They regarded nothing as defiled without a revelation from Allah. Through the law He ordained for it, Allah therefore guided the middle nation to a balanced course between the two extremes. Although what the Jews practiced had once been divinely legislated, shunning what Allah has not ordered us to shun is an imitation of the Jews, while engaging in what Allah has commanded us to avoid is an imitation of the Christians. The best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Abu Umamah relates from ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah who said: “In the time of ignorance I believed that people were astray, for they possessed nothing of the truth and worshipped idols. I heard about a man in Mecca who was spreading remarkable news, so I mounted my camel and went to him. There I found the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—keeping himself concealed because of his people’s hostility. I approached gently until I was able to enter …”
(1) The printed edition reads: “qaddama wa-akhkhara, fa-qala: ‘The Christians invented all of this without any authorization from God, to the point that they regard nothing as impure.’”
(2) The printed edition reads: “al-wasat” (“the middle one”).
(3) In Ms. A: “al-Yahud” (“the Jews”).
(4) The Companion in question is Ṣuday ibn ʿAjlan ibn al-Harith ibn Wahb al-Bahili, Abu Umamah. Reports indicate that he was present at Uhud and later fought at Siffin alongside ʿAli ibn Abi Talib. He settled in Syria and died there in 86 AH/705 CE. See: Ibn Hajar, al-Isabah fi tamyiz al-sahabah, 2 / 182, no. 4059 (section Ṣ-D).
(5) The Companion is ʿAmr ibn ʿAbsah (also called Nujayh) ibn Khalid ibn ʿAmir ibn Ghadirah al-Sulami. He embraced Islam early in Mecca, returned to his homeland, then emigrated to Madinah—as the present hadith relates—before the Conquest. After participating there he settled in Hims, where he died during the caliphate of ʿUthman. Prior to Islam he had already dissociated himself from idol-worship, as noted here. See: al-Isabah, 3 / 5–6, no. 5903, “ʿAmr.”
(6) In Ms. Ṭ: “wa-annahum” (“and that they…”).
(7) The printed edition reads: “fa-idha huwa Rasul Allah” (“and there he was—the Messenger of Allah”); Sahih Muslim has the same wording adopted here.
(8) The expression jaraʾa ʿalayhi means that they showed boldness toward him; jarʾah denotes courage and daring, and here it signifies aggression and harassment. See: Mukhtar al-Sihah, root J-R-ʾ, p. 98.
(9) talaṭṭaft means “I entered gently.” See: Mukhtar al-Sihah, root L-T-F, p. 598.