Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out at an hour at which he did not normally come out. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) also came out. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: O Abu Bakr! Why have you come out? He said: I have come out because of hunger. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I too have come out for the same reason for which you have come out. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came out. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: O Umar! Why have you come out? He said: By the One who sent you with the truth, I have come out because of hunger. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set off towards his Companions, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Come with us to the house of Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan! They went, and when they reached the house of Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him), his wife told them: He has gone to fetch sweet water for us; please go round to the orchard. So they went round to the orchard, and the woman opened the orchard gate for them. Then Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham also came. His wife said to him: Do you know who has come to you? He replied: No! The woman said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions have come. Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them and hung the waterskin on a date palm. Then he came to them, greeted them with salam and welcomed them. Then he went and picked fresh dates for them, brought them and placed them before them. Then Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) went towards his goats in a corner of the orchard to slaughter one of them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Do not (slaughter) a goat that gives milk. He took a goat, slaughtered it, skinned it, cut it into joints and then cooked it with water and salt. Then he went to his wife and asked her: Do you have anything? She replied: Yes! We have a little barley which I had kept aside. The two of them ground that barley, then the woman kneaded the dough and baked bread from it. Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) broke the bread into pieces and poured over it the meat he had cooked. Then he brought it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, and they ate it. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: O Abu al-Haytham! Do you not have a servant? He said: No! By the One who sent you with the truth, we do not have a servant. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When you receive news that captives have come to us, come to us and we will give you a servant. Then some captives came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and at that time there were two slaves before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (here the narrator is in doubt about one word). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Abu al-Haytham! Choose one of these two (here the narrator is in doubt about one word). Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! Please choose for me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took great care, to the extent that he rolled up his sleeves, and said: O Abu al-Haytham! The one whose counsel is sought is entrusted. Take this one. When Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham was about to go back with that slave, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Abu al-Haytham! Treat him well, for I have seen him offering prayer. Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Alright, we will feed him what we eat ourselves, clothe him in what we wear ourselves, and not burden him with any work beyond his strength. Then Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) went home. His family were very happy because of that slave, and they said: All praise belongs to Allah Almighty, who has granted us a servant who will serve us and help us in our work. Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has given me an instruction concerning him. His wife said: Alright, we will feed him what we eat ourselves, give him to wear what we wear ourselves, and not burden him with any work he does not have the strength for. Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has given me an instruction concerning him. His wife said: Subhan Allah! Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) have given us a servant, and you want to deprive us of him? Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) said to that slave: You are free, for the pleasure of Allah. If you wish, stay with us: we will feed you from what we eat ourselves, give you to wear from what we wear ourselves, and not burden you with any work beyond your strength; and if you wish, go wherever you like.
Al-Tabarani recorded this narration; its chain contains a narrator, Bakkar bin Muhammad al-Sirini; the majority declared him da'if (weak) and Yahya bin Ma'in declared him thiqah (trustworthy); the rest of the narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الزهد / 18265
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ ضعیف
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه الطبراني فى المعجم الكبير (254/19) ، أخرجه شرح مشكل الآثار برقم: 467»