By Paul Salahuddin Armstrong
These are translations of hadiths (traditions/narrations) of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, taken from “Sahih Bukhari” a collection of hadiths, widely recognised (even by Wahhabi religious fanatics) as among the more authentic of these records.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to me during Hajjat-al-Wida’: Let the people keep quiet and listen. Then he said (addressing the people), “Do not (become infidels) revert to disbelief after me by striking the necks (cutting the throats) of one another (killing each other).”
Narrated by Jarir, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith 1:122
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While we were with Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who was distributing (i.e. some property), there came Dhu-l-Khuwaisira, a man from the tribe of Bani Tamim and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Do Justice.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Woe to you! Who could do justice if I did not? I would be a desperate loser if I did not do justice.” ‘Umar said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Leave him, for he has companions who pray and fast in such a way that you will consider your fasting negligible in comparison to theirs. They recite Qur’an but it does not go beyond their throats (i.e. they do not act on it) and they will desert Islam as an arrow goes through a victim’s body, so that the hunter, on looking at the arrow’s blade, would see nothing on it; he would look at its Risaf and see nothing, he would look at its Nadi and see nothing, and he would look at its Qudhadh (1) and see nothing (neither meat nor blood), for the arrow has been too fast even for the blood and excretions to smear. The sign by which they will be recognized is that among them there will be a black man, one of whose arms will resemble a woman’s breast or a lump of meat moving loosely. Those people will appear when there will be differences amongst the people.” I testify that I heard this narration from Allah’s Apostle and I testify that ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him, fought with such people, and I was in his company. He ordered that the man (described by the Prophet, peace be upon him) should be looked for. The man was brought and I looked at him and noticed that he looked exactly as the Prophet had described him.
Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri, Sahih Al-Bukhari 4:807
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “I have been made victorious with As-Saba (i.e. an easterly wind) and the people of ‘Ad were destroyed by Ad-Dabur (i.e. a westerly wind).” Narrated Abu Said: Ali, peace be upon him, sent a piece of gold to the Prophet, peace be upon him, who distributed it among four persons: Al-Aqra’ bin Habis Al-Hanzali from the tribe of Mujashi, ‘Uyaina bin Badr Al-Fazari, Zaid At-Ta’i who belonged to (the tribe of) Bani Nahban, and ‘Alqama bin Ulatha Al-‘Amir who belonged to (the tribe of) Bani Kilab. So the Quraish and the Ansar became angry and said, “He (i.e. the Prophet, peace be upon him) gives the chief of Najd and does not give us.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “I give (them) so as to attract their hearts (to Islam).” Then a man with sunken eyes, prominent checks, a raised forehead, a thick beard and a shaven head, came (in front of the Prophet ) and said, “Be afraid of Allah, O Muhammad!” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Who would obey Allah if I disobeyed Him? (Is it fair that) Allah has trusted all the people of the earth to me while, you do not trust me?” Somebody who, I think was Khalid bin Al-Walid, requested the Prophet, peace be upon him, to let him chop that man’s head off, but he prevented him. When the man left, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Among the off-spring of this man will be some who will recite the Qur’an but the Qur’an will not reach beyond their throats (i.e. they will recite like parrots and will not understand it nor act on it), and they will renegade from the religion as an arrow goes through the game’s body. They will kill the Muslims but will not disturb the idolaters. If I should live up to their time I will kill them as the people of ‘Ad were killed (i.e. I will kill all of them).”
Narrated by Ibn Abbas, Sahih Al-Bukhari 4:558
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I relate the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, to you for I would rather fall from the sky than attribute something to him falsely. But when I tell you a thing which is between you and me, then no doubt, war is guile. I heard Allah’s Apostle, peace be upon him, saying, “In the last days of this world there will appear some young foolish people who will use (in their claim) the best speech of all people (i.e. the Holy Qur’an) and they will abandon Islam as an arrow going through the game. Their belief will not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will have practically no belief), so wherever you meet them, kill them, for he who kills them shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection.”
Narrated by Ali, Sahih Al-Bukhari 4:808
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Ali, peace be upon him, son of Abi Talib, sent a piece of gold not yet taken out of its ore, in a tanned leather container to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The Prophet, peace be upon him, distributed that amongst four persons: ‘Uyaina bin Badr, Aqra bin Habis, Zaid Al-Khail and the fourth was either Alqama or Amir bin At Tufail. On that, one of his companions said, “We are more deserving of this (gold) than these (persons).” When that news reached the Prophet, peace be upon him, he said, “Don’t you trust me though I am the truthworthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?” There got up a man with sunken eyes, raised cheek bones, raised forehead, a thick beard, a shaven head and a waist sheet that was tucked up and he said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Be afraid of Allah.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Woe to you! Am I not of all the people of the earth the most entitled to fear Allah?” Then that man went away. Khalid bin Al-Wahd said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall I chop his neck off?” The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “No, for he may offer prayers.” Khalid said, “Numerous are those who offer prayers and say by their tongues (i.e. mouths) what is not in their hearts.” Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “I have not been ordered (by Allah) to search the hearts of the people or cut open their bellies.” Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, looked at him (i.e. that man) while the latter was going away and said, “From the offspring of this (man there will come out (people) who will recite the Qur’an continuously and elegantly but it will not exceed their throats. (They will neither understand it nor act upon it). They would go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game’s body.” I think he also said, “If I should be present at their time I would kill them as the nations of Thamud were killed.”
Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri, Sahih Al-Bukhari, 5:638
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “O Allah! Bless our Sham and our Yemen.” People said, “Our Najd as well.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, again said, “O Allah! Bless our Sham and Yemen.” They said again, “Our Najd as well.” On that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “There will appear earthquakes and afflictions, and from there will come out the side of the head of Satan.”
Narrated by Ibn Umar, Sahih Al-Bukhari, 2:147
NB: Riyadh in Saudi Arabia is located in a region called Najd. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, the originator of Wahhabism, lived in Najd.
Wulfruna Sufi Association 
The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said, “O Allaah bestow your blessings on our Shaam. O Allaah bestow your blessings on our Yemen.” The people said, “O Messenger of Allaah, and our Najd.” I think the third time the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said, “There (in Najd) will occur earthquakes, trials and tribulations, and from their appears the Horn of Satan.”
Reported in al-Bukhaaree [Book of Trials, Chpt. ‘The afflictions will come from the East’ 9/166 no. 214 Eng. Trans]
A hadeeth which has some controversy surrounding it due to obvious sectarian reasons. A hadeeth which has been (deliberately) misunderstood by certain groups of people in order that they may spread their misguidance and deceive ignorant Muslims.
This because upon research and investigation and looking to the words of our early scholars we find that this hadeeth does not refer to the Najd that is famously known in Saudi today, but rather it refers to Iraaq.
About two years ago I read a book entirely devoted to this hadeeth entitled, “an-Najd Qarnu ash-Shaytaan” [I cannot remember the author as I do not have the book on me anymore.] I will quote in general from what I remember from this book, and refrain from mentioning precise quotes except from those references that I have on me.
Amongst the scholars that are mentioned who referred this hadeeth to Iraaq were: al-Khattaabee, al-Kirmaanee, al-Aynee, an-Nawawee, ibn Hajr and others. The reasons behind this are numerous and clear:
1) The generality of the hadeeth pertaining to the fitna coming from the east.
Al-Bukhaaree includes this hadeeth in the chapter: “The affliction will appear from the East”
quote:
From the father of Saalim: The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, stood up besides the pulpit (and pointed towards the east) and said: “Afflictions are there! Afflictions are there! From where appears the horn of Satan” or he said, “the horn of the Sun”
From ibn Umar that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alyahi wa sallam, saying while facing the east: “Indeed Afflictions are there, from where appears the Horn of Satan.”
Similar ahaadeeth can be found in Saheeh Muslim (volume 4 no’s 6938+). Ahaadeeth that give the same meaning can be found in Saheeh Muslim (volume 1 no’s 83+)
2) That the generality of the early trials and tribulations arose from the east, many of them actually in Iraaq itself.
Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee said after quoting the words of al-Khattaabee explaining the meaning of Qarn (horn);
quote:
“and others have said that the People of the East were disbelievers at that time and the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, informed us that the trials and tribulations would arise from that direction and it was as he said. And the first of the trials that arose, arose from the direction of the east and they were the reason for the splitting of the Muslim ranks, and this is what Satan loves and delights in. Likewise the innovations appeared from that direction.”
[Fath al-Baaree 13/58 in commentary to the hadeeth of Najd]
Amongst the trials that arose in Iraaq and the east was the martyrdom of Alee, the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, the first battle between the Muslims occurred in Iraaq, and many more.
Imaam Nawawee mentions that one of the greatest trials to appear from the East will be the appearance of the Dajjaal. [Sharh Saheeh Muslim 2/29]
From the innovations that appeared in the east and specifically Iraaq, were many of the early deviant sects amongst them the Qadariyyah (as the first hadeeth in Muslim shows), the Jahmiyyah and their offshoots etc…
3. That at the time of the Prophet, sallaahu alayhis wa sallaam, there were 13 places known as Najd [according to ‘Najd Qarnu ash-Shaytaan’] depending on where one was. This because Najd linguistically means a raised/elevated land. Therefore the Arabs referred to lands that were elevated with respect to them as Najd. One of the most commonly referred to areas as Najd at that time was Iraaq.
4. The Najd for those people living in Madeenah in the direction of the East would be Iraaq.
Ibn Hajr said;
quote:
al-Khattaabee said: ‘the najd in the direction of the east, and for the one who is in Madeenah then his Najd would be the desert of Iraaq and it’s regions [baadiya al-Iraaq wa Nawaaheehaa] for this is to the east of the People of Madeenah. The basic meaning of Najd is that which is raised/elevated from the earth in contravention to al-Gawr for that is what is lower than it. Tihaamah [the coastal plain along the south-western and southern shores of the Arabian Peninsula] is entirely al-Gawr and Mecca is in Tihaamah.’
Ibn Hajr continues;
quote:
by this [saying of al-Khattaabee] the weakness of the saying of ad-Daawodee is understood that ‘Najd is in the direction of Iraaq’ [min Naahiya al-Iraaq] for he suggests that Najd is a specific place. This is not the case, rather everything that is elevated with respect to what adjoins it is called Najd and the lower area called Gawr. [Fath al-Baaree 13/58-59]
Al-Haafidh al-Mubaarakfooree endorses these words in his commentary to Sunan at-Tirmidhee (10/314 no.4212)
5. The hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim [4/1505 no.6943]
Saalim bin Abdullaah bin Umar said;
quote:
O people of Iraaq, how strange is it that you ask about the minor sins but commit the major sins? [The killing of al-Husayn] I heard my father, Abdullaah bin Umar narrating that he heard the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, saying while pointing his hand to the east: “Indeed the turmoil would come from this side, from where appear the horns of Satan and you would strike the necks of one another…
6. The variations in wording of the hadeeth of Najd that leave no doubt whatsoever as to what it refers to.
a) The hadeeth of ibn Umar Reported by Abu Nu`aym in al-Hilya (6/133),
quote:
O Allaah bestow your blessings on our Madeenah, and bestow your blessings on our Mecca, and bestow your blessings on our Shaam, and bestow your blessings on our Yemen, and bestow your blessings in our measuring (fee saa`inaa wa muddinaa).” A person said, ” O Messenger of Allaah and in our Iraaq” and so he turned away from him and said, “there will occur earthquakes, trials and tribulations and there will appear the horn of Satan.
Shu`ayb al-Arna`ut declares it’s isnaad to be saheeh as in his footnotes to ‘Sharh as-Sunnah’ (14/206-207 fn. 2) and he too endorses the words of al-Khattaabee quoted above.
b) The hadeeth of ibn Umar reported in at-Tabaraanee in ‘al-Awsat’ that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam prayed Fajr and then faced the people and said;
quote:
O Allaah bestow your blessings on our Madeenah, O Allaah bestow your blessings in our measuring, O Allaah bestow your blessings in our Shaam and our Yemen.” A person said, “And Iraaq O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “from there arises the horn of Satan and the trials and tribulations would come like mounting waves.
Ibn Hajr al-Haythamee says in his ‘Mujma az-Zawaa`id’ (3/305 – chapter ‘collection of du`aas made for (Madeenah)’): ‘its narrators are trustworthy and precise.’[This hadeeth could possibly considered to be the same as b) above, but I have included it separately due to the slight difference in wording. Allaah knows best.]
c) The hadeeth of ibn Abbaas reported by at-Tabaraanee in ‘al-Kabeer’ that the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, supplicated and said;
quote:
O Allaah bestow your blessings on our Shaam and Yemen.” A person from amongst the people said, “O Prophet of Allaah and Iraaq?” He said, “indeed there is the Horn of Satan, and the trials and tribulations will come like mounting waves, and indeed harshness/coarseness is in the east.Al-Haythamee says: “it’s narrators are trustworthy and precise.” (ibid.)
7. The virtues of Bani Tameem
Bani Tameem constitute the majority of the inhabitants of the Najd that is in Saudi Arabia.
a) The hadeeth of Saheeh Bukhaaree reported by Abu Hurayra (RA);
quote:
I have loved the people of the tribe of Bani Tameem, ever since I heard three things the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said about them. I heard him saying, ‘these people (of the tribe of Bani Tameem) would stand firm against the Dajjaal.’ When the Saddaqat from that tribe came, the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said, “these are the Saddaqat (charitable gifts) of our folk.” Aa`ishah had a slave girl from that tribe, and the Prophet , sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said to Aa`ishah, ‘manumit her as she is a descendant of Ismaa`eel, alayhis salaam.’
[Hadeeth no. 2543, 4366 of al-Fath]
Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee said, “this hadeeth also contains a clear mention of the excellence and superiority of Bani Tameem.” [Fath 5/217]
b) The hadeeth of Ikrimah from one of the Companions reported in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad and in it occurs;
quote:
do not say of Bani Tameem anything but good, for indeed they are the severest of people in attacking the Dajjaal.
Al-Haythamee says: “its narrators are those of the Saheeh.” [Mujma 10/48 chpt: What is reported concerning Bani Tameem]
It is not strange that Bani Tameem would be the most severe against the Dajjaal, because the tools required to combat him are none but a correct and firm belief and proper beneficial knowledge. Alhumdolillaah many of the scholars of Saudi are from the most noble and skilled scholars on the face of this earth today, firmly upon the way of our noble Messenger, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.