Sahih al-Bukhari, 2909
sahihNarrated Abu Umama:
Some people conquered many countries and their swords were decorated neither with gold nor silver, but they were decorated with leather, lead and iron.
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، أَخْبَرَنَا الأَوْزَاعِيُّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنَ حَبِيبٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا أُمَامَةَ، يَقُولُ لَقَدْ فَتَحَ الْفُتُوحَ قَوْمٌ مَا كَانَتْ حِلْيَةُ سُيُوفِهِمِ الذَّهَبَ وَلاَ الْفِضَّةَ، إِنَّمَا كَانَتْ حِلْيَتُهُمُ الْعَلاَبِيَّ وَالآنُكَ وَالْحَدِيدَ.
Isnad
5 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 56, Hadith 122
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 157 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet ﷺ taught and educated the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) well and instilled within them the moral values of courage and sacrifice of one’s own life and wealth in Allah’s Cause. He ﷺ also taught them to find pride in and drive strength from their faith in Allah, Exalted is He, to confront whoever waged war against Allah, Exalted is He, and His Messenger ﷺ. In this hadeeth, AbooUmaamahSudayy ibn ‘Ajlaan Al-Baahilee(may Allah be pleased with him)said that when Allah, Exalted is He, blessed a group of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) with conquering many countries, their swords were decorated neither with gold nor silver, like people’s swords at those times. Rather, they were decorated with untanned leather, lead, and iron. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not adorn their weapons with gold or anything similar, for they dispensed with striking awe in their enemies by means of outward appearances (i.e., demonstrations of force), and rather struck awe in their hearts by means of their true faith in Allah, Exalted is He. However, this does not entail that it is impermissible to adorn the swords with gold and silver, to strike awe and terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah, Exalted is He, and infuriate them. Rather, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)were contented with their strength and power to defeat their enemies rather than terrorizing them by means of such ornaments..