Hadith on Dialects And Readings Of The Qur'An (Kitab Al-Huruf Wa Al-Qira'At): It Is Neither Land Nor Woman; It Is A Man To Whom Ten Children Of The Arabs Were Born: Six Of Them Lived In The Yemen And Four Lived In Syria

Sunan Abi Dawud 3988 (Book 32, Hadith 20) #24278

The Story of Saba' and His Ten Children

SUMMARY: This hadith is about a man named Saba' who had ten children, six of whom lived in Yemen and four in Syria.

Narrated Farwah ibn Musayk al-Ghutayfi: I came to the Prophet ﷺ. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. A man from the people said: "Messenger of Allah! tell us about Saba'; what is it: land or woman? He replied: It is neither land nor woman; it is a man to whom ten children of the Arabs were born: six of them lived in the Yemen and four lived in Syria. The narrator Uthman said al-Ghatafani instead of al-Ghutayfi. He said: It has been transmitted to us by al-Hasan ibn al-Hakam an-Nakha'i.

حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَهَارُونُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، حَدَّثَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْحَكَمِ النَّخَعِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَبْرَةَ النَّخَعِيُّ، عَنْ فَرْوَةَ بْنِ مُسَيْكٍ الْغُطَيْفِيِّ، قَالَ أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَخْبِرْنَا عَنْ سَبَإٍ مَا هُوَ أَرْضٌ أَمِ امْرَأَةٌ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ لَيْسَ بِأَرْضٍ وَلاَ امْرَأَةٍ وَلَكِنَّهُ رَجُلٌ وَلَدَ عَشَرَةً مِنَ الْعَرَبِ فَتَيَامَنَ سِتَّةٌ وَتَشَاءَمَ أَرْبَعَةٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ عُثْمَانُ الْغَطَفَانِيِّ مَكَانَ الْغُطَيْفِيِّ وَقَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْحَكَمِ النَّخَعِيُّ

TOPICS
children * yemen * syria * saba * tenchildren

QUICK LESSONS:

Respect for others’ backgrounds and not jumping to conclusions without facts first .

EXPLANATIONS:

This hadith tells the story of a man named Saba'. He was the father to ten children; six were born in Yemen and four were born in Syria. It is unclear why this story was told by the Prophet but it could be to emphasize that people can come from different places yet still be connected through family ties. It also shows that even though people may have different backgrounds they are still part of one community. The Prophet's response to the question about what Saba' was also serves as a reminder that we should not jump to conclusions or make assumptions without having all the facts first.

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