Explanation of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): (Three men from among those before you went out seeking provision for their families, and then they were struck by)

The Shaykh : As for the third hadith, it is also authentic. It had already come up with us at the beginning of this book. That hadith is from the narration of Ibn 'Umar, whereas this one is from the narration of Abu Hurayrah, and its source is different from that one. So you will hear some differences between this and that; do not let the matter be confusing for you, because the narrators add to one another's accounts; this one remembers something that the other does not, and vice versa.
He says: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . The first phrase we encounter in this narration is this addition: ; because the hadith previously mentioned, which had come up with us at the beginning of the book, does not contain this phrase: to the end of the hadith; it was not mentioned in that hadith of Ibn 'Umar what caused these men to be on their way in the desert until the rain struck them and they took refuge in the cave. Here, he clarifies the reason for us and says: ; meaning: they are seeking sustenance and livelihood, traveling across the earth as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded. This is what led them to that situation, .
, this is also an expression, or this is an expression that was not mentioned there, .
Ibn Hibban narrated it in his "Sahih," and al-Bukhari and Muslim and others narrated it from the hadith of 'Umar. This is how it is in my copy, so whoever has it that way should correct it and make it from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar. Al-Bukhari and Muslim and others narrated it from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar in similar terms. It came up previously; that is, at the beginning of the book, regarding sincerity in action for Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
We return to the hadith and study some of its phrases, and explain what may be obscure in them.
means from the People of the Book. , this is a style of the Arabs where "the sky" is used to refer to the place of rain, i.e., the rain itself, means the rain struck them, similar to the saying of the poet:
"When the sky descends upon the land of a people," when the sky descends upon the land of a people means the Hour has stood, but the intended meaning here of "the sky" is the rain.
"When the sky descends upon the land of a people *** We would graze there, even if they were angry"
meaning: the rain, meaning: to a cave in a mountain. This is part of the brevity found in this hadith, and its explanation is in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar mentioned and previously discussed at the beginning of the book, meaning: so the cave blocked them, as in that hadith. means because of the falling rains, if their families had lost them, they would not have been able to track their trail; because the trail was erased by the rains and floods. So it is as if this one of them—meaning one of them—says: We are cut off from the world, no one knows where we have become. meaning: the rock that blocked the cave. , and no one knows your location here except Allah, and I passed by it and did not notice it. This is what happens to the reader or the corrector; because he sometimes reads from his mind.