What is meant by "hadithu 'ahd bi-shirk" (recently emerged from polytheism) in the noble Hadith: "O Messenger of Allah, our people are recent converts from polytheism, and they bring us meat about which we do not know whether they mentioned the name of Allah over it or not?" He replied: "You yourselves say 'Bismillah' and eat"? Does it mean that they are polytheists, or is it the name of a city?
The aforementioned Hadith is not in Sahih al-Bukhari with this exact wording. Rather, it was narrated by Al-Bayhaqi with a similar wording. The meaning of "recently emerged from polytheism" is that they have recently embraced Islam, and what is meant by them are the Bedouins, as Al-Bukhari titled it, "Chapter on the slaughtered animal of the Bedouins and the like."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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