Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
ahmad:6041Hāshim > Isḥāq b. Saʿīd from his father > Ibn ʿUmar

[Machine] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "We are an illiterate community who does not calculate or write the month like this and this and this," and he folded his thumb on the third finger.  

أحمد:٦٠٤١حَدَّثَنَا هَاشِمٌ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ نَحْنُ أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا نَحْسُبُ وَلَا نَكْتُبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَقَبَضَ إِبْهَامَهُ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ  


See similar narrations below:

Collected by Muslim, Nasāʾī, Abū Dāwūd, Aḥmad, Nasāʾī's Kubrá
muslim:1080iHārūn b. ʿAbdullāh > Rawḥ b. ʿUbādah > Zakariyyāʾ b. Isḥāq > ʿAmr b. Dīnār > Ibn ʿUmar

The month is thus and thus and thus (i. e. pointing with his fingers thrice), and he held back his thumb at the third time (in order to show that it can also consist of twenty-nine days).  

مسلم:١٠٨٠iحَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحُ بْنُ عُبَادَةَ حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّاءُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ ؓ يَقُولُ

سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَقُولُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَقَبَضَ إِبْهَامَهُ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ  

muslim:1080n[Chain 1] Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaybah > Ghundar > Shuʿbah [Chain 2] Muḥammad b. al-Muthanná And Ibn Bashhār > Ibn al-Muthanná > Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar > Shuʿbah > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr b. Saʿīd > Ibn ʿUmar Yuḥaddith

We are an unlettered people who can neither write nor count. The month is thus, and thus. folding his thumb when he said it the third time.  

مسلم:١٠٨٠nحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا غُنْدَرٌ عَنْ شُعْبَةَ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى وَابْنُ بَشَّارٍ قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُثَنَّى حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَعِيدٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ ؓ يُحَدِّثُ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسُبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَعَقَدَ الإِبْهَامَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا يَعْنِي تَمَامَ ثَلاَثِينَ  

nasai:2140Muḥammad b. al-Muthanná > ʿAbd al-Raḥman > Sufyān > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr > Ibn ʿUmar

"We are an unlettered Ummah, we do not use astronomical counting or computation. The month is like this, and this, and this," he did three times, showing it as twenty-nine.  

النسائي:٢١٤٠أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسِبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا ثَلاَثًا حَتَّى ذَكَرَ تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ  

nasai:2141Muḥammad b. al-Muthanná And Muḥammad b. Bashhār > Muḥammad > Shuʿbah > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr b. Saʿīd b. Abū al-ʿĀṣ > Ibn ʿUmar

he heard Ibn 'Umar narrate that the Prophet said; "We are an unlettered Ummah; we do not use computation. The month is like this, and this, and this," and he held down his thumb the last time. "And the month is like this, and this, and this," completing thirty.  

النسائي:٢١٤١أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ شُعْبَةَ عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي الْعَاصِ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ يُحَدِّثُ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لاَ نَحْسِبُ وَلاَ نَكْتُبُ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَعَقَدَ الإِبْهَامَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا تَمَامَ الثَّلاَثِينَ  

abudawud:2319Sulaymān b. Ḥarb > Shuʿbah > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr / Ibn Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ > Ibn ʿUmar

The Prophet ﷺ said: The month consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast till you sight it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it thirty days. When the twenty-ninth of Sha'ban came, Ibn Umar would send someone (who tried) to sight the moon for him. If it was sighted, then well and good; in case it was not sighted, and there was no cloud and dust before him (on the horizon), he would not keep fast the next day. If there appeared (on the horizon) before him cloud or dust, he would fast the following day. Ibn Umar would end his fasting alone with the people, and did not follow this calculation.  

أبو داود:٢٣١٩حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو يَعْنِي ابْنَ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسُبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَخَنَسَ سُلَيْمَانُ أُصْبَعَهُ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ يَعْنِي تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ وَثَلاَثِينَ  

ahmad:6129ʿAbīdah b. Ḥumayd > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr al-Qurashī > ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar

[Machine] From the Prophet ﷺ, he said: "Indeed, we are an unlettered nation, we do not write nor calculate. And indeed, the month is like this and this and this, then it decreases one day in every third month."  

أحمد:٦١٢٩حَدَّثَنَا عَبِيدَةُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ حَدَّثَنِي الْأَسْوَدُ بْنُ قَيْسٍ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو الْقُرَشِيِّ أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ حَدَّثَهُمْ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهُ قَالَ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَكْتُبُ وَلَا نَحْسُبُ وَإِنَّ الشَّهْرَ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا ثُمَّ نَقَصَ وَاحِدَةً فِي الثَّالِثَةِ  

ahmad:4815Rawḥ > Zakariyyā b. Isḥāq > ʿAmr b. Dīnār > ʿAbdullāh b. ʿUmar

The month is thus and thus and thus (i. e. pointing with his fingers thrice), and he held back his thumb at the third time (in order to show that it can also consist of twenty-nine days). (Using translation from Muslim 1080i)  

أحمد:٤٨١٥حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحٌ حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّا بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَبْدَ اللهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ يَقُولُ

سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَقَبَضَ إِبْهَامَهُ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ  

ahmad:5017Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar > Shuʿbah > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr b. Saʿīd > Ibn ʿUmar

he heard Ibn 'Umar narrate that the Prophet said; "We are an unlettered Ummah; we do not use computation. The month is like this, and this, and this," and he held down his thumb the last time. "And the month is like this, and this, and this," completing thirty. (Using translation from Nasāʾī 2141)  

أحمد:٥٠١٧حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ عَنِ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ سَمِعْتُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَعِيدٍ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ يُحَدِّثُ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ أَنَّهُ قَالَ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَكْتُبُ وَلَا نَحْسُبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَعَقَدَ الْإِبْهَامَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا يَعْنِي تَمَامَ ثَلَاثِينَ  

nasai-kubra:2462Muḥammad b. al-Muthanná And Muḥammad b. Bashhār > Muḥammad > Shuʿbah > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr b. Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ > Ibn ʿUmar

We are an unlettered people who can neither write nor count. The month is thus, and thus. folding his thumb when he said it the third time. (Using translation from Muslim 1080n)  

الكبرى للنسائي:٢٤٦٢أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ شُعْبَةَ عَنِ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ يُحَدِّثُ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ «إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَحْسُبُ وَلَا نَكْتُبُ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا» وَعَقَدَ الْإِبْهَامَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا تَمَامَ الثَّلَاثِينَ  

nasai-kubra:5853Muḥammad b. al-Muthanná And Muḥammad b. Bashhār > Muḥammad > Shuʿbah > al-Aswad b. Qays > Saʿīd b. ʿAmr b. Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣī > Ibn ʿUmar

We are an unlettered people who can neither write nor count. The month is thus, and thus. folding his thumb when he said it the third time. (Using translation from Muslim 1080n)  

الكبرى للنسائي:٥٨٥٣أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ شُعْبَةَ عَنِ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِي أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ يُحَدِّثُ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ «إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمَيَّةٌ لَا نَحْسُبُ وَلَا نَكْتُبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَعَقَدَ الْإِبْهَامَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا تَمَامُ الثَّلَاثِينَ»