The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.
وَحَدَّثَنِي أَبُو أَيُّوبَ، سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ الْغَيْلاَنِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَامِرٍ، - يَعْنِي الْعَقَدِيَّ - حَدَّثَنَا رَبَاحٌ، عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، قَالَ جَاءَ بُشَيْرٌ الْعَدَوِيُّ إِلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فَجَعَلَ يُحَدِّثُ وَيَقُولُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَجَعَلَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ لاَ يَأْذَنُ لِحَدِيثِهِ وَلاَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ يَا ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ مَا لِي لاَ أَرَاكَ تَسْمَعُ لِحَدِيثِي أُحَدِّثُكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلاَ تَسْمَعُ . فَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مَرَّةً إِذَا سَمِعْنَا رَجُلاً يَقُولُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ابْتَدَرَتْهُ أَبْصَارُنَا وَأَصْغَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ بِآذَانِنَا فَلَمَّا رَكِبَ النَّاسُ الصَّعْبَ وَالذَّلُولَ لَمْ نَأْخُذْ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلاَّ مَا نَعْرِفُ .
‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’. Then it seemed that Ibn Abbās was not listening to his Ḥadīth and not reflecting on them, so said: ‘Oh Ibn Abbās, why is it that I see you not listening to my Ḥadīth? I narrate to you on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, however you are not listening’. Ibn Abbās said: ‘Indeed once upon a time we would listen to a man saying, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ rushing towards him with our eyes and harkening towards him with our ears; then when the people took the difficult and the docile we no longer took from people except those whom we knew’.
Narrated by Abū Ayyūb Sulaymān bin Ubayd Allah al-Ghaylānī narrated to us, Abū Āmir, meaning al-Aqadī, narrated to us, Rabāh narrated to us, on authority of Qays bin Sa’d, on authority of Mujāhid, he said Bushayr ul-Adawī came to Ibn Abbās then he set about narrating to him, saying:
Context
In this narration, Ibn Abbas expresses his reluctance to listen to a man recounting hadiths about the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He reflects on a time when the companions eagerly listened to such teachings, contrasting it with a period when they became more discerning about whom to trust for religious knowledge. This highlights the evolution of hadith transmission and the importance of authenticity in religious teachings.
Modern Application
In contemporary society, this serves as a reminder to critically evaluate the sources of our knowledge, especially in religious matters. It encourages individuals to seek authentic teachings and to be cautious about whom they consider credible, fostering a culture of informed learning.
Topics
This hadith is tagged with Hadith Transmission and Authenticity in Hadith because it emphasizes the importance of verifying the credibility of narrators in the transmission of religious knowledge.
And among them, [O Muhammad], are those who listen to you, until when they depart from you, they say to those who were given knowledge, "What has he said just now?" Those are the ones of whom Allah has sealed over their hearts and who have followed their [own] desires.
And among them are those who abuse the Prophet and say, "He is an ear." Say, "[It is] an ear of goodness for you that believes in Allah and believes the believers and [is] a mercy to those who believe among you." And those who abuse the Messenger of Allah - for them is a painful punishment.
This hadith is #7388 from Sahih Muslim, in the Book of Introduction. It is graded Sahih and narrated by Abū Ayyūb Sulaymān bin Ubayd Allah al-Ghaylānī narrated to us, Abū Āmir, meaning al-Aqadī, narrated to us, Rabāh narrated to us, on authority of Qays bin Sa’d, on authority of Mujāhid, he said Bushayr ul-Adawī came to Ibn Abbās then he set about narrating to him, saying:.
