The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was once served a meal of bread and meat. He said, “Hand me the foreleg,” and a foreleg was passed to him.(1) Yahyā said: I know the report only in this wording. He then said, “Hand me the foreleg,” and another foreleg was passed to him, which he ate. He again said, “Hand me the foreleg.” The man replied, “O Messenger of Allah, a sheep has only two forelegs!” He said, “By your father, had you kept silent I would have continued to receive a foreleg each time I asked for one.”(2)
Sālim objected, “Not that expression! I heard ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers.’” Such is the chain of this ḥadith—an unnamed narrator reporting from another unnamed narrator—and it is also transmitted through other routes.
Imām Aḥmad said: Khālaf ibn al-Walīd narrated to us; Abū Jaʿfar—meaning al-Rāzī—narrated to us, from Shuraḥbīl, from Abū Rāfiʿ, the freedman of the Prophet ﷺ, who said: A sheep was given to him as a gift and I placed it in a pot. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered and asked, “What is this, Abū Rāfiʿ?” I replied, “A sheep that was gifted to us, O Messenger of Allah, so I cooked it in the pot.” He said, “Abū Rāfiʿ, hand me the foreleg,” so I handed him a foreleg. Then he said, “Hand me the other foreleg,” so I handed him the second foreleg. Then he said, “Hand me the other foreleg.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, a sheep has only two forelegs.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “Had you remained silent, you would have handed me foreleg after foreleg for as long as I kept asking.” He then called for water, rinsed his mouth, washed the tips of his fingers, rose and prayed. He later returned, found some cold meat with them, ate from it, then entered the mosque and prayed without touching water again.(3)
Another route from Abū Rāfiʿ: Imām Aḥmad(4) said: Muʾammal(5) narrated to us; Ḥammād narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Rāfiʿ narrated to me, from his aunt, from Abū Rāfiʿ, who said: A roasted sheep was prepared for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and brought to him. He said to me, “Abū Rāfiʿ, hand me the foreleg,” so I handed it to him. He then said, “Abū Rāfiʿ, hand me the foreleg,” so I handed it to him. He then said, “Abū Rāfiʿ, hand me the foreleg.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, does a sheep have more than two forelegs?” He said, “Had you kept silent, you would have continued to hand me as many forelegs as I asked for.” He (the narrator) added: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was fond of the foreleg.
I say: For this reason, when the Jews—may Allah’s curses be upon them—at Khaybar learned of his preference, they placed the poison in the foreleg of that sheep which