Chapter 10: When Two Muslims Confront Each Other With Their Swords, Both Killer and Killed Are in Fire

...all three of them from al-Hasan al-Basri from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, and he cited the hadith without the backstory. Abu Dawud transmitted it from Abu Kamil al-Jahdari: Hammad narrated to us, and he mentioned the backstory with slight abridgment. His saying: 'And Mu'ammal said' (with a hamzated waw, matching the metric pattern of Muhammad): He is Ibn Isma'il, Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Basri who settled in Mecca. Al-Bukhari lived in his era but did not meet him, because he passed away in the year 206 AH, which was before al-Bukhari undertook his scholarly journeys; al-Bukhari only cited from him suspendedly (mu'allaqan). He was truthful (saduq) but made frequent errors, as stated by Abu Hatim al-Razi. Al-Isma'ili connected this chain via Abu Musa Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna: Mu'ammal ibn Isma'il narrated to us: Ahmad ibn Zayd narrated to us from Ayyub, Yunus (who is Ibn 'Ubayd), and Hisham, from al-Hasan from al-Ahnaf from Abu Bakra, citing the hadith without the backstory. He also connected it via Yazid ibn Sinan: Mu'ammal narrated to us: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us: Ayyub, Yunus, and al-Mu'alla ibn Ziyad narrated to us, saying: al-Hasan narrated to us, and he mentioned it. Ahmad transmitted it from Mu'ammal from Hammad from all four narrators; thus, it is as though al-Bukhari was alluding to this chain. His saying: 'And Ma'mar narrated it from Ayyub': I say: Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, and al-Isma'ili connected it via 'Abd al-Razzaq from him; Muslim and Abu Dawud did not mention its text, while al-Nasa'i and al-Isma'ili cited it, stating: 'from Ayyub from al-Hasan from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays from Abu Bakra: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)...' and he mentioned the hadith without the backstory. In this isnad there is a subtle point (latifah): all of its narrators are Basrans, and among them are three Successors (Tabi'un) in consecutive order, the first of whom is Ayyub. Al-Daraqutni said, after mentioning the discrepancies in its isnad: 'The authentic narration is the hadith of Ayyub from the narration of Hammad ibn Zayd and Ma'mar from him.' His saying: 'And Bakkar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz narrated it from his father from Abu Bakra': I say: 'Abd al-'Aziz is the son of 'Abdullah ibn Abi Bakrah; he appears with full lineage in Sunan Ibn Majah, while some attributed him to his grandfather saying ''Abd al-'Aziz ibn Abi Bakrah'. Neither he nor his son Bakkar has any hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari except this one. This chain was connected by al-Tabarani via Khalid ibn Khidash (with a kasrah on the dotted kha', undotted dal, and ending with a dotted shin): Bakkar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz narrated to us with the aforementioned isnad, with the wording: 'I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: Indeed a tribulation shall occur; the killer and the killed are in the Fire, for the killed one also intended to kill the killer.' His saying: 'And Ghundar said: Shu'bah narrated to us from Mansur': He is Ibn al-Mu'tamir, from Rib'i (with a kasrah on the ra' and sukun on the ba', which is a proper name taking the form of a relative adjective/nisbah), and his father's name is Hirash (with a kasrah on the undotted ha' and ending with a dotted shin), a famous Successor (Tabi'i). Imam Ahmad connected it, saying: Muhammad ibn Ja'far (who is Ghundar) narrated to us with this isnad in marfu' form with the wording: 'When two Muslims meet and one of them raises weapons against his companion, both of them are on the brink of Hellfire; and if he kills him, they both fall into it together.' Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi transmitted it likewise in his Musnad from Shu'bah, and through his route Abu 'Awanah recorded it in his Sahih. His saying: 'And Sufyan (meaning al-Thawri) did not elevate it from Mansur' (meaning through the aforementioned isnad): Al-Nasa'i connected it from the narration of Ya'la ibn 'Ubayd from Sufyan al-Thawri with the aforementioned isnad reaching Abu Bakra: 'When two Muslim men raise weapons against each other, both of them are on the brink of Hellfire; and if one of them kills the other, they are both in the Fire.' The commentary on this hadith has previously been discussed in the Book of Faith at the beginning of the Sahih. The scholars said: The meaning of their both being in the Fire is that they deserve that punishment, but their ultimate affair rests with Allah the Exalted: if He wills, He punishes them and then brings them out of the Fire like all other monotheists (muwahhidun); and if He wills, He pardons them and does not punish them at all. It was also said that this applies to one who deems that lawful (istahalla dhalik). There is no proof in it for the Khawarij or for those among the Mu'tazilah who hold that perpetrators of major sins abide eternally in the Fire, because his saying 'they are both in the Fire' does not necessitate their everlasting eternity therein. Those who held that fighting during civil discord (fitnah) is inadmissible used this as evidence; they were all who abstained from fighting alongside 'Ali in his wars, such as Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, Muhammad ibn Maslamah, Abu Bakra, and others. They argued that abstention is obligatory, to the extent that even if someone intends to kill him, he should not defend himself against him. Others among them said: one must not enter into fitnah, but if someone seeks to kill him, he may defend himself. And went...