Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 338

Sayyiduna Sa'sa'ah bin Najiyah al-Mujashi'i (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the grandfather of al-Farazdaq bin Ghalib bin Sa'sa'ah (that is, the famous Arab poet al-Farazdaq), states: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He invited me to Islam and I accepted Islam, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me some verses of the Qur'an. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! I did some good deeds in the Era of Ignorance; will I receive a reward for them?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What deed did you do?" I said: "Once two of my she-camels went missing, which were about to give birth. I set out on my camel to search for them. In an open space two dwellings appeared before me, and I headed towards them. In one of the two dwellings I found a very old man, and I asked: 'Do you know anything about two pregnant she-camels?' He asked: 'What is their mark?' I said: 'They are branded with the brand of Banu Darim.' He said: 'We found your two she-camels, and we delivered their young and had them nurse. Through them Allah Almighty has given relief to a household of your people, that is, of the Arabs of the tribe of Mudar.' While that man was still talking with me, a woman called out loudly from the other dwelling: 'The birth has taken place.' The man asked: 'What has been born? If it is a boy, he will be our partner among our people (Here Imam al-Bazzar reported these words: through him there will be blessing among our people), and if it is a girl, then bury her!' The woman replied: 'It is a girl.' I asked: 'Who is this that is to be buried alive? Who is she?' The man said: 'She is my daughter.' I said: 'I will buy her from you.' He said: 'O you of Banu Tamim! Are you saying that I should sell my daughter, when I have already told you that I am an Arab and belong to the tribe of Mudar?' I said: 'I am not buying her person from you; I am buying her life, so that you do not kill her.' He asked: 'For what will you buy her?' I said: 'For these two she-camels of mine and the young born to them.' He said: 'And will you also give me this camel of yours?' I said: 'Very well, (on condition that) you send one of your men with me; when I reach my home, I will send this camel back to you.' He did so, and when I reached my home I returned the camel to him. At some time during the night I was thinking that this was a noble deed that no Arab had done before me. By the time Islam appeared, I had saved the lives of 360 girls who were going to be buried alive; I bought each one of them for two pregnant she-camels and one camel. So will I have a reward for that?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have also received a reward in that Allah Almighty has blessed you with Islam." The narrator Abbad says: What Sayyiduna Sa'sa'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) related is alluded to in this verse of al-Farazdaq: "And my grandfather is the one who saved the girls from being buried alive; he (that is, my grandfather) gave them life, and they were not buried alive."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and Imam al-Bazzar also recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, al-Tufayl bin Amr al-Tamimi, about whom Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: His narrated hadith is not authentic; and al-Uqayli said: He is not corroborated in it.