—lead that, when melted in the Fire of Hell, is sixty-nine times hotter than the fire of this world. Whether the people resent his listening for a valid reason or for no reason at all makes no difference. Some individuals simply dislike being overheard; their conversation may contain neither error nor abuse, yet they do not wish anyone to listen. This does happen: you may see someone, for instance, notice two people talking together, so he picks up a muṣḥaf, sits near them and pretends to read, while in fact he is listening in, though they dislike it. That person will have al-ʾanuk (molten lead) poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection and will suffer that torment—may Allah protect us.
As for the second half of the ḥadīth, namely the ruling on image-making, we shall address it, Allah willing, in a forthcoming lesson.
1544 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever fabricates a dream he never saw will be required to tie two barley grains together, and he will never be able to do so. Whoever eavesdrops on a group while they resent it will have al-ʾanuk poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever fashions an image will be punished and commanded to breathe a soul into it, yet he will never succeed.” Reported by al-Bukhārī.
The verb taḥallama (“fabricated a dream”) means that a person claims, while lying, that he dreamed such-and-such. Al-ʾanuk—with a long alif, a ḍammah on the nūn, and a soft kāf—is molten lead.
1545 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The worst of fabrications is for a man to claim that his eyes witnessed what they never saw.” Reported by al-Bukhārī.
Its meaning is: he says, “I saw in my dream,” though he did not see it.
1546 – Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to ask his Companions frequently, “Has anyone among you seen a dream?” Those whom Allah willed would then relate their dreams to him. One morning he said to us: “Two visitors came to me last night and said, ‘Come with us.’”