Compiled by Imam Abu Dawud as-Sijistani
حَدَّثَنَا دَاوُدُ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَارِثِ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ أَبِي غَالِبٍ، قَالَ كُنْتُ فِي سِكَّةِ الْمِرْبَدِ فَمَرَّتْ جَنَازَةٌ مَعَهَا نَاسٌ كَثِيرٌ قَالُوا جَنَازَةُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَيْرٍ فَتَبِعْتُهَا فَإِذَا أَنَا بِرَجُلٍ عَلَيْهِ كِسَاءٌ رَقِيقٌ عَلَى بُرَيْذِينَتِهِ وَعَلَى رَأْسِهِ خِرْقَةٌ تَقِيهِ مِنَ الشَّمْسِ فَقُلْتُ مَنْ هَذَا الدِّهْقَانُ قَالُوا هَذَا أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ . فَلَمَّا وُضِعَتِ الْجَنَازَةُ قَامَ أَنَسٌ فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهَا وَأَنَا خَلْفَهُ لاَ يَحُولُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ شَىْءٌ فَقَامَ عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ فَكَبَّرَ أَرْبَعَ تَكْبِيرَاتٍ لَمْ يُطِلْ وَلَمْ يُسْرِعْ ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ يَقْعُدُ فَقَالُوا يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ الْمَرْأَةُ الأَنْصَارِيَّةُ فَقَرَّبُوهَا وَعَلَيْهَا نَعْشٌ أَخْضَرُ فَقَامَ عِنْدَ عَجِيزَتِهَا فَصَلَّى عَلَيْهَا نَحْوَ صَلاَتِهِ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ ثُمَّ جَلَسَ فَقَالَ الْعَلاَءُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ هَكَذَا كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُصَلِّي عَلَى الْجَنَازَةِ كَصَلاَتِكَ يُكَبِّرُ عَلَيْهَا أَرْبَعًا وَيَقُومُ عِنْدَ رَأْسِ الرَّجُلِ وَعَجِيزَةِ الْمَرْأَةِ قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ غَزَوْتَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ نَعَمْ غَزَوْتُ مَعَهُ حُنَيْنًا فَخَرَجَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ فَحَمَلُوا عَلَيْنَا حَتَّى رَأَيْنَا خَيْلَنَا وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِنَا وَفِي الْقَوْمِ رَجُلٌ يَحْمِلُ عَلَيْنَا فَيَدُقُّنَا وَيَحْطِمُنَا فَهَزَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَجَعَلَ يُجَاءُ بِهِمْ فَيُبَايِعُونَهُ عَلَى الإِسْلاَمِ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّ عَلَىَّ نَذْرًا إِنْ جَاءَ اللَّهُ بِالرَّجُلِ الَّذِي كَانَ مُنْذُ الْيَوْمِ يَحْطِمُنَا لأَضْرِبَنَّ عُنُقَهُ . فَسَكَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَجِيءَ بِالرَّجُلِ فَلَمَّا رَأَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ تُبْتُ إِلَى اللَّهِ . فَأَمْسَكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لاَ يُبَايِعُهُ لِيَفِيَ الآخَرُ بِنَذْرِهِ . قَالَ فَجَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يَتَصَدَّى لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِيَأْمُرَهُ بِقَتْلِهِ وَجَعَلَ يَهَابُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ يَقْتُلَهُ فَلَمَّا رَأَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ لاَ يَصْنَعُ شَيْئًا بَايَعَهُ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ نَذْرِي . فَقَالَ " إِنِّي لَمْ أُمْسِكْ عَنْهُ مُنْذُ الْيَوْمِ إِلاَّ لِتُوفِيَ بِنَذْرِكَ " . فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَلاَ أَوْمَضْتَ إِلَىَّ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يُومِضَ " . قَالَ أَبُو غَالِبٍ فَسَأَلْتُ عَنْ صَنِيعِ أَنَسٍ فِي قِيَامِهِ عَلَى الْمَرْأَةِ عِنْدَ عَجِيزَتِهَا فَحَدَّثُونِي أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا كَانَ لأَنَّهُ لَمْ تَكُنِ النُّعُوشُ فَكَانَ الإِمَامُ يَقُومُ حِيَالَ عَجِيزَتِهَا يَسْتُرُهَا مِنَ الْقَوْمِ . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ قَوْلُ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أُقَاتِلَ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَقُولُوا لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ " . نَسَخَ مِنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ الْوَفَاءَ بِالنَّذْرِ فِي قَتْلِهِ بِقَوْلِهِ إِنِّي قَدْ تُبْتُ .
I was in the Sikkat al-Mirbad. A bier passed and a large number of people were accompanying it. They said: Bier of Abdullah ibn Umayr. So I followed it. Suddenly I saw a man, who had a thin garment on riding his small mule. He had a piece of cloth on his head to protect himself from the sun. I asked: Who is this important man? People said: This is Anas ibn Malik. When the bier was placed, Anas stood and led the funeral prayer over him while I was just behind him, and there was no obstruction between me and him. He stood near his head, and uttered four takbirs (Allah is Most Great). He neither lengthened the prayer nor hurried it. He then went to sit down. They said: AbuHamzah, (here is the bier of) an Ansari woman. They brought her near him and there was a green cupola-shaped structure over her bier. He stood opposite her hips and led the funeral prayer over her as he had led it over the man. He then sat down. Al-Ala' ibn Ziyad asked: AbuHamzah, did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say the funeral prayer over the dead as you have done, uttering four takbirs (Allah is Most Great) over her, and standing opposite the head of a man and the hips of a woman? He replied: Yes. He asked: AbuHamzah, did you fight with the Messenger of Allah? He replied: Yes. I fought with him in the battle of Hunayn. The polytheists came out and invaded us so severely that we saw our horses behind our backs. Among the people (i.e. the unbelievers) there was a man who was attacking us, and striking and wounding us (with his sword). Allah then defeated them. They were then brought and began to take the oath of allegiance to him for Islam. A man from among the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) said: I make a vow to myself that if Allah brings the man who was striking us (with his sword) that day, I shall behead him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) kept silent and the man was brought (as a captive). When he saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he said: Messenger of Allah, I have repented to Allah. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stopped (for a while) receiving his oath of allegiance, so that the other man might fulfil his vow. But the man began to wait for the order of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for his murder. He was afraid of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to kill him. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw that he did not do anything, he received his oath of allegiance. The man said: Messenger of Allah, what about my vow? He said: I stopped (receiving his oath of allegiance) today so that you might fulfil your vow. He said: Messenger of Allah, why did you not give any signal to me? The Prophet (ﷺ) said: It is not worthy of a Prophet to give a signal. AbuGhalib said: I asked (the people) about Anas standing opposite the hips of a woman. They told me that this practice was due to the fact that (in the days of the Prophet) there were no cupola-shaped structures over the biers of women. So the imam used to stand opposite the hips of a woman to hide her from the people. Abu Dawud said: The saying of the Prophet (ﷺ) "I have been commanded to fight against the people until they say: There is no god bu Allah" abrogated this tradition of fulfilling the vow by his remark: "I have repented".