Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah - Nasir al-Din al-Albani - (7/1578)

Silsilat al-Ahadith al-SahihahNasir al-Din al-Albani

Moreover, beyond all this, the basis of the chain of transmission among all the other collectors is Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl, whose memory had become impaired, as has been noted repeatedly in this series and the other series.

However, the hadith has a corroborating report that strengthens it:

Al-Bukhārī (7281) transmitted it through Sulaym ibn Ḥayyān, who said: “Saʿīd ibn Mīnā related to us—or I heard—Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh saying:

‘Angels came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was asleep. Some of them said, “He is asleep,” while others said, “His eyes are asleep, but his heart is awake.” They then said, “Your companion has a parable; so set forth a parable for him.” Some of them said, “He is asleep,” while others said, “His eyes are asleep, but his heart is awake.” They said: “His likeness is that of a man who built a house, prepared a banquet in it, and sent out a caller. Whoever answered the caller entered the house and ate from the banquet, while whoever did not answer the caller neither entered the house nor ate from the banquet.” They said, “Interpret it for him, so that he may understand it.” Some of them said, “He is asleep,” while others said, “His eyes are asleep, but his heart is awake.” They said: “The house is Paradise, the caller is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him; whoever obeys Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has disobeyed Allah. Muhammad is the criterion that distinguishes people.”’

The hadith is also found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (7/65), through Sulaym with the wording:

“My likeness and that of the prophets is like that of a man who built a house and completed and perfected it, except for the place of one brick. People would enter it, admire it, and say, ‘If only this brick had been put in its place!’”

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I am the place of that brick; I came and sealed the line of the prophets.”

Al-Tirmidhī (2862) also narrated it through Sulaym, but only with the first portion.

وفوق هذا كله؛ فإن أصل الإسناد- عند سائر المخرجين فيه سعيد بن أبي هلال، وهو مختلط؛ كما تقدم مراراً في هذه "السلسلة "، و"السلسلة" الأخرى. ولكن.. للحديث شاهد يقويه: فقد أخرج البخاري (٧٢٨١) من طريق سُلَيْم بن حيان: حدثنا سعيد بن ميناء: حدثنا- أو سمعت- جابر بن عبد الله يقول: جاءت ملائكة إلى النبي ﷺ وهو نائم، فقال بعضهم: إنه نائم، وقال بعضهم: إن العين نائمة والقلب يقظان، فقالوا: إن لصاحبكم هذا مثلاً، قال: فاضربوا له مثلاً. فقال بعضهم: إنه نائم، وقال بعضهم: إن العين نائمة والقلب يقظان، فقالوا: مثله كمثل رجل بنى داراً، وجعل فيها مأدبة، وبعث داعياً، فمن أجاب الداعي؛ دخل الدار وأكل من المأدبة، ومن لم يجب الداعي؛ لم يدخل الدار ولم يأكل من المأدبة، فقالوا: أوِّلوها له يفقهها، فقال بعضهم: إنه نائم، وقال بعضهم: إن العين نائمة والقلب يقظان، فقالوا: فالدار الجنة، والداعي محمد ﷺ، فمن أطاع محمداً ﷺ، فقد أطاع الله، ومن عصى محمداً ﷺ؛ فقد عصى الله، ومحمد فرق بين الناس ". والحديث في "صحيح مسلم " (٧/٦٥) من طريق سليم به، بلفظ: "مَثَلي ومَثَلُ الأنبياء: كمثل رجل بنى داراً، فأتمها وأكملها؛ إلا موضع لبنة، فجعل الناس يدخلونها ويتعجبون منها، ويقولون: لولا موضع اللبنة! ". قال رسول الله ﷺ: "فأنا موضع اللبنة؛ جئت فختمت الأنبياء". ورواه الترمذي (٢٨٦٢) من طريق سليم به بالقطعة الأولى فقط.