Ata', the freed slave of Sayyiduna al-Sa'ib bin Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates: I saw my master, Sayyiduna al-Sa'ib bin Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him); the hair of his beard was white and the hair of his head was black. I said: O master! Why is it that the hair of your head has not turned white? He said: The hair of my head will never turn white. The reason is that once the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was passing by. At that time I was a boy, playing with other boys. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the greeting of salam, and I was among those boys; out of all the boys, I returned his greeting. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called me and said: What is your name? I said: Al-Sa'ib bin Yazid, the nephew of Namir. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his blessed hand on my head and said: May Allah Almighty bless you. So the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his hand will never turn white.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in all three of his books; however, in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir he recorded these words: The middle of the head of Sayyiduna al-Sa'ib (may Allah be pleased with him) was black and the rest of his hair was white. I said to my master: By Allah! I have never seen anything like your head; this part is black and this part is white! He said: O my son! Shall I not tell you about it? I replied: Yes! He said: Once I was playing with some boys, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by me. I came before him and greeted him with salam. He said: And upon you be peace; who are you? I said: I am al-Sa'ib bin Yazid, of the family of Namir bin Qasit. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed his hand over my head and said: May Allah Almighty bless you. He said: By Allah! This part will never turn white, and it will always remain like this.
The narrators of al-Mu'jam al-Kabir are the narrators of the Sahih, except Ata', the freed slave of Sayyiduna al-Sa'ib (may Allah be pleased with him), who is thiqah (trustworthy); and the narrators of al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat are also thiqat (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب المناقب / 16145
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«أخرجه المعجم الكبير للطبراني برقم: 6693»