Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 13888

Khalifah bin Abdah bin Jarwal narrates: I asked Muhammad bin Adi bin Rabi'ah: "Why did your father name you 'Muhammad' in the days of Ignorance?" He said: "I too asked my father about the thing you have asked me about, and he said: Four men of Banu Tamim, myself included, set out; I was one of them, one was Sufyan bin Mujashi' bin Darim, one was Usamah bin Malik, and one was Yazid bin Rabi'ah. We were going to Ibn Jafnah al-Ghassani in Syria. When we came to Syria, we camped by a pool around which there were trees, and nearby there was a place of worship. We said: 'If we bathe with this water, put on oil and wear fine clothes, then we will go to the person we have come for.' Meanwhile the man of that place of worship looked down at us and said: 'This language is not the language of this region.' We said: 'Yes! We are people from the tribe of Mudar.' He asked: 'From which branch of Mudar?' We said: 'From Khindif.' He said: 'A prophet will be sent among you, so hasten and take your share from him, and you will be guided, for he will be the one who seals the line of the prophets.' We said: 'What will his name be?' He replied: 'Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).' When we returned from Ibn Jafnah, a boy was born to each one of us, and each of us named his son 'Muhammad'." Al-Ala' narrates: Qays bin Asim said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Do you know who among the Arabs first knew about you, a knowledge gained even before you were sent?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "No!" He said: "Banu Tamim knew," and then he narrated the whole incident to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain contains narrators whom I do not know.