Sahih al-Bukhari, 2076
sahihNarrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "May Allah's mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money."
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو غَسَّانَ، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُطَرِّفٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُنْكَدِرِ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ
رَحِمَ اللَّهُ رَجُلاً سَمْحًا إِذَا بَاعَ، وَإِذَا اشْتَرَى، وَإِذَا اقْتَضَى
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Isnad
4 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 34, Hadith 29
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 3, Book 34, Hadith 290 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The wise Laws of Islam is keen to foster good relations between Muslims in their interactions and transactions, reflecting the enjoined solidarity, interdependence, love, and cooperation. In this hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ supplicated Allah, Exalted is He, to confer His mercy on those who display leniency, which denotes facilitation, (making) concession, overlooking, kindness, and lack of rigidity, in three contexts or situations. First, a seller should be lenient and should not be adamant at his price, but should rather be willing to give up some of his rights. Second, a buyer should be lenient and not undervalue the commodity and insist on buying it for a low price. Third, a creditor should be lenient when claiming his money. He should not make it difficult for poor debtors, but should rather gently and leniently claim his money and give respite to insolvent debtors (until they become able to repay). The hadeeth urges Muslims to opt for forgiveness, good treatment, embodying noble morals, and avoiding dissention in financial transactions. It also promotes relieving people of hardship when claiming one’s money and pardoning them (i.e., remitting their debts by way of charity). .