al-Kalam ala Hadith al-Istilqa li Abi Musa al-Madini
- Author died
- 581 AH
- Editions
- al-Kalam ala Hadith al-Istilqa li Abi Musa al-Madini
al-Kalam ala Hadith al-Istilqa (Discourse on the Hadith of Reclining) is a short hadith monograph by the Isfahan traditionist Abu Musa al-Madini (d. 581 AH / 1185 CE) dedicated to examining and documenting the narration concerning divine reclining (hadith al-istilqa).
Transmission and Content
The surviving text was transmitted through a reading before Abu Musa al-Madini at his mosque in Isfahan in Muharram 575 AH. Abu Musa received the report through Abu Ghalib Ahmad ibn al-Abbas al-Kushidi from Abu Bakr ibn Zayd from al-Tabarani, who narrated it via three transmitters—Ja'far ibn Sulayman al-Nawfali, Ahmad ibn Rushdin al-Misri, and Ahmad ibn Dawud al-Makki—all from Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir al-Hizami, from Muhammad ibn Fulayh ibn Sulayman, from his father, from Sa'id ibn al-Harith, from Ubayd ibn Hunayn.
In the narrated account, 'Ubayd ibn Hunayn accompanies Qatada ibn al-Nu'man to visit the companion Abu Sa'id al-Khudri during an illness. Finding Abu Sa'id reclining with his right leg placed across his left, Qatada pinches his leg severely. When Abu Sa'id protests, Qatada explains that he did so intentionally, citing a prophetic report: إن الله (عز وجل) لما قضي خلقه استلقى ووضع إحدى رجليه على الأخرى، وقال: لا ينبغي لأحد من خلقي أن يفعل هذا ("When God, Mighty and Majestic, completed His creation, He reclined and placed one of His legs over the other, saying: 'It is not fitting for any of My creation to do this'"). Abu Sa'id then vows never to adopt that posture again.
Following the central narration, Abu Musa comments on variant transmission paths, citing a narration transmitted by Ibn al-Asfar. Abu Musa al-Madini authenticated the narration (sahhaha hadith al-istilqa), a verdict that later scholars cited when discussing the theological status and chain of the report.
Answer updated