What is Sunan Abu Dawud 4911 about?

This hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud (Book of General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)), narrated by Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:, states: "Something of her was stolen, and she began to curse him (i.e. the thief). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to her: Do not lessen his sin."

Is this hadith authentic?

This hadith is graded Da'if. The grade indicates the level of authenticity based on the chain of narration and content analysis.

Which collection is this hadith from?

This hadith is from Sunan Abu Dawud, which contains 5,276 hadiths across 43 books. It is hadith number 4911 in the Book of General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab).

I searched for a different number — is this the right hadith?

Hadith numbering varies across editions and translations (USC-MSA, Dar as-Salam, Fath al-Bari, and others). If you followed a link citing a different number but landed here, you may have been redirected to the canonical version in our library. If you were looking for a different hadith entirely, use the search bar to find it by text.

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Sunan Abu Dawud

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Sunan Abu Dawud #4911

General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)

Da'if

The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ مُعَاذٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ حَبِيبٍ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، رضى الله عنها قَالَتْ سُرِقَ لَهَا شَىْءٌ فَجَعَلَتْ تَدْعُو عَلَيْهِ فَقَالَ لَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ لاَ تُسَبِّخِي عَنْهُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Something of her was stolen, and she began to curse him (i.e. the thief). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to her: Do not lessen his sin.

Narrated by Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin:

Context

Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), experienced theft and reacted by cursing the thief. The Prophet (ﷺ) advised her against this, indicating that such actions could diminish the severity of the thief's sin. This interaction underscores the significance of maintaining ethical speech and the moral responsibility we have in our reactions to wrongdoing.

Modern Application

In modern contexts, this hadith encourages us to refrain from negative speech about others, even when wronged. Instead of cursing or wishing ill, we can focus on constructive responses that promote healing and understanding.

Topics

This hadith is tagged with Ethics of Speech and Moral Responsibility because it highlights the importance of how we speak about others and the moral implications of our words.

Ethics of Speech Moral Responsibility