Hadith #156

Arabic Text

English Translation

Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us — twice — he said: Abū al-Zaʿrāʾ ʿAmr ibn ʿAmr narrated to us, from his uncle Abū al-Aḥwaṣ, from his father, he said: I came to the Prophet ﷺ and he looked me up and down and said: 'Are you a lord of camels or a lord of sheep?' He said: 'Of all kinds — Allah has given me abundantly and of the finest.' He said: 'You birth them whole with their eyes and ears, then you cut these and say: sarmāʾ (ear-slit)' — then Sufyān said a word I did not understand — 'and you say: baḥīrah (devoted to an idol) for Allah! But the arm of Allah is stronger and His blade is sharper. Had He willed, He could have brought them to you sarmāʾ (already slit).' I said: 'What do you call to?' He said: 'To Allah and to maintaining ties of kinship.' I said: 'A man from my cousins comes to me and I swear not to give him, then I give him.' He said: 'Then expiate your oath and do that which is better. Consider: if you had two slaves, one obeys you and neither betrays nor lies to you, and the other betrays you and lies to you.' He said: I said: 'No, rather the one who does not betray me nor lie to me and speaks truthfully is more beloved to me.' He said: 'Thus are you before your Lord عز وجل.'