Zaman Tahammul al-Saghir

At What Age a Child May Bear Hadith

Translation: It is narrated from Hazrat Ibrahim bin Abdul Rahman al-Udhri that the Messenger of God ﷺ said: This knowledge will be acquired by those from the succeeding generations who are just, meaning reliable. They are just who invalidate the distortion of the extremists and repel the false claims of the people of falsehood and the arbitrary interpretations of the ignorant.

O people! The authors of the Sihah Sittah are distinguished in criticizing the narrators. Among them, the status of Bukhari and Muslim is extremely high. Out of hundreds of thousands of Ahadith, they narrate a few thousand Ahadith, but remember this too! That if a hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is narrated and the Muhaddithin have not raised any objection to it, then it is our duty to accept those Ahadith. Absolute Ahadith cannot become wrong just because a few Ahadith are wrong.

Nowadays some such audacious people have emerged in whose hearts there is no value for the Ahadith of the Messenger. These oppressors only have the job of imposing their flawed ideas through guesswork.

عَنْ مَحْمُوْدِ بْنِ الرَّبِيْعِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : عَقَلْتُ مِنْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَجَّةً مَجَّهَا فِيْ وَجْهِيْ مِنْ دَلْوٍ مِنْ بِئْرٍ كَانَتْ فِيْ دَارِنَا وَأَنَا ابْنُ خَمْسِ سِنِيْنَ - (اخرجه الشيخان - تيسير صـ 94)

Vocabulary: عَقَلْتُ; I understood. مَجَّةً; a mouthful of water (to spit). مَجَّ ، يَمُجُّ ، مَجًّا; to spit, to rinse mouth. دَلْوٌ; bucket. بِئْرٌ; well (baoli). خَمْسِ; five. سِنِيْنَ; years (plural). دَارٌ; house. Translation: It is narrated from Hazrat Mahmud bin al-Rabi' (RA), he said, "I remember that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ spat a mouthful of water on my face from a bucket from a well that was in our house, and I was five years old at that time."

Arabs, when telling age, say "Ibn Sinnin so-and-so", for example, if they have to say five years, they will say "Ibn Khams Sinnin", if they have to say ten years, they will say "Ibn Ashr Sinnin". Also remember this that from three to ten, the Tamyeez (specifier) is plural and has a Kasrah (Maksur). For this reason, Sinnin is plural and Majrur.

(This hadith is narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, and this hadith is present on page 94 of Taysir)

O people! One time is for taking (receiving) hadith and one time is for narrating hadith. At the time of hearing the hadith, the boy should be capable of understanding, being able to remember, and at the time of narrating he should be young or at least have the capability of understanding matters.

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا اَنَّهُ قَالَ أَقْبَلْتُ رَاكِبًا عَلَى حِمَارٍ اَتَانٍ وَأَنَا يَوْمَئِذٍ قَدْنَاهَزْتُ الْاِحْتِلَامَ وَرَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّيْ بِالنَّاسِ بِمِنًى إِلَى غَيْرِ جِدَارٍ فَمَرَرْتُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ بَعْضِ الصَّفِّ وَأَرْسَلْتُ الْآتَانَ تَرْتَعُ وَدَخَلْتُ فِي الصَّفِّ فَلَمْ يُنْكِرْ ذٰلِكَ عَلَيَّ - (البخاری تجرید 73)

Vocabulary: أَقْبَلْتُ; I headed towards, came, reached. رَاكِبًا; rider. حِمَارٍ; donkey, long-eared. اَتَانٍ; female donkey. يَوْمَئِذٍ; that day. حِمَارٍ اَتَانٍ; female long-eared i.e. female donkey. نَاهَزْتُ; I was very close. نَاهَزْتُ الْاِحْتِلَامَ; I was close to puberty. يُصَلِّيْ; were praying. بِمِنًى; in the land of Mina. جِدَارٍ; wall. فَ (ق); then. مَرَرْتُ; I passed by, went. بَيْنَ يَدَيْ; in front of. أَرْسَلْتُ; left it, let it go. تَرْتَعُ; grazing. لَمْ يُنْكِرْ; was not objected to. Translation: It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (RA) that I came riding on a female donkey and in those days I was close to puberty, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was leading the prayer in the land of Mina without a wall facing him (i.e. there was no wall acting as a barrier in front). Then I passed in front of some rows and left the female donkey to graze and entered the row myself, and no one objected to this matter. *(This hadith is on the first page 73 of the first volume of Bukhari and Tajrid al-Bukhari)*

It should be clear that some Companions thought that if a donkey or a woman passes in front of someone praying, the prayer is invalidated. This thought has been refuted by this hadith. Mother of the Believers Hazrat Bibi Aisha (RA) said regarding people with such thoughts that "I used to be sleeping and when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had to prostrate, He would touch my feet and I would draw my feet back". From this hadith, it is proven that a woman being in front does not have any effect on the prayer. And from the hadith of Hazrat Ibn Abbas (RA), it is also proven that a female donkey passing in front does not have any effect on the prayer of others. The point of argument is that Hazrat Ibn Abbas (RA) was not a young man at that time, but his hadith is acceptable.

O people! To buy minor things, for example meat etc., being a young man is not a condition, therefore, to narrate a hadith, it is also sufficient to just be a person of understanding. It should also be clear that youth is not a condition for narrating a narration, it is possible that something is heard or seen in childhood and it is narrated in youth, then undoubtedly that hadith is acceptable, provided the environment is such and the matter is such that a sound intellect accepts it.

It should also be known what is the criterion for near and far? Meaning, what is the ruling regarding a non-praying person passing in front of a praying person? For some, three yards is near. Therefore, among the pillars of Hajj, at the time of throwing pebbles at the devil at "Jamrah", the distance should not be more than three yards. From this it is known that the limit of three yards is considered far, and if a person passes in front of a praying person from that far away, there is no sin, and for some people, if a person passes far from the place of prostration, it is not objectionable. Here, far means far from the point of view.