Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 18262

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith to me: "One night I missed my supper. I kept tossing and turning, but sleep would not come to me. I thought: If I were to go out to the mosque and offer whatever prayer is destined for me there, (it would be appropriate). I did so, and then sat leaning against a corner of the mosque. Meanwhile Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came in. When he saw me he was surprised, and he asked: Who is this? I replied: Abu Bakr. He said: Why have you come out of your house at this time? I replied: Because of hunger. He said: I too have come out for the same reason for which you have come out. A little while later the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came in. When he saw our silhouettes he was surprised, and he asked: Who are these two? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke before me and said: This is Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and this is Umar. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Why have you two come out of your houses at this time? We told him the situation, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I too have come out for the same reason for which you two have come out. Come with us to al-Waqifi." We came to (that man's) door and sought permission. The woman came out, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Where is so-and-so? The woman said: He has gone to fetch sweet water from the quarter of Banu Harithah. The woman opened the door and we went in. A little while later that man also came, carrying a full waterskin on his back. He hung the waterskin from a branch of a date palm, then came towards us and said: Welcome! No one's house has ever received better guests than my guests tonight. Then he brought a cluster of fresh dates, and we began picking out the dates in the moonlight and eating them. Then he took a knife and began going around among the goats. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Beware of the goat that gives milk (that is, do not slaughter it; here the narrator is in doubt about one word). He slaughtered a goat for us, skinned it and cooked it in a pot. He told the woman, and she kneaded dough and baked bread. Then the man brought tharid and meat, and we ate. Then he got up and went to the waterskin; its water had become cool because of the wind, and he gave it to us to drink. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: All praise belongs to Allah Almighty, who brought us out. We came out only because of hunger, but before going back we have been granted these things. These are among the blessings about which you will be held to account on the Day of Resurrection. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked al-Waqifi (that is, the host): Do you not have a servant who could do these tasks for you? He replied: No, O Messenger of Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Keep watch! When the first captives come to us, come to me, and I will order a servant to be given to you. A short while later captives came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). That man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What have you come for? He said: Because of the promise you made to me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Get up and choose one of them. He said: O Messenger of Allah! Please choose someone for me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Take this boy, and treat him well. The man came to his wife and told her what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said and what he had said to him. The woman said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has commanded you to do good to him, so do good to him. He asked: What good should I do? The woman said: Set him free. The man said: Then he is free for the pleasure of Allah Almighty. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Ibn Majah recorded a part of this narration, which concerns (the prohibition of) slaughtering a milk-giving goat.
Al-Tabarani recorded this narration, and Abu Ya'la recorded it in a more complete form than that. Its chain contains a narrator, Yahya bin Ubaydullah bin Mawhab, whom the majority declared da'if (weak), though he has also been declared trustworthy; the rest of the narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).