Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 9912

Fa'id, the freed slave of Abadil, narrates: I set out with Ibrahim bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah. Ibrahim bin Abd al-Rahman sent word to Ibn Sa'd (and summoned him). When we were at "al-Arj", Ibn Sa'd came to us. Sa'd is the man who told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the route (to Madinah during the emigration). Ibrahim bin Abd al-Rahman said to him: "Tell us what your father narrated to you." Ibn Sa'd said that his father told him: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to those people, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A nursing baby daughter of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was being suckled in our area. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to go to Madinah by a shorter route, so Sa'd submitted to him: 'This route is an easy one, but there are two robbers from the tribe of Aslam here who are called "al-Muhanan" (that is, the two disgraced ones). If you wish, we can take that route.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Go by that way!' Sa'd says: We set out from there, and when we reached that place, one of them said to his companion: 'This is a Yemeni.' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called the two of them and presented Islam to them, and they both accepted Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked them about their names, and they both replied: 'We are "al-Muhanan" (the two disgraced ones).' The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'No! Rather, you are the two honoured ones.' Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed the two of them to come to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah. Then we set out from there until we reached Quba'. Banu Amr bin Awf welcomed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: 'Where is Abu Umamah As'ad bin Zurarah?' Sa'd bin Khaythamah submitted: 'O Messenger of Allah, he arrived before me; shall I not tell him about you?' Then they kept going until they came to the date-palm groves, and there was water there. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: 'O Abu Bakr, this is the halting place of mine that I saw in a dream, that I would halt by pools like the pools of Banu Mudlij.'"
Abdullah bin Ahmad recorded it. Ibn Sa'd's name is Abdullah; I do not know him. The remaining narrators of this narration are thiqat (trustworthy).