Hadith #536

Arabic Text

English Translation

ʿAffān narrated to us from his book, he said: Sulaymān — meaning ibn al-Mughīrah — narrated to us, Thābit narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from Ṣuhayb, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whenever he prayed, used to whisper something we could not understand, and he did not tell us about it. He said: "Have you noticed me?" Someone said: "Yes." He said: "I was recalling a prophet among the Prophet ﷺs who was given armies from his people and said: 'Who can match these?' — or 'Who can stand against these?' — or a similar word" — Sulaymān was uncertain. "Allah revealed to him: 'Choose for your people one of three: either I unleash upon them an enemy from others, or hunger, or death.' He consulted his people, and they said: 'You are the Prophet ﷺ of Allah; we entrust it to you, so choose for us.' He stood to pray" — he said: "and they would flee to prayer whenever they were alarmed" — "He prayed, then said: 'Not an enemy from others, nor hunger, but death.' So death was unleashed upon them for three days, and seventy thousand of them died. My whispering that you see is me saying: O Allah, O Lord, by You I fight, by You I attack, and there is no power or strength except by Allah." ʿAffān narrated to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us with this same hadith — all of it with this same isnād and wording — except that he did not include: "they would flee to prayer whenever they were alarmed."