Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (18/435)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

in all its facets, and that Allah will be seen in the Hereafter.

I said, “I am unable to utter it out of sheer awe.”

He replied, “Say it with me.”

He repeated the words, so I voiced them along with him. He smiled and said, “I will bear witness for you before the Throne.”

I wanted to ask him, “Am I about to die?” but he forestalled me and said, “I do not know.”

So I said to myself, “This is an angel,” and I recovered.

I also heard him explain the Prophet’s supplication, “Grant me enjoyment of my hearing and my sight, and make them my heirs (1).” He said that it referred to Abu Bakr and ʿUmar (2), for the Prophet (3) saw the two of them and declared, “They occupy in the religion the position of hearing and sight (4).” Thus they inherited the caliphate of prophethood.

(1) This is an extract from a longer hadith recorded by al-Tirmidhi (no. 3502, section: al-Daawat) and by Ibn al-Sunni (no. 440) on the authority of Ibn Umar. Al-Tirmidhi graded it hasan, while al-Hakim declared it sahih (1/528) and adh-Dhahabi concurred. The complete wording is: Ibn Umar said: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would rarely rise from a gathering without making the following supplications for his Companions: ‘O Allah, allot for us such fear of You as will keep us from disobeying You; such obedience to You as will lead us to Your Garden; and such certainty as will make the calamities of this world easy for us. Grant us benefit from our hearing, our sight and our strength as long as You give us life, and make them the inheritors of us. Avenge us on those who wrong us, give us victory over those who show enmity toward us, do not make our calamity affect our religion, do not make this world our greatest concern nor the limit of our knowledge, and do not set over us those who will show us no mercy.’” Al-Hakim also transmitted it (1/523) from Abu Hurayra who said: Part of the Prophet’s supplication was: “O Allah, let me enjoy my hearing and my sight, make them my heirs, grant me victory over him who wrongs me, and let me see my retribution against him.” Its chain is sound; al-Hakim authenticated it and adh-Dhahabi agreed. (2) No one else has adopted this interpretation; it is extremely unusual. Al-Baghawi states in Sharh al-Sunnah (5/175): Some said that “hearing” refers to grasping what is heard and acting upon it, while “sight” refers to taking lesson from what is seen. Others said the wording may mean the preservation of hearing and sight in old age, after the other faculties have weakened, so hearing and sight would “inherit” the remaining powers. He therefore referred the pronoun back to “enjoyment” and used the singular in the phrase: “and make it the heir of us.” (3) The autograph manuscript reads: “because the two of them.” (4) A strong hadith transmitted by al-Tirmidhi (no. 3671) and al-Hakim (3/69), who authenticated it, from Abd Allah ibn Hantab with the wording: “These two—hearing and sight—mean Abu Bakr and Umar.” Al-Khatib (8/459-460) also narrated it from Jabir ibn Abd Allah: “Abu Bakr and Umar occupy in this religion the status that hearing and sight hold in the head.” Its chain is good and it is supported by reports from Amr ibn al-As and Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman, both cited by al-Haythami in Majmaʿ (9/52-53); the first he attributes to al-Tabarani in al-Kabir, the second to al-Tabarani in al-Awsat.

جهَاته، وَإِنَّ اللهَ يُرَى فِي الآخِرَةِ. قُلْتُ: لَسْتُ أُطِيْقُ أَنْ أَقُوْلَ مِنَ الهَيبَة. فَقَالَ: قُل مَعِي. فَأَعَاد الكَلِمَات، فَقلتُهَا مَعَهُ، فَتَبَسَّم، وَقَالَ: أَنَا أَشْهَدُ لَكَ عِنْد الْعَرْش. فَأَردتُ أَنْ أَسأَلَه: هَلْ أَنَا ميت، فَبدَرَ، وَقَالَ: أَنَا لاَ أَدْرِي. فَقُلْتُ فِي نَفْسِي: هَذَا مَلَكٌ، وَعُوفِيت. وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُوْلُ فِي قَوْله ﵊: (مَتِّعْنِي بِسَمْعِي وَبَصَرِي، وَاجْعَلْهُمَا الوَارِثَ مِنِّي (١)) عَنَى أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَر (٢) ، لأَنَّه (٣) رَآهُمَا، فَقَالَ: (هُمَا مِنَ الدِّيْن بِمَنْزِلَةِ السَّمْع وَالبَصَر (٤)) . فَورثَا خِلاَفَة النُّبُوَّة.

(١) قطعة من حديث مطول أخرجه الترمذي (٣٥٠٢) في الدعوات، وابن السني رقم (٤٤٠) من حديث ابن عمر، وحسنه الترمذي، وهو كما قال وصححه الحاكم ١ / ٥٢٨، ووافقه الذهبي ونصه بتمامه، قال ابن عمر: قلما كان رسول الله ﷺ يقوم من مجلس حتى يدعو بهؤلاء الدعوات لأصحابه: " اللهم اقسم لنا من خشيتك ما يحول بيننا وبين معاصيك، ومن طاعتك ما تبلغنا به جنتك، ومن اليقين ما يهون علينا مصيبات الدنيا، ومتعنا بأسماعنا وأبصارنا وقوتنا ما أحييتنا، واجعله الوارث منا، واجعل ثأرنا على من ظلمنا، وانصرنا على من عادانا، ولا تجعل مصيبتنا في ديننا، ولا تجعل الدنيا أكبر همنا، ولا مبلغ علمنا، ولا تسلط علينا من لا يرحمنا " وأخرجه الحاكم ١ / ٥٢٣ من حديث أبي هريرة قال: كان من دعاء رسول الله ﷺ اللهم متعني بسمعي وبصري، واجعلهما الوارث مني، وانصرني على من ظلمني وأرني فيه ثأري " وسنده حسن، وصححه الحاكم ووافقه الذهبي. (٢) لم يتابع على هذا التفسير، وهو غريب جدا، قال البغوي في " شرح السنة " ٥ / ١٧٥: قيل: أراد بالسمع: وعي ما يسمع والعمل به، وبالبصر الاعتبار بما يرى، وقيل: يجوز أن يكون أراد بقاء السمع والبصر بعد الكبر وانحلال القوى، فيكون السمع والبصر وارثي سائر القوى، والباقيين بعدها، ورد الهاء إلى الامتاع، فلذلك وحده، فقال: " واجعله الوارث منا ". (٣) في الأصل: لانهما. (٤) حديث قوي رواه الترمذي (٣٦٧١) والحاكم ٣ / ٦٩ وصححه من حديث عبد الله بن حنطب بلفظه " هذان السمع والبصر يعني أبا بكر وعمر " وأخرجه الخطيب ٨ / ٤٥٩، ٤٦٠ من حديث جابر بن عبد الله بلفظ " أبو بكر وعمر من هذا الدين كمنزلة السمع والبصر من الرأس " وسنده حسن وله شاهد من حديث عمرو بن العاص وآخر من حديث حذيفة بن اليمان ذكرهما الهيثمي في " المجمع " ٩ / ٥٢، ٥٣، ونسب الأول للطبراني في " الكبير " والثاني للطبراني في " الأوسط ".