- On the authority of Abū Rāfiʿ (d. ?), who said: “The Prophet ﷺ once borrowed a young camel from a man. Later, a caravan of camels destined for the poor-rate arrived. The Prophet ordered Abū Rāfiʿ to repay the man his young camel. I replied, ‘I can only find an excellent four-year-old one.’ He said, ‘Give it to him, for the best of people are those who repay debts in the best manner.’” Narrated by Muslim. (1)
Vocabulary notes
• istalafa – to borrow; he took something on credit.
• bakr – a young male camel (pl. abkar, bikār).
• khiyār – “excellent,” i.e., the best quality of a thing.
• rubāʿī – a camel in its seventh year, so called because the incisor between the tusk and canine (the rubāʿiyyah) has dropped.
• khiyār al-nās – the subject of inna; it may be understood as “the chosen one” (singular) or collectively as “the best of people.”
• aḥsanuhum – the predicate of inna; when the subject is singular (“the chosen one”) the agreement is straightforward; otherwise, a comparative noun annexed to a plural may remain singular while functioning for the whole group.
• qaḍāʾ – here accusative of specification (tamyīz), clarifying the manner of repayment.