Fath al-Rabbani

Faid says: I went out with Ibrahim bin Abdur Rahman, and he sent a message to Ibn Sa’d. When we reached the place of ‘Arj, Ibn Sa’d came to us. He was the son of that Sa’d who had guided the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, by the way of the Raku’bah hill. Ibrahim said: O son of Sa’d! Tell us what your father narrated to you. Ibn Sa’d said: My father narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, came to him, and with him was Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and at that time one of Abu Bakr’s daughters was nursing at our place. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, desired a shorter route to Madinah, so Sayyiduna Sa’d, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him: This is the route that passes by the Raku’bah hill and leads to the mountain of Gha’ir, but on this route there are two thieves from the tribe of Banu Aslam; people call them Muhanan. If you wish, you may take this route. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Lead us on this route. So we set out, and when we advanced, those two thieves appeared. One of them was saying to the other: This is Yamani. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, called both of them and presented Islam to them, so they accepted Islam. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked them their names. They said: We are Muhanan. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Rather, you are Mukraman (the honored ones). Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered them: Come to Madinah. We then proceeded until we reached the rear side of Quba. The Banu ‘Amr bin ‘Awf came to meet the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. He asked: Where is Abu Usamah As’ad bin Zurarah? Sa’d bin Khaythamah said: O Messenger of Allah! He was coming from the direction of Qiblah. Shall I inform him of this? Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, moved forward until he reached the date palms, where there was a filled basin by the date palm. The Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, turned to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: O Abu Bakr! This is the place. I saw myself descending at basins similar to those of Banu Mudlij.

In Musnad Muhaqqiq, according to Allama Sindhi, its meaning is stated as: He has already attained goodness before me (i.e., he has already become Muslim). Sa’d bin Khaythamah said this in amazement that As’ad bin Zurarah had delayed in coming to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.