English
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Between the two blowings of the trumpet, there are forty.” They said: “O Abu Hurairah, forty days?” He said: “I refuse.” They said: “Forty months?” He said: “I refuse.” They said: “Forty years?” He said: “I refuse.” Then Allah will send water from the sky, and they will grow like herbs. He said: “There is nothing of a human that does not decay except one bone, the coccyx, from which creation is reassembled on the Day of Resurrection.” [Agreed Upon] In a narration by Muslim: He said: “Every part of the son of Adam is consumed by the earth except the coccyx, from which he was created and in which he is reassembled.”
Possible references (unverified, pending editorial review)
- Candidate: Sahih al-Bukhari 4935 (unverified) 99% confidence
- Candidate: Sahih Muslim 2955a (unverified) 99% confidence
- Candidate: Sahih al-Bukhari 4814 (unverified) 97% confidence
Confidence and text similarity are not editorial verification.
Commentary and footnotes (2)
Note 1
(1) His statement: “Forty”: It is left ambiguous in the hadith but clarified in others as forty years. The ambiguity may be for emphasis. His statement “I refuse” means I abstain from answering, as I do not know the correct answer. His statement “does not decay” means does not perish or disintegrate for those whose bodies decay, as Allah has forbidden the earth from consuming the bodies of prophets, and similarly those akin to them, like martyrs and saints. It is even said that this includes muezzins who seek reward, as they are alive or like the living in their graves. His statement “the coccyx” refers to the bone between the hips at the base of the spine. Some of our scholars among the commentators said: It refers to its prolonged survival under the earth, not that it never perishes, as that contradicts observation. Another hadith states it is the first created and the last to decay, and the meaning of both hadiths is the same. Some said: The wisdom is that it is the foundation of the human body, built upon it, so it is fitting that it be the most durable, like the foundation of a wall. If it is the most durable, it lasts the longest. I say: The truth, and Allah is the guide to precision, is that the coccyx decays last, as another hadith attests, but not entirely, as this hadith indicates, which is agreed upon. Sensory observation is irrelevant, as established in the chapter on the punishment of the grave, since the minute part mixed with the earth cannot be distinguished by the senses. His statement “from which he is reassembled” means just as he was created initially, so too is he created first in the re-creation. His statement “except the coccyx” means the earth does not consume it entirely or partially. His statement “in which he is reassembled” in some versions is “from which,” as narrated in Al-Jami’, and “in” is synonymous with “from.” (As stated in Al-Mirqat)
Note 1
(۱) قوله: أربعون أبهم في الحديث وبين في غيره أنه أربعون عاما. ولعل اختيار الإبهام لما فيه من الإيهام. وقوله: «أبيت»، أي امتنعت عن الجواب؛ لأني لا أدري ما هو الصواب. وقوله: «لا يبلى أي لا يخلق، ولا يرم ممن يبلى جسده، فإن الله تعالى حرم على الأرض أن تأكل من أجساد الأنبياء، وكذا من في معناهم من الشهداء والأولياء، بل قيل: ومنهم المؤذنون المحتسبون؛ فإنهم في قبورهم أحياء أو كالأحياء. وقوله: عجب الذنب وهو العظم بين الأليتين الذي في أسفل الصلب. قال بعض علمائنا من الشراح: المراد طول بقائه تحت التراب، لا أنه لا يفنى أصلا؛ فإنه خلاف المحسوس، وجاء في حديث آخر أنه أول ما يخلق وآخر ما يبلى، ومعنى الحديثين واحد. وقال بعضهم: الحكمة فيه أنه قاعدة بدن الإنسان، وأنه الذي يبنى عليه، فبالحري أن يكون أصلب من الجميع، كقاعدة الجدار وأشه ، وإذا كان أصلب كان أطول بقاء. أقول: التحقيق والله ولي التدقيق أن عجب الذنب يبلى آخرا، كما شهد به حدیث لكن لا بالكلية، كما يدل عليه هذا الحديث، وهو الحديث المتفق عليه، ولا عبرة بالمحسوس كما حقق في باب عذاب القبر، على أن الجزء القليل منه المخلوط بالتراب غير قابل لأن يتميز بالحس، كما لا يخفى على أرباب الحس. وقوله: ومنه يركب إلخ أي كما خلق أولا في الإيجاد كذلك خلق أولا في الإعادة. وقوله: إلا عجب الذنب» أي فإنه لا يأكله كله أو بعضه. وقوله: وفيه يركب. وفي نسخة منه». وهو رواية الجامع، وسبق أن «في» تأتي مرادفة لـ «من». أخذت كله من «المرقاة».