49/68. Chapter:
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3920 — Madinah Like Bellows
The Virtue Of Al-Madinah
Hadith About Madinah Like Bellows
Jami at-Tirmidhi : 3920
Jami at-TirmidhiHadith Number 3920
حَدَّثَنَا الأَنْصَارِيُّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَعْنٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ، وَحَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُنْكَدِرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، أَنَّ أَعْرَابِيًّا، بَايَعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى الإِسْلاَمِ فَأَصَابَهُ وَعَكٌ بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَجَاءَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ أَقِلْنِي بَيْعَتِي . فَأَبَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَخَرَجَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ ثُمَّ جَاءَهُ فَقَالَ أَقِلْنِي بَيْعَتِي . فَأَبَى فَخَرَجَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّمَا الْمَدِينَةُ كَالْكِيرِ تَنْفِي خَبَثَهَا وَتُنَصِّعُ طَيِّبَهَا " . وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ .هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
Jabir Narrated from:
A Bedouin Gave The Pledge To The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) For Islam, Then He Was Afflicted By The Sickness In Al-Madinah. So The Bedouin Went To The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) And Said: "Take Back My Pledge." But The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) Refused. Then The Bedouin Left And Came Back And Said: "Take Back My Pledge," And He Refused. Then The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) Said: "Al-Madinah Is But Like Bellows, It Expels Its Filth And Purifies Its Good."
Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3920In-book reference : Book 49, Hadith 320English translation : Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3920
Summary of Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 3920
This hadith about Madinah like bellows begins with a Bedouin who gave the pledge for Islam and then became sick in Al-Madinah. He asked the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم to take back his pledge, but the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم refused. After the man left and repeated his request, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم explained that Al-Madinah is like bellows: it expels its filth and makes its good pure. The message is not a general insult for every sick person or every person who leaves a city. The explanation must stay with the event and the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم words. The hadith highlights the purifying description given to Madinah in this specific setting.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Bedouin asked to withdraw his pledge, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم refused.
- Al-Madinah is compared to bellows in the hadith.
- The wording says it expels filth and purifies what is good.
- The lesson should not be stretched to judge every person outside the text.
