The virtue of Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), freed slave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

Muhammad bin Ishaq says: This is Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) bin Harithah bin Shurahil bin Ka'b bin Abd al-Uzza bin Imri' al-Qays bin Amir bin al-Nu'man bin Abd Wudd bin Awf bin Kinanah bin Bakr bin Awf bin Udhrah bin Zaydullah bin Rufaydah bin Kulayb bin Wabarah bin al-Harith bin Quda'ah. According to one report, the name of Sayyiduna Zayd's (may Allah be pleased with him) mother is Su'ad bint Zayd bin Tayyi'.

Ibn Hisham says: Sayyiduna Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) had brought Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) with him from Syria as a young servant. Sayyiduna Hakim's (may Allah be pleased with him) paternal aunt, Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), asked him for that servant; at that time Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was the honoured wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Hakim (may Allah be pleased with him) gave that slave to Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) as a gift, and Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) gave that slave to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a gift. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) freed him and adopted him as a son; this was before revelation came down to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Zayd's (may Allah be pleased with him) father came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), while Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in those days. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If you wish, stay with me, and if you wish, go with your father. Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: No! Rather, I will stay with you. So he remained continuously with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), until, when Allah Almighty sent the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a Prophet, Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam and prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When Allah Almighty revealed this verse: "Call them by (the names of) their real fathers", Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am Zayd bin Harithah.
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

With this chain, he narrated this statement of Ibn Ishaq: Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam after Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), so he was the first person to accept Islam after Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Ibn Shihab says: The first to accept Islam was Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Tabarani recorded it as a mursal report, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: Once Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered together. Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the most beloved of you all to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am more beloved to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) than you. Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am more beloved to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) than you. Then they said: Come with us to the Messenger of Allah, so that we may ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this. Sayyiduna Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: These men came and asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission to enter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Go and see who they are. I told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): It is Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him); I did not say: It is my father. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Give them permission. They came in and said: O Messenger of Allah! Who is the most beloved to you? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Fatimah. They said: We are asking you about the men. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ja'far! As for you, your physical appearance resembles my physical appearance, and your character resembles my character most closely; you are from me and from my family tree. And O Ali! As for you, you are my son-in-law and the father of my children; I am from you and you are from me. And O Zayd! As for you, you are my freed slave (mawla), you are from me, and you are the most beloved of them to me."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Al-Tirmidhi recorded this report in abridged form. Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good).

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reports: When Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both) was brought and made to stand before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Tears flowed from the eyes of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so Usamah was moved back. Then he came again the next day and stood before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The state I was in yesterday because of you, I am in the same state today."
Al-Bazzar recorded it from his teacher Umar bin Isma'il bin Mujalid, who is a kadhdhab (liar).

Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that he said: O Messenger of Allah! You made me and Sayyiduna Hamzah bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) brothers.
Abu Ya'la recorded it; its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, except Abd al-Rahman bin Salih al-Azdi, and he is thiqah (trustworthy).