44/33. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 2484b — Holding Fast to Faith
The Virtues Of Abdullah Bin Salam (RA)
Hadith About Holding Fast to the Firmest Handhold
Sahih Muslim : 2484b
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 2484b
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَبَّادِ بْنِ جَبَلَةَ بْنِ أَبِي رَوَّادٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَرَمِيُّ بْنُ عُمَارَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا قُرَّةُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، قَالَ قَالَ قَيْسُ بْنُ عُبَادٍ كُنْتُ فِي حَلْقَةٍ فِيهَا سَعْدُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ وَابْنُ عُمَرَ فَمَرَّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ فَقَالُوا هَذَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ . فَقُمْتُ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ إِنَّهُمْ قَالُوا كَذَا وَكَذَا . قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا كَانَ يَنْبَغِي لَهُمْ أَنْ يَقُولُوا مَا لَيْسَ لَهُمْ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّمَا رَأَيْتُ كَأَنَّ عَمُودًا وُضِعَ فِي رَوْضَةٍ خَضْرَاءَ فَنُصِبَ فِيهَا وَفِي رَأْسِهَا عُرْوَةٌ وَفِي أَسْفَلِهَا مِنْصَفٌ - وَالْمِنْصَفُ الْوَصِيفُ - فَقِيلَ لِيَ ارْقَهْ . فَرَقِيتُ حَتَّى أَخَذْتُ بِالْعُرْوَةِ فَقَصَصْتُهَا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يَمُوتُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَهُوَ آخِذٌ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى " .
Qais b. 'Ubaida Narrated from:
I was (sitting) in a company in which there were (besides others) Sa'd b. Malik and Ibn 'Umar that 'Abdullah b. Saliim happened to pass (by that side). They (the people sitting in that company) said: He is a person from amongst the dwellers of Paradise. I stood up and said to him: They say such and such (thing about you), whereupon he said: Hallowed be Allah, it is not meet for them to say (anything) of which They have no knowledge.Verily I saw as if a pillar had been raised in a green garden and there had been fixed at its (upper) end a handhold and there was a helper at its base. It was said to me: Climb up. So I climbed up and caught hold of the handhold. I narrated (the contents of this dream) to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), whereupon he said: 'Abdullah would die in a state that he would be catching hold of the firmest handhold (he would die holding fast to the faith).
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2484bIn-book reference : Book 44, Hadith 212USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 31, Hadith 6069
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 2484b
This Hadith about holding fast to faith gives another wording of Abdullah b. Salam’s dream. Qais b. Ubaida was sitting with people including Sa’d b. Malik and Ibn Umar when Abdullah b. Salam passed by. People said he was from the dwellers of Paradise. When Qais told him, Abdullah replied that they should not say what they had no knowledge of. He then described a green garden, a raised pillar, a handhold at the top, and a helper at the bottom. He climbed and held the handhold. When he told the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said Abdullah would die while holding the firmest handhold. The text teaches restraint in speech and firmness in faith.
What we learn from this hadith
- Abdullah b. Salam discouraged speaking without knowledge.
- The dream included a green garden, pillar, helper, and handhold.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم connected the dream to dying upon firm faith.
