Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 14030

Muhammad bin Sulayman bin Salit narrates from his father, from his grandfather: "When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for the Hijrah, with him were Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Amir bin Fuhayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), the freed slave of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and a man named Ibn Urayqit, who was guiding them on the road. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by Sayyidah Umm Ma'bad al-Khuza'iyyah (may Allah be pleased with her). That woman did not recognise the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: O Umm Ma'bad! Do you have any milk? She said: By Allah! The goats have gone out to pasture (or: they have no milk). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What about this goat which I see in the corner of the house? The woman said: This is a goat which has been left behind the other goats because of weakness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Will you permit me to milk her? The woman said: By Allah, no male goat has ever mated with her; but do with her as you wish. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed his hand over that goat's udder, then he called for a vessel large enough for many people. He milked into it and filled it, then he gave his Companions to drink from it. Then he milked into it again, left that milk with the woman and departed. When the woman's husband came in the evening, he said to the woman: O Umm Ma'bad! Where has this milk come from, when there is no milking animal at all in the house and the goats had gone out? The woman replied: No! By Allah! The matter is that a man passed by us who had a handsome and well-formed figure. His face was beautiful, the hair of his eyelashes was long, his eyes were black and large, and his voice was imposing. He was of medium height and build: he did not seem lanky, nor did the eye find fault with him for shortness. He was not afflicted with fatness, nor was he very thin. His neck seemed to be made of silver. When he looked, prominence was apparent on him, and when he was silent, dignity was upon him. His speech was like a string of pearls. In appearance he was more handsome than all his companions, and his face was the most beautiful of them. He was one who could be envied, and he was not such as to have any flaw. His companions were with him, surrounding him; when he gave those companions a command, they hastened to it, and when he forbade those companions something, they desisted at his forbidding. The woman's husband said: This is the man connected with Quraysh. Had I seen him, I would have followed him, and now I will make every effort to do so. The narrator says: The people in Makkah did not know in which direction the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had gone, until people heard an unseen caller on the mountain of Abu Qubays saying: 'May Allah Almighty grant a goodly reward, and the giving of reward is in His hand, to the two companions who camped at the tent of Umm Ma'bad. The two of them stayed there with goodness, and then the two of them departed from there. Indeed, the one who became the companion of Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has succeeded. No one has ever ridden upon the saddle of a she-camel who did more good than him and (more) fulfilled his covenant. He clothed (people) with the cloak of the condition before its beginning; he placed that cloak on the head of the one who needed it. Congratulations to the Banu Ka'b for the place of their woman, whose dwelling became a safe place for the believers.'"
Imam al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abd al-Aziz bin Yahya al-Madini, whom Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) and others accused of lying, while Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: He is saduq (truthful), which is a cause for astonishment; the chain of this report also contains other majhul (unknown) narrators. This hadith has already passed before this through another chain in the chapter on "al-Maghazi", in the chapter on the Hijrah to Madinah.