English
Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Talha narrated from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard him say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to visit Umm Haram bint Milhan, who would feed him. Umm Haram was married to Ubada ibn al-Samit. One day, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) visited her, she fed him, and began to delouse his head. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) fell asleep, then woke up laughing. She said: What makes you laugh, O Messenger of Allah? He said: People from my nation were shown to me, fighting in the way of Allah, riding the middle of this sea like kings on thrones—or like kings on thrones—Ishaq was unsure. She said: O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah to make me one of them. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed for her, then put his head down, woke up laughing, and I said: What makes you laugh, O Messenger of Allah? He said: People from my nation were shown to me, fighting in the way of Allah, as he said the first time. She said: O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah to make me one of them. He said: You are among the first. She boarded the sea during the time of Mu‘awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, fell from her mount when she came out of the sea, and perished.
Possible references (unverified, pending editorial review)
- Candidate: Sahih al-Bukhari 2788 (unverified) 97% confidence
- Candidate: Sahih Muslim 1912a (unverified) 96% confidence
Confidence and text similarity are not editorial verification.
Commentary and footnotes (2)
Note 1
(1) Regarding the saying: Riding the middle of this sea: This indicates permissibility of sea travel for jihad. Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib said: The Prophet’s companions traded by sea, including Talha and Sa‘id ibn Zayd. This is the view of most scholars, except Umar ibn al-Khattab and Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, who prohibited it absolutely. Some restricted it to sea travel for worldly gain, not the Hereafter. Malik disliked women traveling by sea due to exposure concerns, and some specified small boats, not large ones. The hadith supports this. If you say: Abu Dawud narrated from Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Do not travel by sea except for Hajj, Umrah, or jihad, for beneath the sea is fire, and beneath the fire is sea. I say: This hadith is weak. Al-Khallal narrated in his Illal from Layth, from Mujahid, from Abdullah ibn Umar, raising it, and Ibn Ma‘in said: This, attributed to the Prophet (ﷺ), is rejected. [Umdat al-Qari] In Al-Alamgiriyya: If one intends to board a ship for trade or otherwise, if he could save himself from drowning if the ship sinks by any means, boarding is permissible. If he cannot, boarding is impermissible.
Note 1
(١) قوله: يركبون ثبج هذا البحر: فيه دلالة على ركوب البحر للغزو. وقال سعيد بن المسيب: كان أصحاب النبيﷺ يتجرون في البحر، منهم طلحة وسعيد بن زيد، وهو قول جمهور العلماء إلا عمر بن الخطاب وعمر بن عبد العزير هما؛فإنهما منعا من ركوبه مطلقًا، ومنهم من حمله على ركوبه لطلب الدنيا لا للآخرة، وكره مالك ركوبه للنساء مطلقًا؛ لمايخالف عليهن من أن يطلع منهن أو يطلعن على عورة، وخصه بعضهم بالسفن الصغار دون الكبار، والحديث يخدشفيه. فإن قلت: روى أبو داود من حديث ابن عمر قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: (لا يركب البحر إلا حاجا أو معتمرا أوغازيا؛ فإن تحت البحر نارا، وتحت النار بحرا) قلت: هذا حديث ضعيف، ولما رواه الخلال في علله من حديث ليث عن مجاهد عن عبد الله بن عمر يرفعه قال:قال ابن معين: هذا عن النبي ﷺ منكر. كذا في (عمدة القاري). وقال في (العالمكيرية): إذا أراد أن يركب السفينةفي البحر للتجارة أو لغيرها، فإن كان بحال لو غرقت السفينة أمكنه دفع الغرق عن نفسه بكل سبب يدفع الغرق بهحل له الركوب في السفينة، وإن كان لم يمكنه دفع الغرق بكل ما يدفع به الغرق لا يحل له الركوب.