Hadith 45

Sahih Bukhari

Book 96: Holding Fast to the Qur'an and Sunnah

Chapter 12

Comparing an ambiguous situation to a clear well-defined one

بَابُ مَنْ شَبَّهَ أَصْلاً مَعْلُومًا بِأَصْلٍ مُبَيَّنٍ قَدْ بَيَّنَ اللَّهُ حُكْمَهُمَا، لِيُفْهِمَ السَّائِلَ

Sahih al-Bukhari 7314
حَدَّثَنَا أَصْبَغُ بْنُ الْفَرَجِ، حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ أَعْرَابِيًّا، أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ إِنَّ امْرَأَتِي وَلَدَتْ غُلاَمًا أَسْوَدَ، وَإِنِّي أَنْكَرْتُهُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ هَلْ لَكَ مِنْ إِبِلٍ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ نَعَمْ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ فَمَا أَلْوَانُهَا ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ حُمْرٌ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ هَلْ فِيهَا مِنْ أَوْرَقَ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ إِنَّ فِيهَا لَوُرْقًا‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ فَأَنَّى تُرَى ذَلِكَ جَاءَهَا ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ عِرْقٌ نَزَعَهَا‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ وَلَعَلَّ هَذَا عِرْقٌ نَزَعَهُ ‏"‏‏.‏ وَلَمْ يُرَخِّصْ لَهُ فِي الاِنْتِفَاءِ مِنْهُ‏.‏
Abu Huraira:

A bedouin came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "My wife has delivered a black boy, and I suspect that he is not my child." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to him, "Have you got camels?" The bedouin said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "What color are they?" The bedouin said, "They are red." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Are any of them Grey?" He said, "There are Grey ones among them." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whence do you think this color came to them?" The bedouin said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! It resulted from hereditary disposition." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "And this (i.e., your child) has inherited his color from his ancestors." The Prophet (ﷺ) did not allow him to deny his paternity of the child.