Sahih al-Bukhari, 2617
sahihNarrated Anas bin Malik:
A Jewess brought a poisoned (cooked) sheep for the Prophet (ﷺ) who ate from it. She was brought to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he was asked, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." I continued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) .
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَهَّابِ، حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ يَهُودِيَّةً، أَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِشَاةٍ مَسْمُومَةٍ، فَأَكَلَ مِنْهَا فَجِيءَ بِهَا فَقِيلَ أَلاَ نَقْتُلُهَا. قَالَ
لاَ
. فَمَا زِلْتُ أَعْرِفُهَا فِي لَهَوَاتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Isnad
5 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 51, Hadith 49
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 3, Book 47, Hadith 786 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet ﷺ was the humblest of all people, and a manifestation of his good moral character was that he ﷺ accepted the gifts offered to him from anyone, even small gifts and even if the gift-giver was a non-Muslim, to win his heart and encourage him to embrace Islam. The Jews took advantage of that when they knew of his graciousness, and tried to kill him by serving him poisonous food. In this hadeeth, Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that a Jewish woman, named Zaynab bint Al-Haarith, who was married to Salaam ibn Mishkam, gifted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a poisoned sheep after the battle of Khyber. She cooked the meat for the Prophet ﷺ and put poison in it. The Prophet ﷺ ate from it, but Allah, Exalted is He, protected him from the immediate effects of the poison and he ﷺ did not die. However, the effect of the poison remained in his body. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Icontinued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's Messenger ﷺ.” It seems that the effect of the poison remained visible, in that some black marks or the like could be seen on palate of the mouth of Allah's Messenger ﷺ. This woman was brought to the Prophet ﷺ. The version of the hadeeth recorded in Saheeh Muslim reads: “(When the effects of this poison were felt by him) she was brought to the Prophet ﷺ and he asked her about that, whereupon she said: “I had determined to kill you.” Thereupon he ﷺ said: ‘Allah will never give you the power to do it.’ (It is possible that this was ‘Alee’s statement).” The Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ permission to kill her, but he ﷺ refused to have her killed on the spot. This is why he ﷺ forbade them from killing her. However, it was authentically reported that she was killed as narrated in Sunan Aboo Daawood. The Prophet ﷺ killed her, or gave her to the guardians of the blood (i.e., ‘Asabah, or blood male relatives from the father's side) of Bishr ibn Al-Baraa’ ibn Ma’roor, who had eaten from it and died; his guardians had the woman killed in Qisaas (i.e., retribution). To reconcile between the two versions of the hadeeth, it could be said that the Prophet ﷺ did not kill her upon knowing of the poison she put in the sheep and refused the companions’ request to kill her, but when Bishr ibn Al-Baraa’ died of this poison, he ﷺ handed her over to his guardians, and they killed her by virtue of Qisaas (i.e., retribution). It is authentically reported that he ﷺ did not kill her immediately and it is also authentically reported that he ﷺ killed her afterward. The hadeeth highlights the divine protection bestowed upon the Prophet ﷺ; Allah, Exalted is He, Says (what means): {And Allah will protect you from the people.} [Quran 5:67]. It also underlines a miracle with which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was aided, as Allah, Exalted is He, delivered him from the poison that killed others. It is deduced from the hadeeth that it is allowable to accept gifts from non-Muslims. .