36/21. Chapter:
Sunan Ibn Majah 4014 — Days of Patience and Holding to Good
The words of Allah: "O you who believe! Take care of your own selves."
Hadith About Days of Patience Like Holding Burning Ember
Sunan Ibn Majah : 4014
Sunan Ibn MajahHadith Number 4014
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا صَدَقَةُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، حَدَّثَنِي عُتْبَةُ بْنُ أَبِي حَكِيمٍ، حَدَّثَنِي عَمِّي، عَمْرُو بْنُ جَارِيَةَ عَنْ أَبِي أُمَيَّةَ الشَّعْبَانِيِّ، قَالَ أَتَيْتُ أَبَا ثَعْلَبَةَ الْخُشَنِيَّ قَالَ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ تَصْنَعُ فِي هَذِهِ الآيَةِ قَالَ أَيَّةُ آيَةٍ قُلْتُ {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لاَ يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا اهْتَدَيْتُمْ} قَالَ سَأَلْتَ عَنْهَا خَبِيرًا سَأَلْتُ عَنْهَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ فَقَالَ " بَلِ ائْتَمِرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنَاهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ حَتَّى إِذَا رَأَيْتَ شُحًّا مُطَاعًا وَهَوًى مُتَّبَعًا وَدُنْيَا مُؤْثَرَةً وَإِعْجَابَ كُلِّ ذِي رَأْىٍ بِرَأْيِهِ وَرَأَيْتَ أَمْرًا لاَ يَدَانِ لَكَ بِهِ فَعَلَيْكَ خُوَيْصَّةَ نَفْسِكَ وَدَعْ أَمْرَ الْعَوَامِّ فَإِنَّ مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ أَيَّامَ الصَّبْرِ الصَّبْرُ فِيهِنَّ مِثْلُ قَبْضٍ عَلَى الْجَمْرِ لِلْعَامِلِ فِيهِنَّ مِثْلُ أَجْرِ خَمْسِينَ رَجُلاً يَعْمَلُونَ بِمِثْلِ عَمَلِهِ " .
Abu Umayyah Sha’bani Narrated from:
I came to Abu Tha’labah Al-Khushani and said: ‘How do you understand this Verse?’ He said: ‘Which verse?’I said: “O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow the (right) guidance, no hurt can come to you from those who are in error.”?[5:105]He said: ‘You have asked one who knows about it. I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it and he said: “Enjoin good upon one another and forbid one another to do evil, but if you see overwhelming stinginess, desires being followed, this world being preferred (to the Hereafter), every person with an opinion feeling proud of it, and you realize that you have no power to deal with it, then you have to mind your own business and leave the common folk to their own devices. After you will come days of patience, during which patience will be like grasping a burning ember, and one who does good deeds will have a reward like that of fifty men doing the same deed.”
[1] Al-Mā'idah 5:105.[2] Al-Mā'idah 5:105.Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 4014In-book reference : Book 36, Hadith 89English translation : Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 4014
Summary of Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 4014
This Hadith about days of patience explains the verse about taking care of yourselves. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم first said to enjoin good and forbid evil. Then he described conditions such as obeyed stinginess, followed desires, the world being preferred, every person being proud of their opinion, and a matter that a person has no power to deal with. In that situation, the person is told to mind their own particular duty and leave the common people. The Hadith then says days of patience will come, when patience is like holding a burning ember, and one who does good deeds will have a reward like fifty men doing the same deed. The text teaches duty, limits, and patience.
What we learn from this hadith
- Enjoining good and forbidding evil remains the first instruction in the narration.
- When a matter is beyond one’s power, a person is told to focus on their own duty.
- The Hadith describes patience in hard times as like holding a burning ember.
- Doing good in difficult days is praised in the wording of the text.
