Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 3086
sahih

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

That he and Abu Talha came in the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) and Safiya was accompanying the Prophet, who let her ride behind him on his she-camel. During the journey, the she-camel slipped and both the Prophet (ﷺ) and (his) wife fell down. Abu Talha (the sub-narrator thinks that Anas said that Abu Talha jumped from his camel quickly) said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ! May Allah sacrifice me for your sake! Did you get hurt?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied,"No, but take care of the lady." Abu Talha covered his face with his garment and proceeded towards her and covered her with his garment, and she got up. He then set right the condition of their she-camel and both of them (i.e. the Prophet (ﷺ) and his wife) rode and proceeded till they approached Medina. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "We are returning with repentance and worshipping and praising our Lord." The Prophet (ﷺ) kept on saying this statement till he entered Medina.

حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيٌّ، حَدَّثَنَا بِشْرُ بْنُ الْمُفَضَّلِ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ ـ رضى الله عنه أَنَّهُ أَقْبَلَ هُوَ وَأَبُو طَلْحَةَ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَمَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَفِيَّةُ مُرْدِفَهَا عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِ، فَلَمَّا كَانُوا بِبَعْضِ الطَّرِيقِ عَثَرَتِ النَّاقَةُ، فَصُرِعَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَالْمَرْأَةُ، وَإِنَّ أَبَا طَلْحَةَ ـ قَالَ أَحْسِبُ قَالَ ـ اقْتَحَمَ عَنْ بَعِيرِهِ فَأَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ جَعَلَنِي اللَّهُ فِدَاءَكَ، هَلْ أَصَابَكَ مِنْ شَىْءٍ قَالَ ‏"‏ لاَ، وَلَكِنْ عَلَيْكَ بِالْمَرْأَةِ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَأَلْقَى أَبُو طَلْحَةَ ثَوْبَهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ، فَقَصَدَ قَصْدَهَا فَأَلْقَى ثَوْبَهُ عَلَيْهَا، فَقَامَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ، فَشَدَّ لَهُمَا عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِمَا فَرَكِبَا، فَسَارُوا حَتَّى إِذَا كَانُوا بِظَهْرِ الْمَدِينَةِ ـ أَوْ قَالَ أَشْرَفُوا عَلَى الْمَدِينَةِ ـ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ آيِبُونَ تَائِبُونَ عَابِدُونَ لِرَبِّنَا حَامِدُونَ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يَقُولُهَا حَتَّى دَخَلَ الْمَدِينَةَ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 56, Hadith 290
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 319 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) dearly loved the Prophet ﷺ more than themselves and were eager to please him and preserve his sanctity and were even willing to sacrifice their own lives to spare him any harm, when needed. In this hadeeth, Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he and AbooTalhah(may Allah be pleased with them) came in the company of the Prophet ﷺ after the Battle of Khaybar, as reported in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim, and his wife SafiyyahbintHuyay ibn Akhtab(may Allah be pleased with her) was accompanying him, for he ﷺ had married her during that journey. He ﷺ let her ride behind him on his she-camel. During the journey, the she-camel slipped and both the Prophet ﷺ and his wife fell down. AbooTalhah(may Allah be pleased with him) jumped from his camel quickly, and said, "O Allah's Messenger ﷺ! May Allah sacrifice me for your sake! Did you get hurt?" The Prophet ﷺ replied, "No, but take care of the lady," meaning Safiya (may Allah be pleased with her); help her. AbooTalhah(may Allah be pleased with him) covered his face with his garment, to respect her privacy, and proceeded towards her. He (may Allah be pleased with him)covered her with his garment, and she (may Allah be pleased with her) got up. He (may Allah be pleased with him) then set right the condition of their she-camel, and the Prophet ﷺ and his wife (may Allah be pleased with her) rode and proceeded till they approached Al-Madeenah. The Prophet ﷺ said, "We are returning with repentance and worshipping and praising our Lord." The supplication means, ‘We return to Allah, Exalted is He, repenting of all which is unprescribed as per the Islamic law and renewing our commitment to all which is prescribed, devoting our worship, including our praise and expression of gratitude, exclusively to Allah, Exalted is He.’ He ﷺ kept on repeating this supplication till he ﷺ entered Al-Madeenah. It is deduced from the hadeeth that it is allowable for a woman to ride behind a man on his riding animal, and that her privacy must be respected. It is also inferred therefrom that a Muslim man should cover the (‘Awrah of the) women whom he is not allowed to see as per the Islamic law and cover his face to avoid accidentally looking at them. The hadeeth also encourages travelers to praise Allah, Exalted is He, thank Him for returning safely to his family, and ask Him for steadfastness in repentance and worship..
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