- Numerous ḥadiths prohibit men from wearing red. Among them is the report in al-Bukhari that “the Prophet ﷺ forbade red saddle-cushions (1).” How, then, can this ḥadith state that he was wearing a red ḥullah?
Ibn al-Qayyim notes in Al-Hady al-Nabawi (Zād al-Maʿād) that the ḥullah here was not pure red; rather, it had alternating red and black stripes. Anyone who supposed it to be an unadulterated red is mistaken. A garment whose predominant markings are red is commonly called “red.” I have also come across a statement transmitted from our teacher ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī that he (the Prophet) wore it to demonstrate that it is permissible. In my view, Ibn al-Qayyim’s reconciliation is preferable, for the prohibition of solid red is emphatic—so how could he have worn it merely to show its permissibility? Allah knows best.
Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ observed that the narration involves a transposition; it should read, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed ablution, then Bilal came out carrying the ablution water.” His observation is confirmed by al-Bukhari’s wording: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to us at midday; water was brought to him, he performed ablution, and the people began taking the surplus of his ablution water and wiping themselves with it.”
The third ḥadith
On the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: “Bilal gives the adhan at night, so eat until Ibn Umm Maktum gives the adhan.”
Overall meaning
The Prophet ﷺ had two callers to prayer: Bilal ibn Rabah, and ʿAbdullāh ibn Umm Maktum, who was blind. Bilal would call the adhan for the dawn prayer before daybreak, because that prayer occurs while people are sleeping and they need time to prepare before its actual time begins. The Prophet ﷺ therefore informed his Companions that Bilal calls during the night, instructing them to continue eating and drinking until the second muʾadhdhin, Ibn Umm Maktum, gives the adhan at the onset of the second (true) dawn. This ruling applies to anyone intending to fast: at that point he must stop eating and drinking and enter—