Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 1115 — I met Sayyiduna Bilal, the mu'adhdhin

Abdullah al-Hawzani narrates: I met Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), the mu'adhdhin of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I said: O Bilal! Tell me, how were the expenses of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) met? He said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) never had anything; from the time Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sent him until he passed away, it was I who managed that on his (peace and blessings be upon him) behalf. Whenever a Muslim came to him and he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that he had no clothes, he would instruct me concerning him, so I would go, borrow money, buy a cloak, then clothe him and feed him. Then a man from the polytheists came up to me and said: O Bilal! I have plenty, so do not borrow from anyone except me. So I did so. Then one day I performed ablution and stood up to give the call to prayer, and there was that polytheist coming with a group of merchants. When he saw me he said: O Abyssinian! I said: Labbayk (at your service). He met me with a frown and said something very harsh to me. He said: Do you know how many days are left between you and (the end of) the month? I said: It is near. He said: There are only four (days) between you and it, then I will take from you what you owe me. I did not give you what I gave you out of respect for you, nor out of respect for your companion in my eyes; rather, I gave it to you only so that I could make you my slave and send you back to herding sheep as you were before. What passes through people's hearts passed through mine. I went off, then gave the call to prayer, until, when I had prayed the Isha prayer and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had returned to his family, I sought permission to see him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me permission. I said: O Messenger of Allah! That polytheist from whom I used to borrow has said such-and-such to me, and you have nothing with which to pay it off on my behalf, nor do I, and he will disgrace me. So permit me to leave and go to one of these tribes that have accepted Islam, until Allah grants His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) enough to pay off my debt. Then I went out until I came to my house, and I placed my sword, my provision bag, my shield and my sandals by my head, and I turned my face towards the horizon. Whenever I slept for a while I would wake up, and when I saw that night still remained I would go back to sleep, until the first light of dawn broke. I intended to set off, and there was a man running and calling out: O Bilal! Come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! So I set off until I reached (the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)), and I saw four she-camels kneeling, laden with their loads. I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and sought permission, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Glad tidings! Allah has brought you the payment of your debt." So I praised Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did you not pass by the four kneeling she-camels?" I said: Yes indeed. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They and whatever is on them, clothing and food, are all yours; the chief of Fadak has gifted them to me. So take them and pay off your (that is, my) debt with them." So I did so. I unloaded them, then tied them up, then I stood up to give the call for the Fajr prayer, until, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed, I went out to al-Baqi', put my fingers in my ears and called out. I said: Whoever has a claim of debt against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), let him come forward. I kept selling and paying off until no debt at all remained on the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) anywhere on earth, and two uqiyahs - or one and a half uqiyahs - were left over in my hand. Then I went to the mosque, and most of the day had passed, and there was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting alone in the mosque. I greeted him (peace and blessings be upon him) with salam, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "What became of what you had?" I said: Allah has paid off everything that was owed by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and nothing remains. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Is anything left over?" I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "See that you relieve me of it, for I will not go in to any of my family until you relieve me of it." No one came to us until evening. Then, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed the Isha prayer, he called me and said: "What became of what you had?" I said: It is with me; no one has come to us. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) spent the night in the mosque until morning. Then the second day passed likewise, until at the end of the day two riders came, so I took them, fed them and clothed them. Then, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed the Isha prayer, he called me and said: "What became of what you had?" I said: O Messenger of Allah! Allah has relieved you of it. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said Allahu Akbar and praised Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, out of fear that death might overtake him while that was still with him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then I followed him until he (peace and blessings be upon him) came to his wives, and he greeted each wife one by one until he reached the place where he would spend the night. This is what you asked me about.