Hadith al-Dawat wa l-Qirtas
"Hadith of The Pen and Paper"
(39) Chapter: The writing of knowledge
Narrated 'Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah:
Ibn `Abbas said, "When the ailment of the Prophet (ﷺ) became worse,
he said,
'Bring for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.'
But Hazrat Umar (R.A) said,
'The Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allah's Book with us and that is sufficient for us.'
But the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) differed about this and there was a hue and cry. On that, the Prophet (ﷺ) said to them,
'Go away (and leave me alone). It is not right that you should quarrel in front of me.'
Ibn `Abbas came out saying,
"It was most unfortunate (a great disaster) that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise. "
(Note: It is apparent from this Hadith that Ibn `Abbas had witnessed the event and came out saying this statement. The truth is not so, for Ibn `Abbas used to say this statement on narrating the Hadith and he had not witnessed the event personally.
See Fath Al-Bari Vol. 1, p.220 footnote.) (See Hadith No. 228, Vol. 4).
Reference | : Sahih al-Bukhari 114 |
In-book reference | : Book 3, Hadith 56 |
USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 114 |
(deprecated numbering scheme) |
The Text and Content of Hadith
According to historical sources, in the last days of his life, when the Prophet (s) was in bed on Safar 25th, 11/May 22, 632, he addressed some of his companions and asked them to bring him ink and paper, "to write for you something, you would never go astray afterward". 'Umar b. al-Khattab rejected the request of the Prophet (s) and said, "the Prophet (s) is saying nonsense!" according to some reports, added, "You have the Qur'an and the Book of God suffices us. Then, the companions disputed over it. When the Prophet (s) saw their disputes, asked them to go away from his side.
This story has been narrated with different details and sentences from different sources. Different statements have been reported in different sources as follows,
- "bring me ink and a bone to write down for you something, after which you never go astray."[1]
- "Let me write for you something, after which you never go astray."[2]
- "bring me ink and paper [so that] I write for you something, after which you never go astray."[3]
In some reports, the name of the person who objected has not been mentioned, but other reports have mentioned that it was 'Umar b. al-Khattab. The sentence 'Umar said has also been narrated differently as follows,
- "Surely, the Prophet of God (s) is saying nonsense."[4]
- "Surely, the messenger of God (s) is saying nonsense."[5]
- "Surely, this man is saying nonsense."[6]
- "Did the messenger of God (s) said nonsense?"[7]
- "What is with him? Did he say nonsense? Ask him!"[8]
- "Surely, he is overwhelmed by pain and the Qur'an is with you. Suffices us the book of God."[9]
In al-Muraji'at, Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din mentioned that the phrase, "he is overwhelmed by pain" is an addition of Sunni narrators to decrease the foulness of language.[10] He supports his idea with a report from Abu Bakr Ahmad b. 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Jawhari in al-Saqifa narrated from Ibn 'Abbas that, "then 'Umar said something which meant that the pain has overwhelmed the Prophet (s)."
Sources
Sunni Sources
The hadith of pen and ink has been mentioned in many reliable Sunni sources including,
- Sahih al-Bukhari, five times, in two of which the name of 'Umar is mentioned.[11]
- Sahih al-Muslim, three times, in one of which the name of 'Umar is mentioned.[12]
- Musnad Ahmad, one time, where the name of the speaker is not mentioned.[13]
- Sunan al-Bayhaqi, one time, where the name of the speaker is not mentioned.[14]
- Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, eight times, in three of which the name of 'Umar is mentioned.[15]
Shia Sources
Translation in URDU
حدیث الدعوت والقرطاس
"قلم اور کاغذ کی حدیث"
Reference | : Sahih al-Bukhari 114 |
In-book reference | : Book 3, Hadith 56 |
USC-MSA web (English) reference | : Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 114 |
(deprecated numbering scheme)حدیث کا متن اور مواد |
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