36/23. Chapter:
Sunan Ibn Majah 4030 — The Faith of the Hairdresser’s Family
Patience at the time of calamity
Hadith About the Hairdresser of Pharaoh’s Daughter
Sunan Ibn Majah : 4030
Sunan Ibn MajahHadith Number 4030
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ بَشِيرٍ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، عَنْ أُبَىِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنَّهُ لَيْلَةَ أُسْرِيَ بِهِ وَجَدَ رِيحًا طَيِّبَةً فَقَالَ " يَا جِبْرِيلُ مَا هَذِهِ الرِّيحُ الطَّيِّبَةُ قَالَ هَذِهِ رِيحُ قَبْرِ الْمَاشِطَةِ وَابْنَيْهَا وَزَوْجِهَا . قَالَ وَكَانَ بَدْءُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْخَضِرَ كَانَ مِنْ أَشْرَافِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَكَانَ مَمَرُّهُ بِرَاهِبٍ فِي صَوْمَعَتِهِ فَيَطْلُعُ عَلَيْهِ الرَّاهِبُ فَيُعَلِّمُهُ الإِسْلاَمَ فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ الْخَضِرُ زَوَّجَهُ أَبُوهُ امْرَأَةً فَعَلَّمَهَا الْخَضِرُ وَأَخَذَ عَلَيْهَا أَنْ لاَ تُعْلِمَهُ أَحَدًا وَكَانَ لاَ يَقْرَبُ النِّسَاءَ فَطَلَّقَهَا ثُمَّ زَوَّجَهُ أَبُوهُ أُخْرَى فَعَلَّمَهَا وَأَخَذَ عَلَيْهَا أَنْ لاَ تُعْلِمَهُ أَحَدًا فَكَتَمَتْ إِحَدَاهُمَا وَأَفْشَتْ عَلَيْهِ الأُخْرَى فَانْطَلَقَ هَارِبًا حَتَّى أَتَى جَزِيرَةً فِي الْبَحْرِ فَأَقْبَلَ رَجُلاَنِ يَحْتَطِبَانِ فَرَأَيَاهُ فَكَتَمَ أَحَدُهُمَا وَأَفْشَى الآخَرُ وَقَالَ قَدْ رَأَيْتُ الْخَضِرَ . فَقِيلَ وَمَنْ رَآهُ مَعَكَ قَالَ فُلاَنٌ فَسُئِلَ فَكَتَمَ وَكَانَ فِي دِينِهِمْ أَنَّ مَنْ كَذَبَ قُتِلَ قَالَ فَتَزَوَّجَ الْمَرْأَةَ الْكَاتِمَةَ فَبَيْنَمَا هِيَ تَمْشُطُ ابْنَةَ فِرْعَوْنَ إِذْ سَقَطَ الْمُشْطُ فَقَالَتْ تَعِسَ فِرْعَوْنُ . فَأَخْبَرَتْ أَبَاهَا وَكَانَ لِلْمَرْأَةِ ابْنَانِ وَزَوْجٌ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَرَاوَدَ الْمَرْأَةَ وَزَوْجَهَا أَنْ يَرْجِعَا عَنْ دِينِهِمَا فَأَبَيَا فَقَالَ إِنِّي قَاتِلُكُمَا . فَقَالاَ إِحْسَانًا مِنْكَ إِلَيْنَا إِنْ قَتَلْتَنَا أَنْ تَجْعَلَنَا فِي بَيْتٍ فَفَعَلَ فَلَمَّا أُسْرِيَ بِالنَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَجَدَ رِيحًا طَيِّبَةً فَسَأَلَ جِبْرِيلَ فَأَخْبَرَهُ " .
Ubayy bin Ka'b Narrated from:
On the night when he (ﷺ) was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’), the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) noticed a good fragrance and said: “O Jibril, what is this good fragrance?” He said: “This is the fragrance of the grave of the hairdresser and her two sons and her husband.”He said: “That began when Khadir, who was one of the nobles of the Children of Israel, used to pass by a monk in his cell. The monk used to meet him and he taught him Islam. When Khadir reached adolescence, his father married him to a woman. He taught her and made her promise not to teach it to anyone. He used not to touch women, so he divorced her, then his father married him to another woman, and he taught her and made her promise not to teach it to anyone. One of them kept the secret but the other disclosed it, so he fled until he came to an island in the sea.Two men came, gathering firewood, and saw him. One of them kept the secret but the other disclosed it and said: ‘I have seen Khadir.’ It was said: ‘Who else saw him besides you?’ He said: ‘So-and-so.’ (The other man) was questioned but he kept silent. According to their religion, the liar was to be killed.The woman who had kept the secret got married, and while she was combing the hair of Pharoah’s daughter, she dropped the comb and said: ‘May Pharoah perish!’ (The daughter) told her father about that. The woman had two sons and a husband. (Pharoah) sent for them, and tried to make the woman and her husband give up their religion, but they refused. He said: ‘I am going to kill you.’ They said: ‘It would be an act of kindness on your part, if you kill us, to put us in one grave.’ So he did that.” When the Prophet (ﷺ) was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’), he noticed a good fragrance and asked Jibril about it and he told him.”
Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 4030In-book reference : Book 36, Hadith 105English translation : Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 4030
Summary of Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 4030
This hadith about the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter is a long narration from the Night Journey. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم noticed a good fragrance and asked Jibril about it. Jibril said it was the fragrance of the grave of the hairdresser, her two sons, and her husband. The narration tells how she dropped a comb while combing Pharaoh’s daughter’s hair and said words against Pharaoh. When Pharaoh tried to make her and her husband leave their religion, they refused. He threatened to kill them, and they asked that they be placed together in one grave. The hadith, as given, centers on steadfast faith under severe pressure. It also shows the honor connected to their grave through the good fragrance mentioned during Isra.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم noticed a good fragrance during the Night Journey.
- Jibril identified it as the fragrance of the grave of the hairdresser and her family.
- The woman and her husband refused to give up their religion when pressured.
- They asked to be placed together in one grave if they were killed.
