The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 25
I - Early Sources of Sīrat & Islāmic History 25 Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurairah ra narrates that once an Anṣārī came to the Holy Prophet sa and said, “O Holy Prophet sa , I hear your statements, but I am unable to remember them. ” The Holy Prophet sa responded, “With the assistance of your right hand write down whatever I say. ” 1 From this Ḥadīth , we find that in various circumstances the Prophet sa would himself exhort the companions who faced difficulty in the retention of his Aḥādīth to write them down. In the presence of this instruction, even if clear mention that companions used to write the Aḥādīth of the Holy Prophet sa is not found in history, the presumption that various companions most definitely did record these Aḥādīth would still remain. It is impossible to assume that from a company of such devotees, not a single individual chose to benefit from this guidance. Nonetheless, the companion who was directly addressed by the Holy Prophet sa in the above mentioned Ḥadīth surely followed this facilitative order. However, this is not mere conjecture. It is unequivocally mentioned in Ḥadīth that various companions would commit the Aḥādīth of the Holy Prophet sa to writing. There is a narration that Ḥaḍrat ‘ Abdullāh bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘Ās ra would record all that he heard from the blessed tongue of the Holy Prophet sa. Numerous individuals attempted to dissuade him with the belief that the Holy Prophet sa is at times happy, and displeased at other times, and to document it in such detail, is incorrect. At this, ‘ Abdullāh bin ‘Amr ra ceased to write. However, when this news reached the Holy Prophet sa , he stated: ُّ اُكْتُب ْ فَوَالَّذِی ْ نَفْسِی ْ بِیَدِہ ٖ مَا یَخْرُج ُ مِنْه ُ اِلَّا الْحَق “You should write, because by God, nothing leaves my tongue except that it is the truth and is correct. ” 2 After the issuance of this order, Ḥaḍrat ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Amr ra once again, began to commit the instances of the Holy Prophet sa to writing. Therefore, it is mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, ُ عَن ْ اَبِی ْ ھُرَیْرَة َ یَقُوْل ُ مَا مِن ْ اَصْحَاب ِ النَّبِی ِّ صَلَّی اللّٰه ُ عَلَیْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ اَحَد ٌ اَكْثَر َ حَدِیْثًا عَنْه ُ مِنِّی ْ اِلَّا مَا كَان َ عَن ْ عَبْد ِ اللّٰه ِ بْن ِ عَمْرٍو فَاِنَّه ٗ كَان َ یَكْتُب ُ وَلَا اَكْتُب 1 Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Abwābul-‘Ilm, Bābu Mā Jā’a fir-Rukhṣati fīhi, Ḥadīth No. 2666 2 Sunanu Abī Dāwūd, Kitābul-‘Ilm, Bābu Kitābatil-‘Ilm, Ḥadīth No. 3646