Authentic Narrations Showing How The Companions Sought “Tabarruk” From The Prophet

By Maulvi Muhammad Yusuf

Al-Bukhari reported in Kitab al-Wudoo’, Baab al-maa’i alldhi yughsalu bihi sha‘ri al-insaan (hadith. no. 170)::

عن ابن سيرين قال: قلت لعبيدة: عندنا من شعر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أصبناه من قبل أنس, أو من قبل أهل أنس، فقال: لأن تكون عندي شعرة منه أحبّ إلى من الدنيا وما فيها.

Ibn Seereen said: I said to ‘Abeedah: “We have with us some hairs of the Prophet r that we obtained from Anas, or Anas’ family. He [‘Abeedah] said: “That is should have with me one hair of the Prophet r is more dear to me than that I should have all the world and what is in it.”

Muhammad ibn Seereen (d. 110 / 729; Basrah) was one of the imams of the Followers and a great muhaddith; his father Seereen was a servant in the house of Anas who eventually freed him; and ‘Abeedah ibn ‘Amr al-Salmaani of Kufah (d. 72 / 691) accepted Islam two years before the death of the Prophet r but did not see him; he also was one of the great Followers; he was senior to Ibn Seereen. Ibn Ibn Hajr explained in his Fath al-Baari that Anas t was the foster child of Abu Talha t who had married Anas’ mother Umm Sulaim. In the hadith that follows the above al-Bukhari reported that when the Prophet r shaved his head it was Abu Talhah t who collected and kept his hair, so it is not surprising that Anas t got some of those hairs. Abu Talhah t got those hairs when the Prophet r shaved his head during the final pilgramage as other hadith that al-Bukhari reported clarify; in fact, Ibn Hajr said that Muslim in his Saheeh and Abu ‘Awaanatah in his Saheeh reported that the Prophet r gave Abu Talhah t the hair of his right side and ordered him to distribute the hair of his left side among the people.أHe said that Muslim also reported that he distributed half of it among the people giving them each a hair or two and he gave the rest to Umm Sulaim the mother of Anas. Ibn Hajr said that Ahmad reported that Umm Sulaim would put his hair in her perfume. Ibn Hajr mentioned what should be quite obvious; namely, the one of the things we understand from this hadith is that one can seek blessing (al-tabarruk) from the hairs of the Prophet r and may acquire them for that purpose.[1]

Imam al-Bukhari reported in his Saheeh, Kitaab al-Libaas, Baab ma yudhkaru fee al-shaib, hadith no. 5896 with chain of narration up to ‘Uthman ibn Abd Allah ibn Mauhab that he said:

حدثنا مالك بن إسماعيل حدثنا إسرائيل عن عثمان بن عبد الله بن موهب قال أرسلني أهلي إلى أم سلمة بقدح من ماء وقبض إسرائيل ثلاث أصابع من فضة فيه شعر من شعر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وكان إذا أصاب الإنسان عين أو شيء بعث إليها مخضبه فاطلعت في الجلجل فرأيت شعرات حمرا.[2]

My people [or my wife–Ibn Hajr] sent me to Umm Salamah [wife of the Prophet r ] with a cup of water and a forelock [alternately; a cup of silver] and Israa’eel [the narrator from ‘Uthman showed] three fingers [to indicate the size of the cup–Ibn Hajr] in which there was a hair of the Prophet r . When any person would be afflicted by the evil eye or anything [else like sickness] they used to send to her a dish [that is a cup of water]. I looked in the little silver container [in which she kept the hairs] and I saw some red hairs.

There are slightly different versions of this hadith. Although the word qussah / قُصة for forelock appears in most versions, the word fiddah / فضة appears in some versions of al-Bukhari. Ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalaani mentioned in his Fath al-Baari that Ibn Dihyah (d. 633 / 1236; Cairo) said that those who are careful and thorough researchers (al-muhaqqiqoon) say that the correct wording is “silver.” He said that al-Humaidi (d. 488 / 1095; Baghdad) in his al-Jamu ‘ bain al-Saheehain, in which he collected those hadith that both al-Bukhari and Muslim reported, has the wording “My people [or my wife] sent me to Umm Salamah with a cup of water, so she brought out a small container of silver (juljul) in which there was a hair of the Prophet r ,” and Ibn Hajr remarked that with this wording the matter becomes clear and makes sense for it is seen that “silver” modifies the little container not the cup which ‘Uthmaan had brought. Ibn Hajr mentioned that al-Wakee‘ [ibn al-Jarraah] (d. 197 / 812) mentioned after reporting this hadith from Israa’eel in his al-Musannif: “It was a small silver container that had been made to hold the hairs of the Prophet r that were with Umm Salamah. The wording that al-Humaidi reported is confirmed by the report of Ishaaq ibn Rahwaih (238 /853) in his Musnad, which he also reported from Israa’eel by way of al-Mus ‘ab ibn Miqdaam:

في مسند إسحق بن راهويه 100 أخبرنا المصعب بن مقدام نا إسرائيل عن عثمان بن موهب أنه دخل على أم سلمة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخرجت له جلجل فيه من شعر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فإذا هو قد صبغ أحمر وكان إذا اشتكى أحد وأصابته عين جاء بإناء فحصحصت له فشرب منه رجاله رجال الصحيح.[3]

‘Uthmaan ibn Mauhab said that he went to Umm Salamah the wife of the Prophet r and she brought out a little silver container (juljul) in which there were some hairs of the Prophet r . When I looked I saw that they had been dyed red. When anybody would become sick or afflicted by the evil eye he would come with a dish and she would move it about [in the water of the dish] for him and then he would drink it.

After reporting the hadith Ishaaq ibn Rahwaih said that it was rigorously authentic (saheeh). Ishaaq ibn Rahwaih was one of the teachers of al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisaa’i; in fact he was the very person who suggested to his disciples that one of them should compile a book in which he mentioned only the rigorously authentic hadith and that was what prompted al-Bukhari to compile his Saheeh. Ishaaq ibn Rahwaih remarked that the above hadith he reported is rigorously authentic. Ibn Hajr said: “The meaning of the hadith is that whoever suffered some complained would send a dish to Umm Salamah who would put those hairs in it and wash them in the water and give it back to the owner of the dish who would drink it or wash himelf [with that water] seeking to get cured by those hairs and he would get cured by the blessing of those hairs.”[4]

Al-Haafiz Abu Abd Allah al-Haakim mentioned in his al-Mustadrak (hadith no. 5943) the following hadith with a chain of narration up to Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyib that he said:

روى الحاكم 5943 أخبرني أحمد بن محمد بن سلمة العنزي ثنا عثمان بن سعيد الدارمي ثنا مسلم بن إبراهيم ثنا يحيى بن العلاء عن يحيى بن سعيد عن سعيد بن المسيب عن أبي أيوب أنه أخذ من لحية رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم شيئا فقال لا يكن بك السوء يا أبا أيوب. هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد ولم يخرجاه.[5]

Abu Ayyub [al-Ansaari] t took some hair from the beard of the Prophet r ,[6] and said, “Let no harm come to you, O Abu Ayyub.

Al-Haakim said that the hadith was rigorously authentic (saheeh) fulfilling the conditions of both al-Bukhari and Muslim, and al-Dadhhabi5 confirmed that it is rigorously authentic in his al-Talkhees, which he wrote commenting on the judgments of al-Haakim either denying or confirming his decisions. The meaning of his words “let no harm come to you” is that if you keep these hairs upon your person or in your home no evil will come to you, for he considered those hairs to be blessed that is honored by Allah who would not let any evil come to him on account of those hairs and that is the essence of al-tababarruk which the pseudo-Salafis insist on misinterpreting perversely as worshipping other than Allah and taking partners beside Him. Will they dare claim Abu Ayubb became a mushrik as the Shi’ahs claim about the majority of the Companions?

Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and Muslim in his Saheeh, Kitaab al-Fadaa’il, Baab qurb al-Nabi r min al-nas wa tabarrukihim bihi (hadith no. 2325) reported with a chain of narration to Anas t that he said:

لقد رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم والحلاق يحلقه وأطاف به أصحابه فما يريدون أن تقع شعرة إلا في يد رجل.[7]

[By Allah] I saw the companions of the Messenger of Allah r going around him while the barber shaved his head everyone of them wishing that a hair should not fall except into his hand.

Abd Allah al-Taleedi, a contemporary muhaddith from Morocco, wrote an annotation to his abridgment of al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad’s al-Shifaa’that the above hadith of Anas and the hadith of ‘Urwah ibn Mas‘ood, which we will mention presently, shows how profoundly the Companions reverenced and honor and exalted the Prophet r . Furthermore, he said that the two hadiths show that it is permissible to seek blessings (tabarruk) from the relics of the people of distinguishment and that that has nothing at all to do with shirk , nor does it nor can it lead to shirk as some people claim; furthermore, that is not particular to the Prophet r ; rather it is general and applies to all illustrious souls [that is those who live on a high standard of following the sunnah], for in order to claim that something is particular to the Prophet r , we must have some proof from the holy law.[8]

One of those fortunate souls to acquire some hairs of the Prophet r was Khaalid ibn al-Walid who used to wear them in the front of his cap when he would go into battle believing that as long as those hairs were in his cap he would gain victory. During the Battle of al-Yarmook, which was one of the most fierce battles fought in the history of Islam, his cap fell off and he plunged so recklessly and desperately into the fray to recover it that his companions rebuked him for it. He explained to them why his cap was so dear to him. Muhammad ibn Yusaf al-Saalihi (d. 942 / 1037; Cairo), popularly known as Shams al-Din al-Shaami, who was a high-ranking muhaddith wrote a famous and huge biography (it was published in Cairo in 13 volumes) called Subal al-Huda wa al-Rashaad, better known as Sirah Shams al-Shaami, the material for which he claims he gleaned from one thousand books. He also has a work in which he collected the forged hadith. He reported in his biography that Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Dahhaak and Abu Ya‘la reported with a rigorously authentic chain of narration (saheeh) to Khaalid ibn Waleed that he said:

اعتمرنا مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في عمرة اعتمرها فحلق شعره فاستبق الناس إلى شعره فسبقت إلى الناصية فأخذتها فاتخذت قلنسوة فجعلتها في مقدمة القلنسوة فما وجهت في وجه إلا فتح لي.[9]

We performed umrah with the Prophet r during one of his umrahs. He shaved his head and the people scrambled to get his hair; I scurried and got his forelock, which I took and I took a cap and put the hairs in the front of the cap. Thereafter I never went into combat except that I was given victory.

Noor al-Din al-Haithami reported it from al-Tabaraani in his Majma’ al-Zawaa’id (9:349) by way of Ja‘far ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Hakam who said:

خالد بن الوليد فقد قلنسوة له يوم اليرموك فقال: اطلبوها, فلم يجدوها, فقال: اطلبوها, فوجدوها, فإذا هي قلنسوة خلقة, فقال خالد: اعتمر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فحلق رأسه, فابتدر الناس جوانب شعره فسبقتهم إلى ناصيته, فجعلتها في هذه القلنسوة, فلم أشهد قتالا وهي معي إلا رزقت النصرة؛ رواه الطبراني وأبو يعلى بنحوه, ورجالهما رجال الصحيح وجعفر سمع من جماعة من الصحابة فلا أدري سمع من خالد أم لا.

Khaalid ibn Waleed t lost a cap on the day of the Battle of al-Yarmook, so he said: “Look for it.” However, they did not find it. Again he said: “Look for it,” then they found and to their surprise it was an old worn-out cap. Khaalid said to them: “The Messenger of Allah r made umrah and shaved his head. The people scurried after his hair and I beat them to his forelock, so I put it in this cap. After that I did not go into any combat in which that cap was with me except that I was given victory.

Al-Haithami said: Al-Tabaraani reported it and Abu Ya‘la reported something similar; the narrators of both of them are the narrators of al-Bukhari in his Saheeh; although Ja‘far heard from a number of Companions, I do not know whether or not he heard from Khaalid. Al-Haakim also reported the hadith and al-Dhahabi said that its chain of narration was discontinuous; presumably he felt that Ja‘far did not hear Khalid.



[1] فتح الباري, 1/273.

[2] وروى البخاري في كتاب اللباس, باب ما يذكر في الشيب (5896) وانظر في فتح الباري 10/352.

[3] مسند إسحاق بن راهويه,

[4] فتح الياري, 10/353.

[5] المستدرك للحاكم, كتاب معرفة الصحابة, 3/523, حديث رقم 5943, دار الكتب العلمية, بيروت, وكلام الذهبي في تعليق رقم 5943.

[6] That is, he picked it up or something like that, not that he plucked it from his beard since it is not allowed to pluck one’s beard.

[7] انظر شرح مسلم للنووي, حديث رقم 2325, دار الخير, دمشق, الطبعة الأولى, 1418هـ/1998م.

[8] إتحاف أهل الوفاء بتهذيب كتاب الشفاء لعبد الله التليدي, ص 345, تعليق رقم 3, دار البشائر الإسلامية, بيروت, الطتعة الأولى, 1421هـ/2000م.

[9] ذكره محمد بن يوسف الصالحي في كتاب سبل الهدى والرشاد, 10/39, دار الكتب العلمية ببيروت, الطبعة الأولى 1414هـ/1993م. ونقله ابن حجر في المطالب العالية, 9/308, حديث رقم 4445, المؤسسة القرطبة والمكتبة المكية, الطبعة الأولى, 1418هـ/1997م, وهو في مسند أبي يعلى, 13/7183, وقال محقق كتاب المطالب أنه أخرحه ابن الأثير في أسد الغابة 2/111, والحاكم في المستدرك 3/299, والطبراني في الكبير 4/3804, من طرق عن هشيم به, وأورده في المجمع الزوائد 9/349, وقال: رواه الطبراني بنحوه وأبو يعلى ورجالهم رجال الصحيح, وجعفر سمع من جماعة من الصحابة, فلا أدري سمع من خالد أم لا.

Source : al-faqih.com