is entirely a place for standing.” He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked to have a canopy (1) built for him in Minā to shelter him from the heat. He replied: “No. Minā is a camping place for whoever arrives first (2)” (3). This demonstrates that Muslims share its use: whoever first occupies a spot there has the greater right to it until he leaves, but does not thereby acquire ownership of it.
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When the Messenger of Allah (4), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had finished slaughtering his sacrificial animals, he summoned the barber, who shaved his head. The barber—Ma‘mar ibn ‘Abd Allāh—was standing over his head with the razor. Looking into his face, he said: “Ma‘mar, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has placed his earlobe within your reach, with the razor in your hand.” Ma‘mar replied: “By Allah, Messenger of Allah, this is indeed a blessing and favor that Allah has bestowed upon me.” He related that he replied: “Yes, so acknowledge (5) that.” Imam Ahmad recorded this (6).
(1) The printed edition reads: “a structure to shade him.”
(2) The printed edition reads: “a camping place for whoever reaches it first.”
(3) Reported by Ahmad (25541, 25718), Abū Dāwūd (2019), al-Tirmidhī (881), and Ibn Mājah (3006, 3007), from ‘Ā’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her. Al-Tirmidhī graded it hasan sahīh (good and authentic), and al-Hākim authenticated it (1/466). Its chain of transmission, however, includes Ibrāhīm ibn Muhājir, who is weak.
(4) “The Messenger of Allah” is absent from manuscripts kāf, sād, and jīm.
(5) This is the reading in all the manuscripts. In qāf and mīm, sahh (correct) is written beneath the word. The reading is indeed correct: ra (see) is the imperative of ra’ā–yarā (to see). The printed edition reads: “Yes, then aqarru laka.” Al-Musnad reads: “Aqirru laka,” with similar wording in Majma‘ al-zawā’id (3/261). Al-Tabarānī’s al-Mu‘jam al-kabīr (20/448) reads: “Then increase that.” This wording is not included in the hadith in al-Āhād wa-l-mathānī (671), al-Baghawī’s Mu‘jam al-sahābah (5/161), or Ibn Qāni‘’s Mu‘jam al-sahābah (1683). I have retained the reading found in all the manuscript originals.
(6) Reported by Ahmad (27249). Its chain of transmission includes ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn ‘Uqbah, whom al-Husaynī described in al-Ikmāl (p. 266) as “unknown.”