Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 13624

Shihab bin Abbad narrates that he heard some members of the delegation of Abd al-Qays saying: "We came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the people were greatly delighted by us. When we reached the people, they made room for us and we sat down. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) welcomed us and supplicated for us, then he looked at us and said: 'Who is your chief and your leader?' We all pointed to Sayyiduna al-Mundhir bin A'idh (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'Is this al-Ashajj (the one with the scar)?' The narrator says: That was the first day this name was given to him; the scar was from a blow to his face by a donkey's hoof. We said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah!' The narrator says: He had stayed behind the rest of the people; he hobbled their mounts and gathered their belongings, then took out his bag, took off his travelling clothes and put on good clothes. Then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had stretched out his leg and was sitting reclining. When al-Ashajj came near, the people made room for him and said: 'Here, O Ashajj!' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat upright, drew in his leg and said: 'Here, O Ashajj!' So he sat on the right side of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) welcomed him, treated him kindly, and asked them about their lands; he named for them the villages of their region one by one, such as al-Safa, al-Mushaqqar and other villages of Hajar. He said: 'O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! You know the names of our villages better than we do.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'I have passed through your lands, and room was made for me there.' The narrator says: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to the Ansar and said: 'O company of the Ansar, honour your brothers, for they are like you in Islam, and they resemble you more than anyone in hair and skin. They accepted Islam willingly, without compulsion and without having suffered bloodshed, whereas other people did not accept Islam until they were fought.' The narrator says: The next morning the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'How did your brothers honour you, and how was their hospitality to you?' They replied: 'They were the best of brothers. They gave us soft bedding, fed us good food, and by night and by morning they taught us the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) liked this and was pleased with it. Then he would turn to us one man at a time and entrust him to someone who would teach us, until some of us learned the Tashahhud (al-Tahiyyat), Surah al-Fatihah, one or two surahs and some Sunnahs. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to us and asked: 'Do you have anything of your provisions with you?' The people were pleased at this and hurried to their mounts. Each of them came back bringing something, a heap of dates, and placed it on the leather mat in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would point with a palm stick in his hand, on which he used to lean; it was longer than one cubit and shorter than two cubits. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Do you call this al-Ta'dud?' We replied: 'Yes!' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to another heap and said: 'Do you call this al-Sarafan?' We replied: 'Yes!' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pointed to a heap and said: 'Do you call this al-Barni?' We replied: 'Yes!' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'This is the best of your dates and the most beneficial for you.'" The narrator says: When we returned from that journey, we began to plant much more of it, and our desire for it grew, until most of our date palms became Barni palms. The narrator says: Sayyiduna al-Ashajj (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah, our land is heavy and its climate does not suit the constitution; unless we drink these drinks, our complexions become disturbed and our bellies swell." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not drink from gourds (dubba'), glazed jars (hantam) or hollowed stumps (naqir); one of you may drink from a waterskin whose mouth is tied." Sayyiduna al-Ashajj (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Grant us a concession for this much." He made this request pointing with both his hands. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ashajj, if I grant you permission for this much" (the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this pointing with both hands joined like this) "you will drink this much" (the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this opening his hands and spreading them out, meaning: you will drink more than that) "until, when one of you becomes intoxicated from drinking it, he will get up, go to his cousin and strike his shin with the sword." The narrator says: Among those present was a man from Banu Adal named al-Harith, whose leg had been struck in just this way during a drinking session of theirs. He had been at a gathering of poetry and recited a verse, and one of the people of that house got up and struck his leg with a sword. Al-Harith said: When I heard this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I let my garment hang down and covered the wound on my shin, though Allah Almighty had already disclosed the matter to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).