Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9286

Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I set out as an emigrant to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer. When he concluded it with the salam, some people were leaving and some were standing. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to every person he saw sitting and asked him: "Do you need anything?" He did this in the first row, then in the second row, then in the third row, until he came to me and asked: "Do you need anything?" I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What do you need?" I said: "Islam." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is better for you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Will you emigrate?" I said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The emigration of the desert (badiyah) or the permanent emigration (battah)?" I said: "Which of the two is more virtuous?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The permanent emigration. The permanent emigration is that you stay with the Messenger of Allah, and the emigration of the desert is that you return to your own region, and it will be obligatory upon you to hear and obey in hardship and ease, in what you dislike and what you like, and even when others are given preference over you." The narrator says: I stretched out my hand towards the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and gave him my pledge of allegiance. He made an exception for me that I had not made for myself; he said: "(This pledge is) as far as you are able." The narrator says: At the time of the Expedition of Tabuk, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had a call made, so I went out to my family. I found my father sitting in the sun with his back towards it. I greeted him with the greeting of Islam. He asked: "Have you changed your religion?" I replied: "I have accepted Islam." He said: "Perhaps Allah Almighty will make it good for us and for you." I was content with this from him. After this the narrator mentioned the rest of the hadith.
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).