Is the hadeeth “I have brought slaughter to you” saheeh, and how should it be understood?

This hadeeth was narrated by
Ahmad in al-Musnad (11/609 – Mu’sasat ar-Risaalah edition), from the
Sahaabi ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him). It
was classed as hasan by the commentators, and also by Shaykh Ahmad Shaakir
in Tahqeeq al-Musnad. It was also classed as hasan by al-Haythami in
Majma‘ az-Zawaa’id (6/19), and by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Mawaarid
(1403). 

In a report narrated by Imam al-Bukhaari
(3678), it says that ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: I asked ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr about the worst incident of aggression and
hostility that he saw on the part of Quraysh towards the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He said: I saw ‘Uqbah ibn Abi
Mu‘ayt come to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when
he was praying and put his rida’ around his neck and throttle him severely.
Then Abu Bakr came and pushed him away and said: “Would you kill a man
because he says: My Lord is Allah, and he has come to you with clear signs
(proofs) from your Lord?” [Ghaafir 40:28]. 

And it was narrated that the
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “By Allah, you
will not stop until His punishment comes upon you soon.” After that, he
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to his companions: “Be of
good cheer, for Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will cause His
religion to prevail, will make His word supreme and will grant victory to
His Prophet. These people whom you see are among those whom Allah will
slaughter at your hands soon.” 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar, in Fath
al-Baari (1/168) attributed it to az-Zubayr ibn Bakkaar, as did ad-Daaraqutni
in al-Afraad, and he pointed out that this report is da‘eef (weak). 

See: Fath al-Baari
(1/166-170) for other versions of this hadeeth. 

This wording, “I have brought
slaughter to you”, undoubtedly has a sound meaning, and it should not cause
confusion in the mind of the questioner or of any rational person. What is
meant by slaughter here applies to a few specific individuals, who were the
ones who persisted in disbelieving in Allah and waging war against Islam and
its people, persecuting those who were in a weak position, oppressing women
and old people among the believers, in order to turn them away from their
religion, and imposing their principles and beliefs by means of murder,
torture and persecution. These are the ones who killed some of the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) in the harshest manner. They stabbed Sumayyah, the wife of Yaasir, in
her private part, and killed Yaasir when he was an old man, and tortured
Bilaal in the desert, and plotted to kill the best of creation, namely
Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). They did not omit any
method of torture and oppression but they practised it against this group of
believers, until they forced them to migrate to Abyssinia, nursing their
wounds and bearing their pain, in the hope that they would find peace and
safety with the king of Abyssinia. 

This is some of what these
criminals among the disbelievers of Quraysh did to the believers. As for
their arrogance towards the Lord of mankind, that is another matter
altogether, which Allah has told us about in dozens of verses in the Holy
Qur’an. After all that, didn’t these people deserve to be killed in order to
ward off their evil and save people from their harm? 

Is it not wise and rational to
confront them – sometimes – with force and threats and warnings, when their
plots and aggression reach such a level? 

Why would any rational person be
confused and find it hard to accept the Prophet’s warning to them of a
speedy punishment from Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, when they
were more deserving of it than the people of ‘Aad and Thamood and the people
of all the Prophets, whose enmity towards the Prophets and believers we know
of from the Holy Qur’an? 

Could any rational person forget
to such an extent what these criminals did to the weak and oppressed
believers? Could he forget the days of persecution and mistreatment that
they suffered, which breaks the heart of anyone who reads their stories,
then could he feel sympathy for the aggressors – who were the leaders of the
disbelievers of Quraysh – because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) threatened them with killing and slaughter on just one
occasion? 

Is this how matters are
evaluated according to rational standards?? 

If those haters try to confuse
people, and take these words out of context, and want to depict the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) as a shedder of blood and a lover
killing and slaughter, their argument should not deceive rational people,
whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims. Rather what must be done is to
evaluate this incident – like any other incident – on the basis of two
important standards:

1.the context in
which it occurred and the type of people addressed, and the incident which
explains it and highlights what was intended by it;

2.examining all
related texts objectively, by means of which it is possible to understand
the Islamic point of view concerning this matter, not just looking at a
single text only. 

The one who does not do that
will be misled and confused, and he will yielded his rational thinking to
anyone who comes along with a specious argument and to anyone who is able to
make evil and corrupt insinuations. 

We also say:

How can you believe the claim of
one who says that Islam came to kill everyone who does not follow it, when
all people know for certain that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) pardoned the people of Makkah after their intense persecution
of him? The angel of the mountains offered to crush them between al-Akhshabayn
(two mountains in Makkah), but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: “Rather I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins
people who will worship Allah alone, not associating anything with Him.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3231)
and Muslim (1795). 

After the conquest of Makkah, he
also pardoned the disbelievers of Quraysh who wronged the believers and
devoured their wealth. In fact he even honoured some of their leaders in the
hope that they would become good Muslims, when he said – on the day of the
conquest of Makkah –: “Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyaan will be
safe.” Narrated by Muslim (331). 

So how can you believe this
claim when Allah, may He be exalted, has prescribed that we should accept
the jizyah from the followers of other religions, and agree to their
remaining under the protection and care of the Islamic state? 

How can you believe this claim
when we know for sure how the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) accepted a treaty with the Jews of Madinah and coexisted with them in
the hope that they would adhere to the treaty and not break it
treacherously? And he did not fight any of them until they were the ones who
broke the treaty and committed acts of treachery. 

Didn’t the Lord of Glory say,
explaining the purposes behind the sending of the message in one sentence
about our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him):
“And We have sent you (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
not but as a mercy for the ‘Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)”
[al-Anbiya’ 21:107]. 

Indeed, Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, also says (interpretation of the meaning):

“If they (Jews) belie you
(Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say you: ‘Your Lord is
the Owner of Vast Mercy, and never will His Wrath be turned back from the
people who are Mujrimoon (criminals, polytheists, sinners, etc.)’”

[al-An‘aam 6:147]. 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah
have mercy on him) said: 

Here Allah, may He be exalted,
says: If your opponents – O Muhammad – among the mushrikeen and Jews and
others of their ilk reject you, then say: “Your Lord is the Owner of Vast
Mercy”. This is encouragement to them to seek the mercy of Allah and
follow His Messenger.

“and never will His Wrath be
turned back from the people who are Mujrimoon” – this is a warning to
them against opposing and going against the Messenger, the Seal of the
Prophets. End quote. 

Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem
(3/357) 

It was narrated that Abu
Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was said: O Messenger of
Allah, pray against the mushrikeen. He said: “I was not sent as an invoker
of curses, rather I was sent as a mercy.”  Narrated by Muslim (2599). 

We hope that these words will be
a beneficial reminder by means of which Allah will dispel the questioner’s
confusion about the meaning of this hadeeth. 

And Allah knows best.