39/22. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 4185 — Medina Is Like the Bellows
Canceling The Pledge
Medina Is Like a Bellows: Hadith on the Bedouin’s Pledge
Sunan an-Nasai : 4185
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 4185
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُنْكَدِرِ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّ أَعْرَابِيًّا، بَايَعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى الإِسْلاَمِ فَأَصَابَ الأَعْرَابِيَّ وَعَكٌ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَجَاءَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَقِلْنِي بَيْعَتِي . فَأَبَى ثُمَّ جَاءَهُ فَقَالَ أَقِلْنِي بَيْعَتِي . فَأَبَى فَخَرَجَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّمَا الْمَدِينَةُ كَالْكِيرِ تَنْفِي خَبَثَهَا وَتَنْصَعُ طَيِّبَهَا " .
Jabir bin `Abdullah Narrated from:
A Bedouin pledged Islam to the Messenger of Allah, then the Bedouin was stricken with the fever in Al-Madinah. So he came to the Messenger of Allah and said: "O Messenger of Allah, cancel my pledge," but he refused. Then he came to him again and said: "Cancel my pledge," but he refused. Then he came to him again and said: "Cancel my pledge," but he refused. Then the Bedouin left (Al-Madinah) and the Messenger of Allah said: "Al-Madinah his like the bellows; it expels its dross and brightness its good.
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 4185In-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 37English translation : Vol. 5, Book 39, Hadith 4190
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 4185
This hadith about Medina as a bellows begins with a Bedouin who pledged Islam to the Messenger of Allah. After he developed a fever in Al-Madinah, he repeatedly asked the Prophet to cancel his pledge. The Prophet refused each request. The Bedouin then left, and the Messenger of Allah compared Al-Madinah to a bellows: it expels its dross and brings out or brightens what is good. The narration links the Bedouin’s departure with this image of separation and purification. It also shows that illness did not lead the Prophet to cancel the pledge when the man asked. Readers searching for the Medina furnace hadith should stay with its clear sequence: pledge, fever, repeated request, refusal, departure, and the Prophet’s comparison.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Bedouin’s illness was followed by repeated requests to cancel his pledge.
- The Prophet refused to cancel the pledge each time.
- After the Bedouin left, Medina was compared to a bellows.
- The image describes Medina as expelling dross and bringing out what is good.
