Ahmad 6027

Its isnad is sahih. Abu Yaman, with a fatha on the ya and a light mim, is Hakam bin Nafi of Homs, a teacher of Ahmad and Bukhari, whose reliability was established earlier at 1671. We add here that there is some discussion about his hearing from Shuayb, though it does not harm his standing. Part of this discussion is related from Ahmad, who is said to have objected to his saying "Shuayb told us." But there is a problem with this, for it may be an error on the part of whoever transmitted that from Ahmad. In Tahdhib, Abu Yaman himself is quoted as saying, Ahmad bin Hanbal asked me, "How did you hear the books from Shuayb?" I said, "I read some of it to him, some of it he read to me, some of it he authorized for me, and some of it was handed to me directly." He said, "Say for all of this, Shuayb told us." It is also reported there from Yahya bin Main, who said, I asked Abu Yaman about the hadith of Shuayb bin Abu Hamza, and he said, "It was not handed to me directly. I have never handed a direct transmission to anyone." Abu Yaman was trustworthy and truthful, as Abu Hatim said. Bukhari affirmed decisively in his biographical entry in al-Kabir 1/2/242 that he heard from Shuayb, and this hadith is sufficient proof of that. This is why Dhahabi said in al-Mizan 1:272-273, "The two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) relied on his hadith from Shuayb," and also said, "He is firmly established and knowledgeable regarding Shuayb, and his transmission from him is frequent in the Sahihayn," though there remains the possibility that this was by way of authorization from Shuayb.This hadith was related by Bukhari, 10:304, from Abu Yaman with this same isnad. Talbid means gathering the hair on the head with something that makes it stick together, such as marshmallow root or gum, so that it does not become disheveled or lice-infested during ihram. This is what the Hafiz (Ibn Hajar) said, and its explanation was also given earlier from al-Nihaya at 1850. Dafr is with a fatha on the dal and a fatha on the fa, which may be light or doubled, as stated in al-Fath.As for the statement, "Ibn Umar used to say," and what follows, it requires clarification and explanation. Let us convey what the Hafiz said in al-Fath. It was mentioned earlier at the beginning of the chapter on Hajj [3:317] in the wording, "I heard the Messenger of Allah pronounce the tahlil while his hair was matted (mulabbadan)," as in the narration that follows this one in the chapter.As for Umar's statement, Ibn Battal understood it to mean that whoever intends ihram and braids his hair to keep it from becoming disheveled is not permitted to merely trim his hair at the end, because he has done something resembling talbid, for which the Lawgiver required shaving. Umar held the view that whoever matted his head during ihram was obligated to shave and perform the rites fully, and merely trimming would not suffice for him. So he likened one who braided his hair to one who matted it, and for that reason he commanded whoever braided his hair to shave. It is also possible that Umar intended to command shaving at the time of entering ihram, so that there would be no need for either talbid or braiding, meaning that whoever wants to braid or mat his hair should instead shave, which is preferable to braiding or matting it. Then, if he later wants to merely trim his hair, he would not be able to take hair evenly from all sides, as the sunnah requires.As for Ibn Umar's statement, its apparent meaning is that he understood from his father that he held leaving talbid to be preferable, so he reported that he had seen the Prophet doing it. But the apparent sense of Ibn Umar's wording indicates something else, namely that Umar commanded whoever braided his hair to shave, and that he forbade excessive braiding to the point where it resembled talbid. It should not be understood from this that he considered leaving talbid preferable, especially since Umar was with the Messenger of Allah during the Farewell Pilgrimage and observed his state during his ihram.This is supported by what is in Majma al-Zawaid 3:263, on the authority of Azraq bin Qays, who said, I was sitting with Ibn Umar when a man asked him, "Abu Abdul-Rahman, I entered ihram and gathered my hair together." Ibn Umar said, "Did you not hear that Umar, during his caliphate, said, 'Whoever braids his head or mats it must shave'?" The man said, "Abu Abdul-Rahman, I did not braid it, I only gathered it together." Ibn Umar replied, "A she-goat and a he-goat, a he-goat and a she-goat!" This was related by Tabarani in al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.This clarifies the soundness of what we have said. Ibn Umar was expressing disapproval at his questioner for trying to draw a distinction between "gathering" and "braiding," since the two are one and the same thing, and do not differ merely because different words are used for them.