Hadith #308

Arabic Text

English Translation

Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated from ʿAwf, from Maymūn Abū ʿAbd Allāh, from al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: 'the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered us to dig the trench [al-Khandaq]. A rock appeared in a spot of the trench that the pickaxes could not break. So they complained about it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came' — ʿAwf said: 'and I think he said: he put down his garment' — 'then he went down to the rock, took the pickaxe, and said: "In the name of Allah," and struck a blow that broke a third of the rock. He said: "Allāhu Akbar! I have been given the keys of al-Shām. By Allah, I can see its red palaces from where I stand." Then he said: "In the name of Allah," and struck another blow that broke another third of the rock. He said: "Allāhu Akbar! I have been given the keys of Persia. By Allah, I can see al-Madāʾin and I can see its white palace from where I stand." Then he said: "In the name of Allah," and struck another blow that removed the rest of the rock. He said: "Allāhu Akbar! I have been given the keys of Yemen. By Allah, I can see the gates of Ṣanʿāʾ from where I stand."'