18. The Elderly
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا وَيَعْرِفْ حَقَّ كَبِيرِنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا
✧ From the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Whoever does not show mercy to our young or recognize the right of our elders is not one of us."
النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا وَيَعْرِفْ حَقَّ كَبِيرِنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا
✧ The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever does not show mercy to our young or recognize the right of our elders is not one of us."
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ حَقَّ كَبِيرِنَا وَيَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا
✧ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "He is not one of us who does not recognize the right of our elders and show mercy to our young."
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 356Hasan or sahih
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ مَنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا وَيُجِلَّ كَبِيرَنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا
✧ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever does not show mercy to our young or respect our elders is not one of us."
عَنِ الأَشْعَرِيِّ قَالَ إِنَّ مِنَ إِجْلاَلِ اللهِ إِكْرَامَ ذِي الشَّيْبَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ وَحَامِلِ الْقُرْآنِ غَيْرِ الْغَالِي فِيهِ وَلاَ الْجَافِي عَنْهُ وَإِكْرَامَ ذِي السُّلْطَانِ الْمُقْسِطِ
✧ From al-Ashʿarī, who said: "Part of glorifying Allah is honoring the elderly Muslim, the bearer of the Qurʾān who is neither excessive in it nor neglectful of it, and the just ruler."
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا وَيُوَقِّرْ كَبِيرَنَا
✧ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "He is not one of us who does not show mercy to our young and does not honor our elderly."
أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللهِ بْنَ سَهْلٍ وَمُحَيِّصَةَ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ أَتَيَا خَيْبَرَ فَتَفَرَّقَا فِي النَّخْلِ فَقُتِلَ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ سَهْلٍ فَجَاءَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ سَهْلٍ وَحُوَيِّصَةُ وَمُحَيِّصَةُ ابْنَا مَسْعُودٍ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَتَكَلَّمُوا فِي أَمْرِ صَاحِبِهِمْ فَبَدَأَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ وَكَانَ أَصْغَرَ الْقَوْمِ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ كَبِّرِ الْكِبَرَ قَالَ يَحْيَى لِيَلِيَ الْكَلاَمَ الأَكْبَرُ فَتَكَلَّمُوا فِي أَمْرِ صَاحِبِهِمْ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ اسْتَحِقُّوا قَتِيلَكُمْ أَوْ قَالَ صَاحِبَكُمْ بِأَيْمَانِ خَمْسِينَ مِنْكُمْ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ أَمْرٌ لَمْ نَرَهُ قَالَ فَتُبْرِئُكُمْ يَهُودُ بِأَيْمَانِ خَمْسِينَ مِنْهُمْ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ قَوْمٌ كُفَّارٌ فَفَدَاهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ
✧ ʿAbdullāh b. Sahl and Muḥayyiṣa b. Masʿūd went to Khaybar and separated among the palm trees. ʿAbdullāh b. Sahl was killed. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Sahl, Ḥuwayyiṣa, and Muḥayyiṣa, the two sons of Masʿūd, came to the Prophet ﷺ and spoke about the matter of their companion. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān began, and he was the youngest of the people, so the Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Let the elder speak." Yaḥyā said: "So that the eldest would take charge of the speech." They spoke about the matter of their companion, and the Prophet ﷺ said, "Establish the claim for your slain one," or he said, "your companion, with fifty oaths from among you." They said, "O Messenger of Allah, it is a matter we did not witness." He said, "Then the Jews will absolve themselves with fifty oaths from among them." They said, "O Messenger of Allah, they are a disbelieving people." So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ paid the blood money himself.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ أَخْبِرُونِي بِشَجَرَةٍ مَثَلُهَا مَثَلُ الْمُسْلِمِ تُؤْتِي أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا لاَ تَحُتُّ وَرَقَهَا فَوَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِي النَّخْلَةُ فَكَرِهْتُ أَنْ أَتَكَلَّمَ وَثَمَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ ؓ فَلَمَّا لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمَا قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ هِيَ النَّخْلَةُ فَلَمَّا خَرَجْتُ مَعَ أَبِي قُلْتُ يَا أَبَتِ وَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِي النَّخْلَةُ قَالَ مَا مَنَعَكَ أَنْ تَقُولَهَا؟ لَوْ كُنْتَ قُلْتَهَا كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ كَذَا وَكَذَا قَالَ مَا مَنَعَنِي إِلاَّ لَمْ أَرَكَ وَلاَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ تَكَلَّمْتُمَا فَكَرِهْتُ
Ibn 'Umar said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Tell me which tree is like the Muslim? It gives fruits at all times by the permission of its Lord and its leaves do not fall.' It occurred to me that it was the palm tree, but I did not want to speak as Abu Bakr and 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, were both present. When they did not speak, the Prophet ﷺ said, 'It is the palm tree.' When I left with my father, I said, 'Father, I thought that it was the palm,.' He asked, 'What kept you from saying that? If you had said so, I would have preferred that to such-and-such.' I said, 'What kept me from doing so was that I did not see you or Abu Bakr speak, so I did not like to speak out.'"
أَنَّ أَبَاهُ أَوْصَى عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ بَنِيهِ فَقَالَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَسَوِّدُوا أَكْبَرُكُمْ فَإِنَّ الْقَوْمَ إِذَا سَوَّدُوا أَكْبَرَهُمْ خَلَفُوا أَبَاهُمْ وَإِذَا سَوَّدُوا أَصْغَرَهُمْ أَزْرَى بِهِمْ ذَلِكَ فِي أَكْفَائِهِمْ وَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمَالِ وَاصْطِنَاعِهِ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْبَهَةٌ لِلْكَرِيمِ وَيُسْتَغْنَى بِهِ عَنِ اللَّئِيمِ وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَمَسْأَلَةَ النَّاسِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ آخِرِ كَسْبِ الرَّجُلِ وَإِذَا مُتُّ فَلاَ تَنُوحُوا فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يُنَحْ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَإِذَا مُتُّ فَادْفِنُونِي بِأَرْضٍ لاَ يَشْعُرُ بِدَفْنِي بَكْرُ بْنُ وَائِلٍ فَإِنِّي كُنْتُ أُغَافِلُهُمْ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ
✧ That his father, at the time of his death, enjoined his sons, saying: "Fear Allah and make your eldest your leader, for when a people make their eldest their leader, they succeed their father, but when they make their youngest their leader, that diminishes them in the eyes of their peers. And hold onto wealth and its acquisition, for it is a means of honor for the noble and a means of independence from the vile. And beware of asking people, for it is the last resort of a man's earning. And when I die, do not wail, for there was no wailing over the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And when I die, bury me in a land where Bakr b. Wāʾil will not be aware of my burial, for I used to take them by surprise in the days of ignorance."