a sound ḥadīth.

Al-Tirmidhī added: “I heard Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn Sālim al-Balkhī say, ‘I heard al-Naṣr ibn Shumayl say: al-jalf is bread that is eaten without any relish.’ Others have said that it means coarse, rough bread. Al-Harawī maintained that, in this context, it refers to the bread-sack itself, like a feedbag or saddlebag. Allah knows best.

27/483 – ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Shikhkhīr (may Allah be pleased with him) recounted: “I came to the Prophet—blessings and peace be upon him—while he was reciting, Alhākumu al-takāthur (‘Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you,’ 102:1). He then said, ‘The child of Adam keeps saying, “My wealth! My wealth!” But, O child of Adam, do you truly own anything of your wealth except what you have eaten and consumed, what you have worn and worn out, or what you have given in charity and thus sent ahead [for the Hereafter]?’ ” Related by Muslim.

[Commentary]

All of these ḥadīths circle around the theme already mentioned: encouraging detachment from the life of this world and devotion to the Hereafter.

The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites the ḥadīth of Khabbāb ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the story of Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmair, one of the Emigrants who left their homeland solely seeking the Face of Allah. In Mecca he had been a pampered youth, favored by his parents; but when he embraced Islam, they—being disbelievers—drove him out. He emigrated for Allah’s sake and was martyred at the Battle of Uḥud in the third year after the Hijrah, scarcely three years—or even less—after his migration. He was martyred (may Allah be pleased with him) while bearing the banner, and he possessed nothing save a single mantle,