Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 15839

Salamah al-Ijli states: My sister's son, whose name was Qudamah, came from the countryside. My nephew said to me: "I wish to meet Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) and greet him." So we went to Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) and found him at al-Mada'in. In those days he was (the amir) over twenty thousand (people). We found him on a cot, weaving a mat. We greeted him, and I said: "O Abu Abdullah, this is my nephew; he has come to me from the countryside, and he wished to greet you." He said: "And upon him be peace, and may the mercy of Allah Almighty descend." I said: "He says that he loves you." Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "May Allah Almighty love him." The narrator says: We went on talking in this way, and we said: "O Abu Abdullah, will you not tell us about your origin and where you come from?" He said: "As for my origin and where I come from, I am from Ramhurmuz. We were a Magian people. A Christian man from the people of al-Jazirah passed by us; he stayed among us and built a place of worship among us. I was a student of Persian, and in the school with me there was a boy who used to come every day having been beaten, and he would be weeping; his parents would have beaten him. One day I asked him: 'Why are you weeping?' He said: 'My parents have beaten me.' I asked: 'Why did they beat you?' He said: 'I went to the man of this church, and when my parents learned of it, they beat me. But if you went to that man and listened to what he says, you would hear amazing things.' I said: 'Take me with you.' Then we came to that priest. He told us about the beginning of creation, the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth, and about Paradise and Hell. He told us things that were amazing. I began to go back and forth to that priest along with that boy. The other boys of the school found out about us, and they too began to come with us. When the people of the village saw this situation, they came to that priest and said to him: 'O man, you came and stayed in our neighbourhood, and we found nothing but good in your neighbourliness. But now we see that our children have begun to go back and forth to you, and we fear that you will put us to trial. Leave our land.' He said: 'Very well.' That priest said to the boy who used to go to him: 'You come with me too.' He said: 'I cannot do that, because I know that my parents will be harsh with me.'" Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I said: 'But I will come with you.' I was an orphan boy; I had no father. I set out with him. We kept travelling on foot over the mountains of Ramhurmuz, relying on Allah and eating the fruit of the trees, until we reached al-Jazirah. From there we came to Nasibin. My companion said to me: 'O Salman, there are some people here who are the great worshippers of the face of the earth, and I wish to meet them.'" Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "We came to some people on a Sunday; those people had gathered. My companion greeted them, and those people welcomed him. Those people asked: 'Where have you been absent?' He told them: 'I was with brothers of mine in the direction of Persia.' Then we talked as we talked. Then my companion said to me: 'O Salman, get up and let us go.' I said: 'No, let me stay with these people.' He said: 'You will not have the strength that these people have. These people fast from one Sunday to the next Sunday and do not sleep at night.' And among them was a person who was a prince; he had left kingship and entered into worship." Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I stayed among those people. When evening came, those people began to go one by one to their particular cave in which they lived. When evening came, that person who was a prince asked: 'What is the matter with this boy? They have neglected him; one of you should take him along.' Those people said: 'You keep him with you.' He said to me: 'O Salman, come.' He took me with him until he came to the cave in which he lived. He said: 'O Salman, this is bread and this is a relish. When you are hungry, eat; when you feel full of energy, fast; worship as much as you see fit; and when you are tired, sleep.' Then he stood up to pray. That was the only thing he said to me, and after that he did not look at me. For seven days I was distressed, as no one spoke to me during that time, until, when Sunday came, he came to me and took me to the place where those people used to gather. Those people gathered every Sunday and broke their fast on Sunday; during this time they met one another and greeted one another, and then until the next Sunday they paid no attention to one another." Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "When we came back to our dwelling, that person said to me the same thing he had said the first time: 'This is bread and this is relish. When you are hungry, eat; when you feel full of energy, fast; worship as much as you see fit; and when you are tired, sleep.' Then he became occupied in his prayer. He paid no attention to me and did not speak with me until the next Sunday came. Distress came over me again, and I thought that I should run away. Then I thought that I should be patient for two or three Sundays. When Sunday came, we came to those people again; they all broke their fast and gathered. That person said to them: 'Now I want to go to Bayt al-Maqdis.' Those people asked him: 'Why do you want to go there?' He said: 'I have not been there.' Those people said: 'We fear that some situation will arise there such that someone else will join you, and we wish to remain with you.' He said: 'But I want to go there.' When I heard him mention this, I was happy. I thought: 'Now we will travel and meet people.' The distress I had been feeling went away. Then we set out from there, I and that person. He would fast from one Sunday to the next Sunday, pray voluntary prayers the whole night, and walk on foot during the day. Whenever we halted somewhere, he would stand up and begin to pray. This remained his practice until we reached Bayt al-Maqdis. At the gate of the city there was a crippled man who begged from people. He said: 'Give me something.' My companion said: 'I have nothing with me.' We entered Bayt al-Maqdis. When the people of Bayt al-Maqdis saw him, they were delighted at his arrival. He said to those people: 'This is my young companion; accept my exhortation to treat him well.' Those people took me with them and fed me bread and meat. Then that man entered into prayer and did not come back to me until the next Sunday came. Then he said to me: 'O Salman, I want to sleep for a little while. When the shadow reaches such and such a place, wake me up.' He laid down his head and slept. When the shadow reached the place he had mentioned, I did not wake him out of sympathy for him, because I had seen him worship intensely and endure hardship. When he woke up, he was very alarmed. He said: 'O Salman, did I not tell you to wake me up when the shadow reached such and such a place?' I said: 'Yes, but I did not wake you out of sympathy for you, because I had seen your practice.' He said: 'Woe to you, O Salman! I dislike that any part of time should pass me by in which I have not done good for the sake of Allah Almighty.' Then he said to me: 'O Salman, know that the most excellent religion today is Christianity.' I asked: 'Will there be, after today, a religion more excellent than Christianity?' This was a question that just came onto my tongue. He replied: 'Yes. Soon a prophet will be sent who will eat a gift but will not eat charity, and between his two shoulders will be the Seal of Prophethood. If you are able to reach him, follow him and affirm him.' I asked: 'Even if he instructs me to abandon Christianity?' He replied: 'Yes, because he will truly be the Prophet of Allah. He will command only what is true and say only what is true. By Allah, if I could reach him and he then instructed me to enter the fire, I would enter it.'" Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Then we came out of Bayt al-Maqdis and passed by that same crippled man. The cripple said to him: 'When you went in, you gave me nothing then either; now you are going out, so give me something now.' That worshipper looked here and there and saw no one. He said: 'Give me your hand.' The crippled man stretched out his hand, and that worshipper said: 'Stand up by the leave of Allah.' And that crippled man stood up completely well. Then that man set off towards his home, and I kept looking at him for a long time, amazed at what I had seen. My companion went off walking with quick steps, and I followed him. Then I met some Bedouin riders of the tribe of Kalb; they captured me, mounted me on a camel and bound me with ropes. Then, passing through the hands of various buyers, I reached Madinah. A man from the Ansar bought me. He placed me in a palm orchard, and I stayed right there." Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "There I learned the work of weaving mats. I would buy the raw material for one dirham, work on it and then sell it for two dirhams; then with one dirham I would buy raw material, and I would spend one dirham. I like to eat from the earnings of my own hand." The narrator says: Although at that time he was (the amir) over twenty thousand (people). Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) states: "We received the news, while we were in Madinah, that a man had appeared (in Makkah) who says that Allah Almighty has sent him. As long a period passed as Allah willed. Then he emigrated and came to us. When he came to us, I thought: 'By Allah, I will certainly test him.' I went to the market and bought camel meat for one dirham. Then I cooked it, then prepared tharid in a bowl, then lifted it, carried it on my shoulder and placed it before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'What is this? Is it charity or a gift?' I said: 'Rather, it is charity.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his companions: 'Eat with the name of Allah.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself held back; he did not eat of it. Then some days passed. I bought camel meat for one dirham, prepared tharid in the same way, carried it and placed it before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'What is this? Is it a gift or charity?' I said: 'No, rather it is a gift.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his companions: 'Eat with the name of Allah,' and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself also ate with them. I thought: 'By Allah, he eats a gift but does not eat charity.' Then I looked, and I saw the Seal of Prophethood between his two shoulders, like the egg of a pigeon. So I accepted Islam. One day I said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah, what kind of people are the Christians?' He said: 'There is no good in them.'" Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "I loved those people very much, because I had seen their intense worship. Some days later I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) again: 'O Messenger of Allah, what kind of people are the Christians?' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'There is no good in them, nor in anyone who loves them.' I thought to myself: 'By Allah, I do love them.'" The narrator says: This was in the days when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sending out military expeditions and had drawn the sword; one expedition would be coming and another going, and drops of blood would be dripping from the sword. "I thought: 'If it becomes known that I love the Christians, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will send for me and have my neck struck.' Thinking this, I sat at home. One day the messenger came to me and said: 'O Salman, answer the summons.' I asked: 'Who has summoned me?' He said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).' I thought: 'By Allah, this is the very situation I was trying to avoid.' I said: 'Very well, you go, and I will follow you.' He said: 'No, by Allah, not until you come.' I was thinking to myself that if he went, I would run away. Then he took me along, and I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When he saw me, he smiled and said to me: 'O Salman, receive the glad tidings: Allah Almighty has granted you relief.' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited these verses: 'Those to whom We gave the Book before it, they believe in it. And when it is recited to them, they say: We believe in it; it is the truth from our Lord; indeed we were Muslims before it.' (Then further on Allah, the Exalted, says:) 'These are the ones who will be given their reward twice (that is, double) for their patience; they repel evil with good and spend from what We have provided them. And when they hear idle talk, they turn away from it and say: For us are our deeds and for you are your deeds; peace be upon you; we do not seek the ignorant.' I said: 'By the One who sent you with the truth, I heard that (devoted monk) say: If I reach his time and he instructs me to enter the fire, I will go into the fire, because he is truly a prophet; he will say only what is true and command only what is true.'"