Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9031

Sayyiduna Ziyad bin al-Harith al-Suda'i (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and pledged allegiance to him (that is, I accepted Islam at his noble hand). I received word that he intended to send an army towards my people. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Hold back the army, and I guarantee you their Islam and their obedience. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Very well. I wrote to my people, and a delegation of them came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to accept Islam and to offer obedience. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O man of the tribe of Suda'! Your word is obeyed among your people. I said: No, rather Allah Almighty guided them and was good to them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Shall I not appoint you as amir over them? I said: Very well. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed me as amir over them and had a document written for me about it. I requested him to also make me the supervisor for collecting their sadaqat, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did that too. One day, during a journey, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had made camp at a place; we had camped in the early part of the night. I stayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), while my companions drifted off here and there, until no one remained with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) except me. When the time of true dawn came, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me the order and I gave the adhan. Then he asked: O man of the tribe of Suda'! Do you have water? I said: Yes, a little; it will not suffice you. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Pour it into a vessel and then bring it to me. I brought it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) put his blessed hand into it, and I saw water gushing out from between every two of his fingers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O man of the tribe of Suda'! Were it not that I feel shy before my Lord, we would both drink of it and draw from it to drink. Announce among the people that whoever wishes to perform ablution (should come). The narrator says: So the people took of that water. (When it was time for prayer) Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) began to give the iqamah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The man of the tribe of Suda' gave the adhan, and the one who gives the adhan is the one who gives the iqamah. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed the Fajr prayer, the people of that camping place came to him and complained about their official, saying: O Messenger of Allah! He has taken revenge on us for the hostility that existed between him and his people in the days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards his Companions, among whom I was also present, and said: There is no good in governance for a believing man. The narrator says: This settled in my heart. Then a man came to ask him for something. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever asks people while being well-off, this is a headache in the head and a disease in the stomach. The man said: Give me something from the sadaqat. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah Almighty is not pleased, regarding the sadaqat, with the ruling of a prophet or of anyone other than a prophet; He has made eight categories of people entitled to the sadaqat. If you are one of them, I will give you your right. When the next morning came, I said: O Messenger of Allah! Take back your office of state (which you granted me); I have no need of it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Why is that? I said: I heard you say: "There is no good in governance for a believing man," and I am a believing man; and I also heard you say: "Whoever asks people while being well-off, this is a headache and a disease in the stomach," and I asked while I am well-off. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is just as that; if you wish, take it, and if you wish, leave it. The narrator says: I said: Then I leave it. The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then tell me of someone whom I may appoint over it. I recommended to him a man from the delegation, and he appointed him as amir. The people said: O Messenger of Allah! We have a well; in the winter its water suffices us and we gather around it, but when summer comes its water becomes scant and we scatter to the various waters around us. That is how it used to be, but now we cannot scatter here and there, because there are enemies all around us. Pray to Allah Almighty that its water may suffice us. The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took seven pebbles, spread them on his palm, and then said: When you go to that well, cast the pebbles into it one by one, mentioning the name of Allah. (The narrator says:) After that, those people could never see the bottom of that well (that is, after that it always remained full of water). (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Part of this report is mentioned in the Sunan.
Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Abd al-Rahman bin Ziyad bin An'um, who is da'if (weak); Ahmad bin Salih declared him thiqah (trustworthy) and rejected the words of those who criticised him; the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).