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Dhū al-Faqār on the day of Badr. This was the sword he saw in his dream on the day of Uhud. He said:
‘I saw a notch in my sword Dhū al-Faqār, and interpreted it as a defeat that would befall you. I saw myself close behind a ram, and interpreted it as the commander of the battalion. I saw myself clad in impregnable armor, and interpreted it as Medina. I saw cattle being slaughtered, and cattle would indeed be slaughtered—but, by Allah, there was good in it.’
What the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had said then came to pass.”(1)
The aforementioned lie concerning Dhū al-Faqār is of the same kind as the lie told by certain ignorant people: that Alī possessed a sword which, whenever he struck with it, would extend for such-and-such a number of cubits. Scholars know that no such sword ever existed—neither Alī’s nor anyone else’s. Had his sword been able to extend, he would have made it do so when he fought Muāwiyah.
(1) The hadith narrated from Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—is found in *al-Musnad* (Maārif ed.), 4/146–147. Shaykh Ahmad Shākir—may Allah have mercy on him—said in his annotation: “Its chain of transmission is authentic. Ibn Abī al-Zinād is Abd al-Rahmān. Ibn Kathīr cited the hadith in *al-Tārīkh*, 4/11–12, in al-Bayhaqī’s narration through Ibn Wahb from Ibn Abī al-Zinād, in a version longer than the one given here. He said: ‘Al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah narrated it from Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī al-Zinād, from his father, reporting the same hadith.’ Dhū al-Faqār—with an a-vowel on the f—was so named because it had small, well-formed indentations. A *mufaqqar* sword is one with grooves sunk into the flat of its blade. *Al-fall*—with an a-vowel on the f and a doubled l—is a nick in a sword. Its basic sense is breaking and striking; hence *al-fall* also denotes a routed force.”
I found that Ibn Mājah cited the hadith in abridged form in his *Sunan*, 2/939 (Book of Jihad, chapter “Weapons”), with the wording: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—took his sword Dhū al-Faqār as an additional share of the spoils on the day of Badr.”
The hadith is also narrated in *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 3/267, from Anas—may Allah be pleased with him—with the following wording: “I saw in a dream, as people do, that I was riding behind a ram and that the point of my sword had broken. I interpreted this to mean that I would kill the commander of the battalion and that a man from my household would be killed.”
In Ibn Hishām, 3/66–67, it reads: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: ‘By Allah, I have indeed seen something good. I saw cattle; I saw a nick at the point of my sword; and I saw myself thrust my hand into a strong coat of mail, which I interpreted as Medina.’” Ibn Hishām said: “A scholar told me that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: ‘I saw cattle belonging to me being slaughtered.’ He said: ‘The cattle represent some of my Companions who will be killed. The nick I saw at the point of my sword represents a man from my household who will be killed.’” I was unable to locate this hadith in al-Tirmidhī’s *Sunan*.
ذَا الْفَقَارِ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي رَأَى فِيهِ الرُّؤْيَا يَوْمَ أُحُدٍ.
قَالَ:
" رَأَيْتُ فِي سَيْفِي ذِي الْفَقَارِ فَلًّا فَأَوَّلْتُهُ فَلًّا يَكُونُ فِيكُمْ، وَرَأَيْتُ أَنِّي مُرْدِفٌ كَبْشًا، فَأَوَّلْتُهُ كَبْشَ الْكَتِيبَةِ، وَرَأَيْتُ أَنِّي فِي دِرْعٍ حَصِينَةٍ، فَأَوَّلْتُهَا الْمَدِينَةَ، وَرَأَيْتُ بَقَرًا تُذْبَحُ، فَبَقَرٌ وَاللَّهِ خَيْرٌ "
فَكَانَ الَّذِي قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ»
(١)
.
وَهَذَا الْكَذِبُ الْمَذْكُورُ فِي ذِي الْفَقَارِ مِنْ جِنْسِ كَذِبِ بَعْضِ الْجُهَّالِ:
أَنَّهُ كَانَ لَهُ سَيْفٌ يَمْتَدُّ إِذَا ضَرَبَ بِهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا ذِرَاعًا، فَإِنَّ هَذَا مِمَّا يَعْلَمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ قَطُّ، لَا سَيْفُ عَلِيٍّ وَلَا غَيْرُهُ. وَلَوْ كَانَ سَيْفُهُ يَمْتَدُّ لَمَدَّهُ يَوْمَ قَاتَلَ مُعَاوِيَةَ.
(١) الْحَدِيثُ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا - فِي " الْمُسْنَدِ (ط. الْمَعَارِفِ) ٤/١٤٦ - ١٤٧. وَقَالَ الشَّيْخُ أَحْمَدُ شَاكِر - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - فِي تَعْلِيقِهِ: " إِسْنَادُهُ صَحِيحٌ. ابْنُ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ هُوَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ. وَالْحَدِيثُ ذَكَرَهُ ابْنُ كَثِيرٍ فِي التَّارِيخِ ٤/١١ - ١٢ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ الْبَيْهَقِيِّ مِنْ طَرِيقِ ابْنِ وَهْبٍ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ بِأَطْوَلَ مِمَّا هُنَا، وَقَالَ: رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَابْنُ مَاجَهْ مِنْ حَدِيثِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، بِهِ ذُو الْفَقَارِ (بِفَتْحِ الْفَاءِ) : سُمِّيَ بِذَلِكَ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَتْ فِيهِ حُفَرٌ صِغَارٌ حِسَانٌ، وَالسَّيْفُ الْمُفَقَّرُ: الَّذِي فِيهِ حُزُوزٌ مُطْمَئِنَّةٌ عَنْ مَتْنِهِ. الْفَلُّ (بِفَتْحِ الْفَاءِ وَتَشْدِيدِ اللَّامِ) : الثَّلْمُ فِي السَّيْفِ، وَأَصْلُهُ: الْكَسْرُ وَالضَّرْبُ، وَمِنْهُ الْفَلُّ لِلْقَوْمِ الْمُنْهَزِمِينَ " وَوَجَدْتُ أَنَّ ابْنَ مَاجَهْ ذَكَرَ الْحَدِيثَ مُخْتَصَرًا فِي سُنَنِهِ ٢/٩٣٩ (كِتَابُ الْجِهَادِ، بَابُ السِّلَاحِ) وَلَفْظُهُ فِيهِ: " أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - تَنَفَّلَ سَيْفَهُ ذَا الْفَقَارِ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ ". وَجَاءَ الْحَدِيثُ فِي الْمُسْنَدِ (ط. الْحَلَبِيِّ) ٣/٢٦٧ عَنْ أَنَسٍ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - وَلَفْظُهُ: رَأَيْتُ فِيمَا يَرَى النَّاسُ كَأَنِّي مُرْدِفٌ كَبْشًا، وَكَأَنَّ ظُبَةَ سَيْفِي انْكَسَرَتْ، فَأَوَّلْتُ أَنِّي أَقْتُلُ صَاحِبَ الْكَتِيبَةِ، وَأَنَّ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي يُقْتَلُ ". وَفِي ابْنِ هِشَامٍ ٣/٦٦ - ٦٧: " قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -: إِنِّي قَدْ رَأَيْتُ وَاللَّهِ خَيْرًا. رَأَيْتُ بَقَرًا، وَرَأَيْتُ فِي ذُبَابِ سَيْفِي ثَلَمًا، وَرَأَيْتُ أَنِّي أَدْخَلْتُ يَدِي فِي دِرْعٍ حَصِينَةٍ، فَأَوَّلْتُهَا الْمَدِينَةَ "، قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - قَالَ: " رَأَيْتُ بَقَرًا لِي تُذْبَحُ. قَالَ: فَأَمَّا الْبَقَرُ فَهِيَ نَاسٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِي يُقْتَلُونَ. وَأَمَّا الثَّلَمُ الَّذِي رَأَيْتُ فِي ذُبَابِ سَيْفِي، فَهُوَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي يُقْتَلُ " وَلَمْ أَعْرِفْ مَكَانَ الْحَدِيثِ فِي سُنَنِ التِّرْمِذِيِّ.