contradict it or detract from it.
“Al-Sayyid is Allah” — that is, complete lordship belongs to Allah alone, and all creatures are His slaves.
“and the most virtuous of us in faḍl (excellence)” — faḍl denotes superiority, the opposite of deficiency; in other words: “You are the best among us.”
“ṭawlan” — the noun ṭawl carries the sense of generosity, bestowal, power, and wealth.
“Speak with your customary words” — meaning, use the expressions you normally employ and do not force ornate phrases that lead to exaggeration.
“or with part of them” — that is, omit some of even your usual expressions and leave them aside to avoid excess.
“let not Satan carry you away” — al-jary here means a messenger; i.e., do not allow Satan to make you his agent and emissary.
Overall meaning of the hadith: When this delegation exceeded the bounds in praising the Prophet ﷺ, he forbade them out of respect for Allah and in defense of monotheism. He instructed them to limit themselves to language free of exaggeration or danger, such as calling him “Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,” exactly as Allah has named him.
Relevance of the hadith to this chapter: It contains a prohibition against excessive praise and against affected expressions that might lead to polytheism.
Lessons derived from the hadith:
- The humility of the Prophet ﷺ and his refined etiquette with his Lord.
- The prohibition of exaggerated praise and of addressing a person with it.
- True mastery belongs solely to Allah, so one should refrain from praising others with the title sayyid (master).
- A ban on contrived, elaborate wording and a recommendation to be economical in speech.
- The safeguarding of monotheism from anything that might impair it, whether in words or deeds.