Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Takallama bayna yaday al-Nabi lil-Tabarani

Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Takallama bayna yaday al-Nabi (The Hadith of the Spiny-Tailed Lizard That Spoke in the Presence of the Prophet) is a short single-hadith compilation (juz') transmitted by the hadith scholar al-Tabarani (d. 360 AH / 971 CE) recording a famous miracle narrative attributed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1.

Transmission and Content

Al-Tabarani recorded the text through his chain of transmission from Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Walid al-Sulami al-Basri, from Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-A'la al-San'ani, from Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman, from Kahmas ibn al-Hasan, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from 'Amir al-Sha'bi, from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1. Al-Tabarani also included the same narration in his larger hadith collections, al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat Juz fih dhikr Abi al-Qasi…+1.

The text relates that while the Prophet ﷺ was sitting among a gathering of his companions, a bedouin from the tribe of Banu Sulaym approached carrying a hunted spiny-tailed lizard (dabb) in his sleeve Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…. Finding the gathering around the Prophet ﷺ, the bedouin expressed severe hostility and swore by al-Lat and al-'Uzza that he would never believe until the lizard itself believed in him, throwing the animal onto the ground before the Prophet ﷺ Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1. When the Prophet ﷺ called out to the lizard, it responded in clear, fluent Arabic audible to everyone present: لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ("At your service and at your pleasure, O Messenger of the Lord of the worlds") Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…. The Prophet ﷺ asked the creature whom it worshipped, to which it described Allah's sovereignty over the heavens, earth, sea, Paradise, and Hellfire, and when asked who the Prophet was, it attested that he was the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds and the Seal of the Prophets Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta….

Moved by this testimony, the bedouin declared his faith on the spot Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…. The Prophet ﷺ praised Allah for guiding him, stating that the faith is accepted only through prayer and prayer only through the Quran; he then taught the bedouin Surah al-Fatihah and Surah al-Ikhlas Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…. The Prophet ﷺ further encouraged his companions to give gifts to the bedouin, whereupon 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf donated a pregnant she-camel, and the Prophet ﷺ promised him in exchange a magnificent she-camel in Paradise made of hollow pearl and emeralds Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…. On his journey home, the bedouin encountered a detachment of one thousand mounted men from Banu Sulaym riding out to fight the Prophet ﷺ; after hearing his account of the event, all one thousand converted to Islam, and the Prophet ﷺ subsequently placed them under the banner of Khalid ibn al-Walid Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1.

Scholarly Reception and Criticism

The narration in this treatise has been the subject of extensive critical evaluation among hadith authorities:

• Attributions of Weakness and Fabrication: Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi included the report in Dala'il al-Nubuwwah but classified it as weak, identifying the primary fault (al-haml fih) in the chain with al-Tabarani's teacher, Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Walid al-Sulami al-Basri Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi affirmed al-Bayhaqi's view and judged the text to be baseless and fabricated (khabar batil) Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1. Ibn Dihyah al-Kalbi similarly designated it as fabricated (mawdu'), and al-Mizzi judged it invalid in both chain and text (la yasihhu isnadan wa-la matnan) Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1. Ibn Kathir cited the story in al-Bidayah wa-al-Nihayah, noting its severe strangeness and objectionable character (nikarah wa-gharabah) al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Ibn al-Qayyim cited historical contradictions in the text, highlighting that Banu Sulaym had already embraced Islam at the Conquest of Mecca, making the report of an armed expedition against the Prophet ﷺ historically untenable Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta….
• Defences and Mitigating Views: Nur al-Din al-Haythami observed in Majma' al-Zawa'id that while al-Bayhaqi located the flaw in al-Sulami, the remaining narrators in the isnad were recognized authorities from the Sahih Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…. Earlier, Qutb al-Din al-Khaydari and later Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti argued against classifying the hadith as an outright forgery, arguing that none of its transmitters were explicitly accused of fabricating hadith, and pointing to parallel supporting routes narrated on the authority of other Companions, including 'A'ishah, Abu Hurayrah, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Ibn 'Abbas Hadith al-Dabb alladhi Ta…+1.