1140 – ʿĀʾidh ibn ʿAmr al-Muzanī (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Islam prevails, and nothing can prevail over it.” Recorded by al-Dāraquṭnī. (1)

1141 – Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not initiate the Jews and Christians with the greeting of peace. If you meet one of them on the road, oblige him to take its narrowest part.” Narrated by Muslim. (2)

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Grading of the two hadiths

• ʿĀʾidh’s report is ḥasan (sound). Al-Ḍiyāʾ included it in his al-Mukhtāra, indicating its authenticity, and Ibn Ḥajar declared it sound in Fatḥ al-Bārī. A similar wording is transmitted from ʿUmar and Muʿādh, and it is authentically established as a mawqūf report from Ibn ʿAbbās.

• Abū Hurayrah’s report is weak, as stated by Ibn Ḥajar and quoted by al-Manāwī in Fayḍ al-Qadīr, although al-Suyūṭī deemed it ḥasan in al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr.

Vocabulary

– fa-ḍṭarrūhu: “to compel him, to force him”; here it means: compel him to the narrowest part of the road.

Points derived from the two hadiths

1 – Islam is not a religion of aggression and bloodshed; rather, it is a religion of peace, mercy, and harmony, and therefore