4 - Chapter: Settling Debt Before Inheritance, and Mention of the Discrepancies in the Wording of the Transmitters of Jabir's Report on This

3637 - 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Sallam informed us, saying: Ishaq — namely al-Azraq — narrated to us, saying: Zakariyya narrated to us, from al-Sha'bi, from Jabir:

That his father had died owing a debt, so I came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, my father has died owing a debt, and he left nothing except what his palm trees produce, and what his palm trees produce will not cover the debt he owes for years to come. So go with me, O Messenger of Allah, so that the creditors will not be harsh with me." So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came and went around the threshing floors one by one, greeted around it, and supplicated for it. Then he sat upon it and called the creditors and paid them in full.

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Also narrated by al-Bukhari (2781) from Muhammad ibn Sabiq — or al-Fadl ibn Ya'qub from him — from Shayban ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, with this chain of transmission.

And it was narrated in similar form by Ahmad (15005), (15257), and (15281), al-Bukhari (2395) and (2601), and Ibn Hibban (984), through various routes from Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah.

And the four hadiths that follow after it should be consulted.

Al-Sindi said: Regarding his statement "the cutting of the palm dates" — in "al-Qamus": "al-jidad" (with three possible vowellings) is a noun from "al-jadd," meaning complete cutting, and what is meant is the cutting of the fruits. His statement "so he went around the threshing floors" — from "baydara" the food, meaning he piled it up, and "al-baydar" is its place. His statement "they pressed me" — built on the passive from "aghra bihi," meaning they clung to him. His statement "that Allah may fulfill a trust and repay a debt" — meaning nothing remains for me.

(1) His statement: "O Messenger of Allah" — not present in (H).
(2) In "al-Sunan al-Kubra" (6431): "two years."
(3) In "al-Sunan al-Kubra": "al-ghurama'" (the creditors), and likewise in the following passage. Ibn al-Athir said in "al-Nihayah": "al-ghurram" is a plural of "gharim" like "al-ghurama'," and they are the debt-holders, and it is an unusual plural form.
(4) A manuscript variant mark appears on his statement "around it" in (M).
(5) In "al-Sunan al-Kubra" (6431): "So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to one of the threshing floors, walked around it, and supplicated."