Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abi al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the delegation of Banu Thaqif came to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he accommodated them in the mosque so that their hearts might become softer towards Islam. They presented this condition before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when the government officials come to them for the collection of zakat, they should not be forced to take their wealth to the place where the official is sitting, but rather the official should come to their place of residence to collect the zakat, and that the tenth part (‘ushr) of their wealth should not be taken from them, and that they should be exempted from the obligation of prayer, and that no outsider should be appointed over them as an official or leader. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The official for the collection of zakat will come to your place of residence and you will not have to take your wealth to him, and the tenth part of your wealth will not be taken from you, and no man from any tribe other than your own will be appointed over you as an official or leader. But there is no good in a religion in which there is no bowing (i.e., prayer). Sayyiduna Uthman bin Abi al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) requested: O Messenger of Allah! Teach me the Qur’an and appoint me as the imam of my people.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the tribe of Banu Sa’d bin Bakr sent Sayyiduna Dhamam bin Tha’labah (may Allah be pleased with him) as their representative to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He came and tied his camel near the door of the mosque and then entered the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with his companions. Sayyiduna Dhamam (may Allah be pleased with him) was strong-bodied, had long hair, and had made plaits of his hair. He came close to the companions and stood before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked, “Who among you is Ibn Abdul Muttalib?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I am Ibn Abdul Muttalib.” He asked, “Are you Muhammad?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Yes.” He said, “O Ibn Abdul Muttalib! I am going to ask you some things, and I may be a bit harsh, but you will not mind my words.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I will not mind anything, ask whatever you wish.” He said, “I ask you by Allah, Who is your Lord, the Lord of those before you, and the Lord of those who will come after you, has Allah commanded you to order us to worship Allah alone and not associate anything with Him, and to abandon all those idols which our forefathers used to worship along with Allah, and to completely disassociate from them?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Yes, Allah is witness to this.” He said, “I ask you by Allah, Who is your Lord, the Lord of those before you, and the Lord of those after you, has Allah commanded you to order us to perform these five daily prayers?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Yes! Allah is witness to this as well.” After this, he asked about the obligatory acts of Islam: zakat, fasting, and Hajj, one by one, and regarding the rest of the commands of Islam, and before asking about each obligation, as before, he would make him swear by Allah. After the questions and answers were finished, he said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah. I will fulfill all these obligations, and I will abstain from all that you (peace and blessings be upon him) have forbidden. Then I will neither add anything to it nor decrease anything from it.” After that, he returned to his camel, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If this man with plaits remains steadfast on his word, he will enter Paradise.” He went to his camel, untied it, and left. When he reached his people, all the people gathered around him. The first thing he said was, “Lat and Uzza are very evil.” The people of the tribe said, “Dhamam! Wait a moment, beware of leprosy, vitiligo, and madness, lest these idols afflict you with such diseases.” He said, “By Allah, neither of these can benefit nor harm. Indeed, Allah has sent His Messenger, and He has revealed to him such a Book, through which Allah has saved you from the misguidance in which you were involved. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. I have come to you after meeting him (peace and blessings be upon him), and I have brought to you the commands he has ordered and the prohibitions he has forbidden.” Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that, by Allah, by the evening of that very day, all the men and women of his tribe had accepted Islam. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say that we have not heard of any representative of a people who was more virtuous than Dhamam bin Tha’labah (may Allah be pleased with him).