35/42. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 3854 — Allah Does Not Benefit From Self-Torture
What Is The Requirement Upon One Who Made A Vow That Something Would Be Obligatory For Him, Then He
Walking to the Ka'bah and the Ban on Self-Torture
Sunan an-Nasai : 3854
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3854
أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي قَالَ، حَدَّثَنِي إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ طَهْمَانَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ حُمَيْدٍ الطَّوِيلِ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ أَتَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى رَجُلٍ يُهَادَى بَيْنَ ابْنَيْهِ فَقَالَ " مَا شَأْنُ هَذَا " . فَقِيلَ نَذَرَ أَنْ يَمْشِيَ إِلَى الْكَعْبَةِ . فَقَالَ " إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَصْنَعُ بِتَعْذِيبِ هَذَا نَفْسَهُ شَيْئًا " . فَأَمَرَهُ أَنْ يَرْكَبَ .
Anas bin Malik Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah came to a man who was being supported by two others and said: 'What is the matter with him?' It was said: 'He vowed to walk to the Ka'bah.' He said: 'Allah does not benefit from his torturing himself.' And he told him to ride.
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3854In-book reference : Book 35, Hadith 94English translation : Vol. 4, Book 35, Hadith 3885
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3854
This hadith reports that a man was being supported by two others after vowing to walk to the Ka'bah. The Messenger of Allah asked about him and was told of the vow. He replied that Allah does not benefit from the man torturing himself, and he instructed him to ride. The narration does not reject the Ka'bah or the intention to go there. It addresses the harmful way the man was forcing himself to travel when he could no longer manage it safely. For searches about a vow to walk to the Ka'bah, religious self-torture, or whether a person may ride after such a vow, the direct action in the text is clear: the man was told to stop the harmful walking and ride.
What we learn from this hadith
- Allah does not benefit from a person torturing himself.
- The man had reached a state where others had to support him.
- The Messenger of Allah ordered him to ride.
- The problem in the text was the harmful way the vow was being carried out.
