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How authentic is the Hadith: "Perhaps a beast is better than its rider, and more rememberant of Allah than him," and is it present in Musnad Ahmad?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad and Al-Tabarani, with the wording: "Ride them safely, and dismount them safely, and do not take them as chairs for your conversations and gatherings, for perhaps a ridden animal is better than its rider, and remembers Allah more than him," was authenticated by Al-Albani.

This Hadith indicates that some animals are better than some humans in terms of remembering Allah, and this does not contradict the general honor bestowed upon the Children of Adam. The Hadith also shows that animals remember Allah, and the interpretation of this glorification (tasbih) wavers between allegorical interpretation and taking it at face value, while acknowledging the inability to comprehend its manner.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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