How and why the ring of the Prophet was lost

Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaq^ra

One day, Hazrat Usman, may Allah be pleased with him, was sat on the edge of a well called Bi‘r-e-Arees [which was situation near the mosque of Quba]. The ring he was wearing was the [original] ring of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Due to some special reason and wisdom by Allah the Almighty, the ring fell into the well. The companions of the Holy Prophet^sa became very worried and agitated and began searching for the ring for three days without pause. They sieved all the mud and sand out of the well, but were not ever able to find the ring. 

A reply to an allegation regarding the ring of the Prophet^sa

Most European [orientalist] writers raise the objection that the narrations about the ring of the Holy Prophet^sa contain diverse contradictions. [They say] some companions have reported that they saw the ring on the Holy Prophet’s^sa small finger, on his right hand while others have reported that it was on the left hand. Some said the stone on the ring was faced inwards, towards the palm of his hand while others have reported it was faced outwards. Thus, [they say] there have been some contradictions regarding the Prophet’s^sa ring. 

In reality, this objection is the result of lack of thought and understanding, otherwise these narrations are not contradictory in the slightest. The Holy Prophet^sa would, at times, wear the ring on his right hand and at other times, would wear it on his left. Sometimes he would face the stone of the ring inwards and at other times, outwards. Thus, the companions who saw the ring on his right hand reported this and other companions who observed the ring on the left hand reported that it was on his left hand. So what room is left for an objection?

An objection would only have been valid if one companion reported the ring to be made of gold, while another reported it to be made of brass and the third reported it to be silver. However, there is no such contradiction.

If, for example, a person says that he saw Zaid yesterday and Zaid was ill and another person claims he met Zaid two days before and Zaid was well, then there is no contradiction in these statements. However, if a person says that Zaid’s skin is dark and another says his skin is fair, then there is a contradiction. 

(Originally published in Al Fazl on 13 January 1940 [page 3] in the form of notes taken by Mahmood Ahmad Khalil Sahib from the lectures on hadith by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Ishaq^ra, brother-in-law of the Promised Messiah^as)