Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 3, Hadith 8
It was narrated that Sa`eed said: Ibn ‘Abbas (رضي الله عنه) said to us. I said to ‘Uthman bin `Affan: What made you take al-Anfal, which is one of al-Mathani (the seven long soorahs), and Bara`ah, which is one of al-Mi`een (soorahs with one hundred verses or thereabouts), and put them next to one another and not write – Ibn Ja`far said: A line between them saying Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem – and you put them with the seven long ones? What made you do that? `Uthman (رضي الله عنه)said: Sometimes many soorahs would be revealed (incomplete) to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) , and when something was revealed he would call one of the scribes to write it down for him and say: “Put this in the Soorah in which such and such is mentioned`; and verses would be revealed to him and he would say, `Put these verses in the soorah in which such and such is mentioned”; and a verse would be revealed to him and he would say: `Put this verse in the soorah in which such and such is mentioned.” Al-Anfal was one of the first soorahs to be revealed in Madinah and Bara`ah was one of the last soorahs of the Qur`an, and the stories and content of the two soorahs were similar. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed away without having stated clearly to us that it was part of it, but we thought that it was, hence I put them together and I did not put between them the line Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem. Ibn Ja`far said: I put it with the seven long ones.
حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لِابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ رَجُلٌ لَاعَنَ امْرَأَتَهُ فَقَالَ فَرَّقَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَيْنَهُمَا وَذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ.
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 3, Hadith 8
The above hadith is from the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal collection of hadiths. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s Musnad represents one of the largest and most significant early collections of prophetic traditions. This massive compilation is uniquely arranged by the names of the companions (Sahabah), devoting individual chapters to each one to consolidate all the narrations they are known to have transmitted. This approach offers profound insights into the teachings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad from the perspective of those who knew him best. The collection is universally esteemed for its authenticity and historical value, serving as a critical resource for scholars. However, because it aims for breadth, it encompasses a wide range of narrations, including some that experts have identified as having less reliable chains of narration alongside its many strong ones.
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For more Hadith in Book 3: The Hadeeth of Saqeefah