30/6. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3645 — Buy Your Souls from Your Lord
When One Exhorts His Closest Kinsmen
Buy Your Souls from Your Lord: A Hadith on Personal Responsibility
Sunan an-Nasai : 3645
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3645
أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ أَنْبَأَنَا إِسْرَائِيلُ، عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ إِسْحَاقَ - عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ طَلْحَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يَا بَنِي عَبْدِ مَنَافٍ اشْتَرُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ إِنِّي لاَ أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا يَا بَنِي عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ اشْتَرُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ إِنِّي لاَ أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَلَكِنْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ رَحِمٌ أَنَا بَالُّهَا بِبِلاَلِهَا ".
Musa bin Talhah Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah said: 'O Banu 'Abd Manaf! Buy your souls from your Lord. I cannot avail you anything before Allah. Abu Banu 'Abdul-Muttalib! Buy your souls from your Lord. I cannot avail you anything before Allah. But between me and you there are ties of kinship which I will uphold.'
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3645In-book reference : Book 30, Hadith 35English translation : Vol. 4, Book 30, Hadith 3675
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3645
In this hadith, the Messenger of Allah addresses Banu Abd Manaf and Banu Abdul-Muttalib. He tells them to buy their souls from their Lord, meaning they must take responsibility for themselves before Allah. He clearly says that he cannot avail them anything before Allah. Their family relationship with him is not presented as a replacement for their own response to Allah. Yet the hadith does not dismiss family care. The Prophet adds that ties of kinship exist between them and that he will uphold those ties. The lesson is balanced and easy to see: personal accountability cannot be handed to a relative, even a very honored relative, while family bonds still deserve care. This is a strong hadith about personal responsibility and maintaining kinship.
What we learn from this hadith
- Take personal responsibility for your standing before Allah.
- Do not depend on family connection alone for rescue in the Hereafter.
- Warn close relatives with honesty rather than giving false assurance.
- Continue to uphold kinship even when explaining personal accountability.
