Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 42, Hadith 101
The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Yahya b. Yamur and Humaid b. ‘Abd al-Rahman through a different chain of narrators. This version has : we met ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar. We told him about divine decree and what they said about it. He then mentioned something similar to it. He added : A man of Muzainah or juhainah asked : What is the good in doing anything, Messenger of Allah ? should we think that a thing has passed and gone or a thing that has happened now (without predestination)? He replied : About a thing that has passed and gone (i.e. predestined). A man or some people asked: Then, why action? He replied: Those who are among the number of those who go to Paradise will be helped to do the deeds of the people who will go to Paradise, and those who are among the number of those who go to Hell will be helped to do the deeds of those who will go to Hell.
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ غِيَاثٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ يَعْمَرَ، وَحُمَيْدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، قَالَ لَقِينَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ فَذَكَرْنَا لَهُ الْقَدَرَ وَمَا يَقُولُونَ فِيهِ فَذَكَرَ نَحْوَهُ زَادَ قَالَ وَسَأَلَهُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ مُزَيْنَةَ أَوْ جُهَيْنَةَ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فِيمَا نَعْمَلُ أَفِي شَىْءٍ قَدْ خَلاَ أَوْ مَضَى أَوْ شَىْءٍ يُسْتَأْنَفُ الآنَ قَالَ ” فِي شَىْءٍ قَدْ خَلاَ وَمَضَى ” . فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ أَوْ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ فَفِيمَ الْعَمَلُ قَالَ ” إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ يُيَسَّرُونَ لِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ أَهْلَ النَّارِ يُيَسَّرُونَ لِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ ” .
Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 42, Hadith 101
This hadith is from the Sunan Abi Dawud collection of hadiths. What truly distinguishes Sunan Abi Dawud among its peers is its compiler’s advanced critical scholarship. Abu Dawud was not merely a collector but a rigorous evaluator. He applied a discerning methodology to vet the authenticity of each narration, frequently providing his own notes on the strength or weakness of the hadiths included. While he prioritized sound (sahih) and reliable reports for legal derivation, he sometimes included less robust narrations to illustrate scholarly points. This transparent and critical approach is a primary reason for the collection’s esteemed and highly authoritative status within the Islamic sciences.
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For more Hadith in Book 42: Model Behavior of the Prophet (Kitab Al-Sunnah)