Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 15967

Abd al-Rahman bin Safwan bin Qudamah narrates: My father, Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him), migrated to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in Madinah. My father pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) upon Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) extended his blessed hand towards him and passed his hand over him. Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! I love you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "A person will be with the one whom he loves." The narrator says: Whenever Sayyiduna Safwan bin Qudamah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Madinah to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in Madinah, Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) would tell his people and his nephews that they should also go with him. His companions refused to go with him, so Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) went and left those people behind. He took his two sons, Abd al-Rahman and Abdullah, with him; in the Age of Ignorance their names had been Abd al-Uzza and Abd Nuhm, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) changed their names. The narrator says: Concerning Sayyiduna Safwan's (may Allah be pleased with him) departure and his leaving the rest of his companions behind there, Sayyiduna Safwan's (may Allah be pleased with him) nephew, Nasr bin so-and-so bin so-and-so bin Qudamah, composed these verses: "Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) loaded his baggage and, taking his sons with him, deliberately left his mawali (perhaps relatives are meant) alone, and I remained, by choice, on the familiar sandy track. Sayyiduna Safwan went to the soil (land) of Yathrib, in search of that which will remain; he preferred it over the other. For there is a difference between what perishes and what is lasting: his going to the land of the Messenger, Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and accepting his (the Messenger's) call, since he (the Messenger) has come with the truth and is a guide. Would that, at the time of hardship, I too had followed them; but whatever Allah Almighty decrees concerning matters, that is what comes to pass." Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) replied to him, saying: "Who will convey to Nasr the letter of one who is displeased (that is, mine): that you remained content with falling short and stayed in the open ground following your desires? He wished; you are deluded, so go on making your wishes. He seeks out matters and then (those matters) he dislikes; but whatever Allah Almighty decrees concerning matters, that is what comes to pass." Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) remained in Madinah and passed away there. His son, Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him), composed these verses on the death of his father, Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him): "I am the son of that Sayyiduna Safwan who attained precedence in accepting Islam in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). May the true God send mercy upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family, and after that send peace upon him as well; and may all creation, those in the heaven and those on the earth, send blessings upon him forever." Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) remained in Madinah until the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Sayyiduna Jarir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) in the army that was sent to reinforce Sayyiduna al-Muthanna bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Musa bin Maymun, who belonged to the Qadariyyah sect, and the rest of its narrators have been declared trustworthy.