On the authority of Urwa Al-Barqi – may God be pleased with him – he said: He said – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him: “Camels are honorable to their families, sheep are a blessing, and goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection.” It was narrated by Ibn Majah, and by Abu Ya’la in his Musnad, and by Al-Albani in “Sahih Ibn Majah” and “Sahih Al-Jami’,” and he said: Its chain of transmission is correct according to the conditions of the two sheikhs, and it was narrated by Ibn al-Arabi in “Ahkam al-Qur’an” and “Ardah al-Ahwadhi” and “Al-Qabas.”
This hadith began with camels. As it represents wealth for its people, and the sheep are among the animals in which God made blessing as He made them for horses in the Prophetic hadith on the authority of Anas on the authority of the Prophet – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him – that he said: “Blessing is in the forelocks of horses.”
But horses are unique in that goodness is linked to their forelocks, and that this connection is continuous and permanent until the Day of Resurrection. Whereas, the horses will remain with them until the Day of Resurrection. What is meant by good here is immediate and urgent. As for the deferred payment, it is the reward that results from linking it, and its reward will be on the Day of Judgment, and the immediate good is the spoils that the fighter in the cause of God obtains from the money of God’s enemies.
Ibn Hajar said in “Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari”: “Al-Khattabi, may God have mercy on him, said: It indicates that the money that is acquired by taking horses is one of the best and most beloved types of money. (Al-Baqarah: 180) Ibn Abd al-Barr said: In it there is an indication of the preference of horses over other animals, because there is no such saying from him, peace be upon him, in anything other than this.
