72/31. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 5534 — Good and Bad Companions
The musk
Good Companion Hadith: The Musk Seller and the Bellows
Sahih Bukhari : 5534
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 5534
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلاَءِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنْ بُرَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَثَلُ الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ وَالسَّوْءِ كَحَامِلِ الْمِسْكِ وَنَافِخِ الْكِيرِ، فَحَامِلُ الْمِسْكِ إِمَّا أَنْ يُحْذِيَكَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَبْتَاعَ مِنْهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَجِدَ مِنْهُ رِيحًا طَيِّبَةً، وَنَافِخُ الْكِيرِ إِمَّا أَنْ يُحْرِقَ ثِيَابَكَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَجِدَ رِيحًا خَبِيثَةً ".
Abu Musa Narrated from:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The example of a good pious companion and an evil one is that of a person carrying musk and another blowing a pair of bellows. The one who is carrying musk will either give you some perfume as a present, or you will buy some from him, or you will get a good smell from him, but the one who is blowing a pair of bellows will either burn your clothes or you will get a bad smell from him."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 5534In-book reference : Book 72, Hadith 59USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 7, Book 67, Hadith 442
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5534
This Hadith gives one of the clearest examples about choosing companions. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) compared a good pious companion to a person carrying musk, and a bad companion to someone blowing bellows. The good companion may give you perfume, you may buy from him, or at least you find a good smell. The bad companion may burn your clothes or leave you with a bad smell. For searches like “good companion hadith,” “musk seller and blacksmith hadith,” and “bad friends in Islam,” the lesson is easy to understand: the people around us affect us. The Hadith does not say every person affects us in the same way. It uses a simple image to show that good company brings benefit, while harmful company brings harm.
What we learn from this hadith
- Good company can bring benefit, like the fragrance of musk.
- Bad company can bring harm, like smoke, fire, or a bad smell.
- A person should think carefully about close companions.
- The Hadith teaches through an easy and memorable example.
