is in a state of goodness, whether in hardship or in ease.

41 – Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (Abū ʿAbd Allah, may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was resting his head on his cloak in the shade of the Kaʿbah, and we asked, ‘Will you not seek help for us? Will you not pray for us?’ He replied, ‘Those who came before you were seized: a man would be placed in a pit dug for him in the ground, then a saw would be brought and set upon the crown of his head, splitting him in two. His flesh would be torn from bone with iron combs, yet that would not turn him away from his religion. By Allah, Allah will surely complete this affair until a rider can travel from Ṣanʿāʾ to Ḥaḍramawt fearing none but Allah—and the wolf for his sheep—but you are hasty.’ ” (Narrated by al-Bukhārī)

In another wording: “He was reclining on his cloak, and we had suffered greatly at the hands of the idolaters.”

[Explanation]

The hadith of Abū ʿAbd Allah Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) recounts the harm the Muslims endured from the disbelievers of Quraysh in Mecca. They approached the Prophet ﷺ—“while he was resting his head on his cloak in the shade of the Kaʿbah,” peace and blessings be upon him—to complain. The Prophet ﷺ made it clear that those before us were tried in their religion with tests far more severe than what these companions faced: a pit would be dug, the man would be thrown into it, then a saw would be set upon the parting of his head and he would be cleaved in two; his flesh would be ripped from between skin and bone with iron combs—iron combs!