32 - Chapter: On the one who fights in the way of Allah the Exalted while owing a debt

3155 - Muhammad ibn Bashshar informed us, saying: Abu 'Asim narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn 'Ajlan narrated to us, from Sa'id al-Maqburi, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was delivering a sermon on the minbar, and said: "What do you think—if I fight in the way of Allah, patient and seeking reward, advancing and not retreating, will Allah expiate my sins for me?" He said: "Yes." Then he was silent for a moment, then said: "Where is the questioner from a moment ago?" The man said: "Here I am." He said: "What did you say?" He said: "What do you think—if I am killed in the way of Allah, patient and seeking reward, advancing and not retreating, will Allah expiate my sins for me?" He said: "Yes, except for debt. Gabriel whispered that to me a moment ago."

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= This, indeed, is a long life. Then he fought until he was killed. I say: But it is explicitly stated in the hadith of Anas that this occurred on the day of Badr, while in the hadith of Jabir it is explicitly stated that the story in this chapter occurred on the day of Uhud. So what appears to be the case is that these are two separate incidents that happened to two different men, and Allah knows best.

(1) The word "Muhammad" is not found in (R) and (M), and it is a variant in the margin of (K), with a mark indicating a variant reading in (H).

(2) In (H) and a variant in the margin of (K): "fa-ha" (so here).

(3) Authentic by virtue of corroborating evidence; its narrators are trustworthy, except for Muhammad ibn 'Ajlan, who is truthful but whose hadiths of Abu Hurayrah became confused. Sa'id al-Maqburi also narrated it from 'Abdullah ibn Abi Qatadah, from his father, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as will follow, and that version is more sound, as al-Tirmidhi mentioned after the hadith (1712). Abu Hatim said something similar in his son's "Al-'Ilal" 1/327 (974), and al-Daraqutni in "Al-'Ilal" 3/95. Abu 'Asim is al-Dahhak ibn Makhlad, and it is in "Al-Sunan al-Kubra" under number (4348).

However, Sa'id al-Maqburi was not alone in narrating this hadith from Abu Hurayrah, for Ahmad (8075) and (8371) recorded it via 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Ja'far, from 'Iyad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh, from Abu Hurayrah. And Allah knows best.

It will also follow via Sa'id al-Maqburi, from 'Abdullah ibn Abi Qatadah, from his father, in the two hadiths after this one.