he said, “Inform me, O Messenger of Allah—may my father be ransomed for you—did I interpret it correctly or did I err?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “You got part of it right and part of it wrong.”
121 – “You got part of it right and part of it wrong.”
This narration comes through Ibn ʿAbbās with the wording:
“A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, ‘Last night I saw in a dream a canopy from which clarified butter and honey were dripping, and I saw the people gathering it in their hands—some taking much, others little. Then I noticed a rope stretching from the earth up to the sky, and I saw you grasp it and ascend. After you, another man grasped it and rose by it; then a third man took hold of it and rose by it; then yet another man grasped it and it snapped, but was re-connected for him and he rose by it.’
“Abū Bakr said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, may my father be ransomed for you! By Allah, allow me to interpret it.’ The Prophet ﷺ told him, ‘Interpret it.’
“He said, ‘The canopy is Islam. The dripping of clarified butter and honey represents the Qur’an—its sweetness drips forth—so some people take much from the Qur’an while others take little. The rope reaching from heaven to earth is the truth on which you stand: you will take hold of it and Allah will raise you by it. Then a man will take hold of it and be raised by it; then another will take hold of it and be raised by it; then a man will take hold of it and it will snap for him, but it will be re-connected for him and he will be raised by it. Now tell me, O Messenger of Allah—may my father be ransomed for you—did I get it right or did I err?’
“The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘You got part of it right and part of it wrong.’ He said, ‘By Allah, you must tell me what I got wrong!’ He answered, ‘Do not swear.’”
Muslim also recorded it (7/55–56), as did Abū Dāwūd (3268, 4632), al-Tirmidhī (2/47), al-Dārimī (2/128), Ibn Mājah (3918), Ibn Abī Shaybah in al-Muṣannaf (12/190/2), and Aḥmad (1/236)—all through Ibn ʿAbbās. Some of them, however, relate it from Ibn ʿAbbās via Abū Hurayrah. Imām al-Bukhārī preferred the first view—that it is from Ibn ʿAbbās with no mention of Abū Hurayrah—and al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar followed him in Fatḥ al-Bārī. Allah knows best.
Lexical note:
(ẓulla): a cloud that casts shade; anything that provides shade, such as a roof, is called a ẓulla.