Definition: The Two Black Things

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

Question: What are the two black things, and why are they named as such, even though water is colorless?

Answer: The two black things are: dates and water, as mentioned in the Hadeeth reported in the Saheehain.

Narrated `Urwah: `Aaishah رضي الله عنها said to me: ❝O my nephew! We used to see the crescent, and then the crescent and then the crescent in this way we saw three crescents in two months and no fire (for cooking) used to be made in the houses of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ.❞ I said: “O my aunt! Then what use to sustain you?” `Aaishah said: ❝The two black things: dates and water.❞ [Saheehain]

Abu `Ubaid al-Qaasim Ibn Salaam said:

The statement of `Aaishah رضي الله عنها: “The two black things”, refers to the blackness of the dates especially, excluding the water. But both of them have been described with the description of one of them. This is usually how the `Arabs do this when they mentioned two things when they were paired together; like two men who were very close friends and who were inseparable, or two brothers, or other things, all of them would be named or described with the one who was the most famous (or well-known) of the two. This is why the people used to say: “The Sunnah al-`Umarayn (the two `Umars) while referring to Abu Bakr and `Umar.”

[Ghareeb al-Hadeeth of al-Qaasim Ibn Salaam (4/318)]

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Ibn al-Atheer said:

The two black things are the dates and water. The dates are black, especially the dates from al-Madeenah, and the water has been joined with it and described with its description because of its succession (i.e. water is always mentioned after the dates). The `Arabs do this regarding two things when they accompany each other, so they are named (or described) together with the name of one of them which is more famous; like al-Qamarayn (the two moons, while describing the sun and the moon) and al-`Umarayn (the two `Umars, in regards to Abu Bakr and `Umar).

[al-Nihaayah fee Ghareeb al-Hadeeth (2/419)]

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Other examples from the Ahaadeeth are: “Adhaanaan” (the two Adhaans, in referring to the Adhaan and Iqaamah), and “al-`Asrayn” (the two `Asrs in referring to the `Asr and Fajr prayers) [see Sunan Abu Dawood (428) and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee].

Narrated `Abdullaah bin Mughaffal رضي الله عنه: The Prophet ﷺ said: ❝There is a prayer between the two Adhaans (Adhan and Iqaamah), there is a prayer between the two Adhaans.❞ And then while saying it the third time he ﷺ added: ❝For the one who wants to (pray).❞

[Saheehain]

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Ibn Khuzaimah mentioned in his Saheeh:

The Adhaan and the Iqaamah are called as: “Adhaanaan” (the two Adhaans). Did you not hear the saying of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ: ❝There is a prayer between the two Adhaans❞? By this, he ﷺ meant: between every Adhaan and Iqaamah.

And Allaah عز وجل said:

﴿وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ﴾

{And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth} [Surah al-Nisaa (4): 11]

And He عز وجل also said:

﴿ وَوَرِثَهُ أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ الثُّلُثُ﴾

{and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third} [Surah al-Nisaa (4): 11]

In this Aayah, it is referring to the parents – i.e. father and mother, but Allaah described them with the description of the father (Abawayn).

And from the same type is the description of `Aaishah رضي الله عنه when she described the dates and the water as: “the two black things”. The blackness is especially regarding the description of the dates while excluding the water. But `Aaishah referred to both of them as: “the two black things” when she paired them together.

And from the same type is when they say: “The Sunnah of the two `Umars”, with this they intend to mean Abu Bakr and `Umar, and not as some imagined from their own that it refers to `Umar Ibn al-Khattaab and `Umar Ibn `Abdul-`Azeez.

[Saheeh Ibn Khuzaimah under Hadeeth (1773)]

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Badr al-Deen al-`Ainee said:

The two black things are the dates and the water, and this is from the angle of giving preference (to one over the other), even though the water is clear and pure, having no any color. Similarly, al-Abawayn (the two fathers), referring to the parents (father and mother); and al-Qamarayn (the two moons), referring to the sun and the moon; and al-Ahmarayn (the two red things), referring to the meat and the drink, and some say it refers to the gold and saffron; al-Abyadhayn (the two white things), referring to water and milk; al-Asmarayn (the two brown things), referring to water and salt. Similarly, they say al-`Umarayn (the two `Umars), referring to Abu Bakr and `Umar رضي الله عنهما. The name al-`Umarayn has been given precedence because it is easy (lighter to pronounce). But the ones who say that al-`Umarayn refers to `Umar Ibn al-Khattaab and `Umar Ibn `Abdul-`Azeez, then they are furthest from the truth.

[Umdatul-Qaaree Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (21/33)]