سنن ابودوٗد · Hadith 2212

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet ﷺ as saying Abraham ﷺ never told a lie except on three occasions twice for the sake of Allaah. Allaah quoted his words (in the Quran) “I am indeed sick” and “Nay, this was done by - this is their biggest one”. Once he was passing through the land of a tyrant (king). He stayed there in a place. People went to the tyrant and informed him saying “A man has come down here; he has a most beautiful woman with him. ” So he sent for him (Abraham) and asked about her. He said she is my sister. When he returned to her, he said “he asked me about you and I informed him that you were my sister. Today there is no believer except me and you. You are my sister in the Book of Allaah (i. e., sister in faith). So do not belie me before him. The narrator then narrated the rest of the tradition. Abu Dawud said “A similar tradition has also been narrated by Shuaib bin Abi Hamza from Abi Al Zinad from Al A’raj on the authority of Abu Hurairah from the Prophet ﷺ.

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020