—not a harsh strike, but a light blow that fulfils the purpose of discipline only. In another wording it says, “he never puts the stick down from his shoulder.” Both reports give the same meaning. Some have suggested that the phrase “he never puts the stick down from his shoulder” simply describes a man who travels a great deal—for in those days a traveller riding a camel would need a staff—but the most apparent sense is the first: he was a habitual striker of women. The two phrasings are therefore synonymous, for the various narrations explain one another.

Then the Prophet added, “Marry Usāmah ibn Zayd ibn Ḥārithah.” She accepted, married him, was delighted with him, and found much good in the marriage. This provides clear evidence that if someone seeks your counsel about a person and you mention that person’s faults, there is no harm in doing so, because such speech is sincere advice, not scandal-mongering. There is a world of difference between someone who backbites merely to expose people’s flaws and lay bare their private matters and someone who speaks out of genuine concern.

The fourth ḥadith is the report of Zayd ibn al-Arqam, may Allah be pleased with him. The Prophet ﷺ was travelling with a company that included both believers and hypocrites. Hardship struck the caravan, whereupon the hypocrites spoke up and said: “They are the ones who say, ‘Do not spend on those who are with the Messenger of Allah until they disperse.’” In other words, “Do not give them any provisions until hunger forces them to abandon the Prophet ﷺ.” They lied, for the believers could never forsake the Prophet ﷺ; even if they were to die of hunger and thirst, they would not leave him. Such, however, is the way of the hypocrites who find fault with the Prophet ﷺ over the distribution of alms: if they are given something, they are pleased, but if they are not given anything, they show their displeasure. The believers, by contrast, will never abandon the Messenger ﷺ. Concerning the words, “Do not spend on those who are with the Messenger of Allah until they disperse,” the preposition “until” here is causal, not terminal—it means “so that they might disperse from him.” Yet even in this they lied, and they also said