they were, he went out to the desert. When his wife saw that, she went to the millstone and set it up, then she went to the oven and lit it. After that, she said, “O, Allah! Provide us with sustenance.” Then she looked, and saw that the jafnah had become filled and she went to the oven and saw that it had become filled. Then her husband returned and said, “Did you get something after me?” His wife said, “Yes, from our Lord.” He stood up and went to the millstone.” This was mentioned to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said, “If he had not lifted it up, it would have continued turning until the Day of Resurrection.”
By Ibn Katheer
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