Hadith #249

Arabic Text

English Translation

It was narrated from Ibn 'Umar (رضي الله عنهما) — via Mus'ab ibn Sallam, from Muhammad ibn Suqa — that he heard Abu Ja'far say: 'When 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar heard something from the Prophet ﷺ of Allah (ﷺ) or witnessed an occasion with him, he would neither fall short of it nor exceed it. He was sitting while 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr was delivering a homily to the people of Mecca, and 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr said: "The example of the hypocrite is like a sheep between two flocks [al-ghanamayni] — when it turns toward one flock, that flock butts it, and when it turns toward the other, that flock butts it." 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said: "That is not how it goes." 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr became angry. 'Abdullah ibn Safwan, who was in the gathering, said: "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman — how did he say it, may Allah have mercy on you?" He said: "He said: 'The example of the hypocrite is like a sheep between two resting-places [al-rabibayn] — when it turns toward this resting-place, that flock butts it, and when it turns toward that resting-place, that flock butts it.'" [Someone] said to him: "May Allah have mercy on you — they are the same." He said: "That is how I heard it."'