A slave girl of Madīnah would take hold of the hand of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and would take him wherever she wished

A slave girl of Madīnah would take hold of the hand of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and would take him wherever she wished

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A slave girl of Madīnah would take hold of the hand of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and would take him wherever she wished.

[Authentic hadith] [Narrated by Bukhari]

Explanation

This Hadīth highlights the extreme humbleness of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) though he is the best of creation. Any slave girl from Madīnah who sought his help would go to him, take his hand, and take him wherever she wished so he could help her with what she needed. This would happen even though he was the best of mankind. He would not ask her: "Where are you taking me?" or say: "Go to someone else," instead, he would go with her and help her with her need. Nevertheless, Allah raised him through this in status and honor. Note: The intended meaning in this Hadīth is not that the slave girl actually touched the hand of the Prophet in the physical sense. Al-Hāfiz said: “’Taking his hand’ is intended to mean that he accompanied her with gentleness and willingness.” This Hadīth reflects the Prophet's humbleness on several levels, as it mentioned that it was a female who took his hand, not a male, and it was a slave, not a free woman, and it used the indefinite article to indicate that this could happen with any slave girl, whoever she was.

Categories

Prophet's Humility