Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 11352

Sayyiduna al-Harith bin Dirar al-Khuza'i (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He invited me to Islam; I affirmed it and entered Islam. He invited me to zakah, and I affirmed it. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I go back to my people and invite them to Islam and to paying zakah? Whoever accepts my invitation, I will collect his zakah, and then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) should send his messenger to me after such-and-such a period." When Sayyiduna al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) had collected the zakah from those people, and the time came at which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was to send his messenger to those people, that messenger did not come there. Sayyiduna al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that perhaps some displeasure had arisen concerning them from Allah Almighty and His Messenger. So he summoned the notables of his people and said to them: "The Messenger of Allah fixed a time with me at which he would send his messenger to me to collect the zakah that is with me. There can be no breaking of a promise on the part of the Messenger of Allah. I think that since that messenger has not come, it means there is some displeasure. So come along! Let us go to the Messenger of Allah." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah to al-Harith to take from him the collected zakah that was with him. When al-Walid set out and reached a certain point on the way, he became afraid and turned back. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Al-Harith refused to give me the zakah, and he intended to kill me." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched a military expedition to al-Harith. Meanwhile al-Harith was coming with his companions, and he encountered that expedition; this was outside Madinah. When al-Harith encountered those people, they said: "This is al-Harith." When he reached them, al-Harith asked them: "To whom have you been sent?" They said: "To you." Al-Harith asked: "Why is that?" They said: "Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent al-Walid bin Uqbah to you, and he says that you did not give him the zakah and that you intended to kill him." Al-Harith said: "No! By the One who sent Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the truth, I have not even seen him, nor did he come to me." When al-Harith came before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did you withhold the zakah and also intend to kill my messenger?" Al-Harith said: "No! By the One who sent you with the truth, I have not seen him at all, nor did he come to me. When the messenger of the Messenger of Allah did not come to me by the fixed time, I feared that this might be because of some displeasure from Allah and His Messenger." The narrator said: Then these verses of Surah al-Hujurat were revealed about this: "O you who believe! If a sinful person comes to you with some news, then verify it, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and then become regretful over what you have done." The verse continues up to: "A bounty and a favour from Allah Almighty, and Allah Almighty is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it, except that he (al-Tabarani) recorded the name as al-Harith bin Sirar in place of al-Harith bin Dirar; and Ahmad's narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).