English Translation

Al-Mughira b. ‘Shu'ba said:I was a guest one night along with the Beloved Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he ordered a haunch to be roasted, then took a broad knife and began to cut off slices for me. Hadrat Bilal then came to tell him the time for prayer had come, and he threw down the knife saying, “What is the m atter with him! May his hands be covered with dust!”* My moustache was long, so he said, “I shall clip it for you over a tooth-stick,” or, “Clip it over a tooth-stick.” *Taribat yadahu. I have here translated the phrase literally, but cf. p. 658. It is not normally to be taken literally. In this tradition the Noble Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is evidently displeased because the call to prayer has been made so soon, but it should not be understood that he is calling down a curse on Hadrat Bilal. In its use here it may indicate some degree of displeasure, but nothing more. Tirmidhi transmitted it*