Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 43, Hadith 496
‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Abd Allah quoted his father as saying : When we were on a journey with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he had gone to releive himself, we saw a Hummarah with two young ones. We took the young ones. The Hummarah came and began to spread out its wings. Then the prophet (May peace be upon him) came and said : who has pained this young by the loss of her young? Give her young ones back to her. We also saw an ant-hill which we had burned. He asked? Who has burned this? We replied : we have. He said: it is not fitting that anyone but the lord of the fire should punish with fire.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو صَالِحٍ، مَحْبُوبُ بْنُ مُوسَى أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ الْفَزَارِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ الشَّيْبَانِيِّ، عَنِ ابْنِ سَعْدٍ، – قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَهُوَ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ – عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي سَفَرٍ فَانْطَلَقَ لِحَاجَتِهِ فَرَأَيْنَا حُمَّرَةً مَعَهَا فَرْخَانِ فَأَخَذْنَا فَرْخَيْهَا فَجَاءَتِ الْحُمَّرَةُ فَجَعَلَتْ تُعَرِّشُ فَجَاءَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ” مَنْ فَجَعَ هَذِهِ بِوَلَدِهَا رُدُّوا وَلَدَهَا إِلَيْهَا ” . وَرَأَى قَرْيَةَ نَمْلٍ قَدْ حَرَّقْنَاهَا فَقَالَ ” مَنْ حَرَّقَ هَذِهِ ” . قُلْنَا نَحْنُ . قَالَ ” إِنَّهُ لاَ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُعَذِّبَ بِالنَّارِ إِلاَّ رَبُّ النَّارِ ” .
Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 43, Hadith 496
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 43: General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)