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The
blessed Companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings
be upon him), Abdullah ibn Salaam (may Allah be pleased
with him) narrates that when Allah willed to guide Zaid ibn Su`nah
(the great Jewish scholar
of Madinah), Zaid ibn Su`nah said, "I recognized all of the
signs of prophethood upon seeing the face of Muhammad save two
signs that were not immediately evident: That his forbearance
would precede his rashness, and that his forbearance would
increase upon encountering excessive rashness." Zaid ibn Su`nah
reports [the story as follows]:
"One
day, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out from his apartment with `Ali ibn Abi Talib. A
Bedouin, riding his camel, came to him and said, 'O Messenger
of Allah! A group of my people of such and such a clan have
accepted the faith and embraced Islam. I used to tell them
that if they embraced Islam, there would be great abundance in
their provision [due to divine blessing]. Now, however, they
are facing famine due to lack of rain. I fear, O Messenger of
Allah, that they will leave Islam out of greediness as they
embraced it out of greediness. If you think it proper, send
something that would suffice them.'
The
Prophet looked to the man next to him, who I believe was
`Ali, who replied, 'O Messenger of Allah! Nothing is left with
us.'"
Zaid
continues, "I approached the Prophet and said, 'O
Muhammad! If you desire, rent me such and such garden
of dates for a fixed period of time.'
He
replied, 'No, but I'll rent you a certain amount of date
[palms] until such and such period without specifying the
garden.'
I
replied, 'Alright.' Thus, he rented them to me, and I opened
my purse and took out eighty mithqaal of gold (350
grams) to pay for the particular dates for a fixed period. The
Prophet handed the gold to the man and instructed him,
'Help them through this and distribute it justly.'
Zaid
ibn Su`nah goes on, "Two or three days before the fixed
period was to end, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
be upon him) came out with Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman
(may Allah be pleased with them), and a number of other
Companions to offer the funeral prayer. When he finished the
prayer and approached a wall to sit against it, I came to him,
grabbed him by his shirt and cloak, and looked at him angrily
and said, 'O Muhammad! Why don't you pay off my due?! By
Allah, I know nothing of your family except deferment [on
debts]. I know well of your people.'
Saying
this I looked at `Umar whose eyes were bulging and turning out
of anger. He glared at me and said, 'O enemy of Allah! Did you
actually just say what I heard to the Messenger of Allah? Did
you really just do to him what I saw? By the One Who holds my
life in His hand, if I were not concerned with [the Prophet's]
leaving us, I would have struck your head with my sword.'
The
Messenger of Allah, who was looking at me quietly and
patiently, said, 'O `Umar! We don't need this. I was more in
need of your advice to pay off his loan well, and he your
advice to deal courteously. Go with him `Umar, pay off his
loan, and give him twenty extra saa` (44 kilograms) of
dates because you frightened him.
Thus,
`Umar took me, paid off my debt, and gave me an extra twenty saa`
of dates. I asked him, 'Why this increase?'
He
replied, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon
him) ordered me to give you this for my scaring you.'
I
asked, 'Do you recognize me, `Umar?'
'No,'
he said.
'I
am Zaid ibn Su`nah,' I said.
'The
scholar of the Jews?'
'Yes,
the same one.'
'Then
what made you behave and speak with the Messenger of Allah as
you did?' he asked.
'O
`Umar!' I replied. 'I recognized all of the signs of
prophethood upon seeing the face of Muhammad save two signs
that were not immediately evident: That his forbearance would
precede his rashness, and that his forbearance would increase
upon encountering excessive rashness. Now I have recognized
these two signs as well. Bear witness, O `Umar! I am pleased
with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with
Muhammad as my prophet. Also bear witness that I give half of
my wealth - and I have plenty of wealth - in charity to the
nation of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).'
`Umar
said, 'Perhaps to some of them because your [money] won't
suffice for all of them.'
'Alright,
to some of them.'"
`Umar
and Zaid returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him) and Zaid publicly announced, "I
bear witness that none is worthy of worship besides Allah, and
I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger and
I believe in him."
Thus,
Zaid testified to the Prophet Muhammad's message and took the
pledge of allegiance on his hand. Zaid participated in a
number of battles along with the Prophet and was martyred
in the expedition of Tabuk whilst facing the enemy and not in
retreat. May Allah be pleased with him.
The
story has been transmitted by Tabarani (al-Mu`jam al-Kabeer),
to which al-Haithami says that all of the narrators of the
Tradition are sound. Also transmitted by Ibn Majah, Ibn
Hibban, and Hakim, among others.
The
Arabic version of this story has been taken from Muhammad
Yusuf Kandhlawi's Hayaat al-Sahaaba (The Lives of the
Companions).
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