← Staying firm

A time when the best thing to own is sheep

It describes a man going uphill on purpose.

The words

يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرَ مَالِ الْمُسْلِمِ غَنَمٌ يَتْبَعُ بِهَا شَعَفَ الْجِبَالِ وَمَوَاقِعَ الْقَطْرِ، يَفِرُّ بِدِينِهِ مِنَ الْفِتَنِ

Yūshiku an yakūna khayra māli-l-muslimi ghanamun yatbaʿu bihā shaʿafa-l-jibāli wa mawāqiʿa-l-qaṭr, yafirru bi-dīnihi mina-l-fitan

It is close to the time when the best property a Muslim has will be sheep, which he follows to the mountain tops and the places where rain falls, fleeing with his religion from the trials.

Where this comes from

The word used is fleeing, and what he is carrying out is his religion. It describes withdrawal as a legitimate move when staying costs more than it is worth.

The full narration

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "A time will soon come when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take on the top of mountains and the places of rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his religion from afflictions

Source

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · 19

Ṣaḥīḥ
  • Recorded in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, whose narrations are accepted as authentic

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