Ahmad 7305

Its chain of transmission is sahih. Nasai (2:215) also related it from Muhammad bin Mansur, from Sufyan, with this same chain, similarly. Malik related it in Muwatta (683-684) from Abu Zinad, with the same chain, but at greater length than this. And by way of Malik, Bukhari related it (4:309), and Muslim (1:444), and Abu Dawud (3443, 284 of Awn al-Mabud). Bukhari also related its ending, from his words "Do not withhold milk..." (4, 302-303), by way of Layth, from Jafar bin Rabia, from Araj, with the same chain.Regarding his words "Do not go out to meet the caravan for trade," in Nasai's version by way of Sufyan it reads, "Do not go out to meet the riders for trade." It is the same in Malik's version, and the meaning is one, namely that a city dweller should not go out to meet a desert dweller before he reaches the town and falsely tell him that his goods are not in demand, so that he may buy his merchandise from him for less than its fair price, as we explained from Nihaya in the hadith of Ibn Umar (6451).As for his words "Do not withhold milk from an animal to make it appear plentiful..." Hafiz says in Fath al-Bari (4:302), "With the first letter given a damma and the second a fatha, on the pattern of tuzakku, with 'the camels' in the accusative as the object. Some have vocalized it with the first letter given a fatha and the second a damma, but the first is more correct, because it comes from sarayta al-labana fi al-dirri, meaning 'when one accumulates it,' and not from sararta al-shay, meaning 'when one ties it up.' For if it were from the latter, it would be said musarrurah or musarrarah, and not musarraah." This is a fine, precise verification, in agreement with what Qadi Iyad established in Mashariq al-Anwar (2:43), and it is better than what Ibn Athir did in Nihaya (2:261-262).Shafii explained its meaning well. Muzani related from him in his Mukhtasar (2:184-185, in the margin of Al-Umm), "Shafii said, 'Tasriya means that the teats of the she-camel or ewe are tied up, and she is left without being milked for a day, two days, or three, until milk accumulates in her udder. Then the buyer sees it as abundant and so raises the price accordingly. But when he milks her after that first milking, once or twice more, he realizes that this was not truly her milk, since it decreases day by day from what it was at first. This is deception of the buyer.'"Nasai said something similar in his Sunan, as a heading for this hadith, "The prohibition of musarraah, which means that the teats of the she-camel or ewe are tied up, and she is left without milking for two or three days, until milk accumulates in her udder, so that the buyer raises her price because of what he sees as an abundance of milk." Musarraah is the same as muhaffalah, which was mentioned earlier in the hadith of Ibn Masud (4096).As for his words "he has the choice between the two options," Ibn Athir said, "That is, the better of the two matters for him, either keeping the purchased item or returning it, whichever is better for him, is what he should choose to do." He said, "Nazar (looking/considering) applies to both physical things and abstract matters. What is done with the eyes pertains to physical things, and what is done with insight pertains to abstract matters."As for his words "except for wheat," Ibn Athir said, "Samra means wheat. The meaning of excluding it is that one is not obligated to give wheat as compensation, because it was more expensive than dates in Hijaz." This clause was not mentioned in Malik's version. Hafiz discussed at length in Fath al-Bari (4:304-305) the various versions concerning this point, though he failed to mention this version found in Musnad.Then he gave the matter its full due (305-309) regarding the disagreement over rescission due to the defect of tasriya, and he did an excellent job, indeed the best possible job, in undermining the position of those who opposed this explicit text and this firmly established principle from the sunnah, relying instead on analogy, as they claimed. He was harsh, with eloquent and lofty words in the etiquette of critique, against those who dared to cast doubt on Abu Hurairah, saying, "Some of them attacked the hadith on the grounds that it comes from the report of Abu Hurairah, who was not like Ibn Masud and other jurist-companions, so what he related should not be accepted when it contradicts clear analogy." This is a statement that harmed only its speaker, and in merely recounting it there is no need to trouble oneself with refuting it.I think it was for this very point that Bukhari placed the hadith of Ibn Masud right after the hadith of Abu Hurairah (meaning the earlier hadith of Ibn Masud, 4096, which we referred to just now), as an indication that Ibn Masud had issued a ruling in agreement with the hadith of Abu Hurairah. For had the report of Abu Hurairah on this matter not been firmly established, Ibn Masud would not have gone against clear analogy in that ruling.Then he said, "Ibn Samani said in Istilam, 'To take issue with the companions is a sign of the one who does so being forsaken. Indeed, it is an innovation and error.' Abu Hurairah was singled out for exceptional memory, due to the Messenger of Allah's supplication for him."Among the finest things Hafiz quoted in this context (307) is the statement of Ibn Samani, "Once a report is established, it becomes one of the foundational principles, and there is no need to test it against another principle. For if it agrees with it, well and good, and if it contradicts it, then it is not permissible to reject either of the two, because that would mean rejecting the report on the basis of analogy, which is rejected by unanimous agreement. The sunnah takes precedence over analogy, without any disagreement."See also a thorough explanation of this hadith in Ihkam al-Ahkam by Ibn Daqiq Eid, hadith 2256 (1:119-130, printed by Matbaat al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah).