Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 39358 — The acceptance of Islam by Abu Dharr

Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) relates: I, my brother Unays and my mother left our people, Ghifar. Our people used to regard the sacred months as lawful. We set off until we stayed with a maternal uncle of ours, who was wealthy and in good standing. He said: He honoured us and treated us well. His people became envious of us and said: If you go out from your family, Unays will deal with them contrary to you. Abu Dharr said: Then our uncle came to us and told us what had been said to him. Abu Dharr said: I said: You have now clouded the good you did before (the honour and kindness), and (we) will not gather with you after this. He said: We went up to our camels and mounted them. Abu Dharr said: He (our uncle) covered his head and began to weep. 2. Abu Dharr said: We travelled on until we came and stayed near Makkah. Abu Dharr said: Then Unays contended in a contest of boasting, over our herd of camels and another herd like it. Abu Dharr said: Then the two (Unays and the owner of the other herd) went to a soothsayer, and he decided in favour of Unays. He said: Then Unays came to us with our herd and another like it. 3. Abu Dharr said: O my nephew, I prayed for three years before meeting the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator said: I said: For whom did (you) pray? He said: For Allah. The narrator said: I said: In which direction did you face? He said: In whichever direction Allah Almighty turned me. I would pray at nightfall, until when it was the last part of the night, I would be cast down as though I were a sheet, until the sun rose above me. 4. Abu Dharr said: Unays said (to me): I have some business in Makkah, so take over my duties until I come back. He said: So he went, and he was late. He came to me and I said: What kept you? He said: I met a man in Makkah who is on your religion, and he claims that Allah Almighty has made him a messenger. Abu Dharr said: I asked: What do the people say about him? Unays said: The people claim that he is a sorcerer, that he is a soothsayer and that he is a poet. Unays said: By Allah, I have heard the speech of soothsayers, but it is not the speech of soothsayers. And I have tried fitting his speech to the forms of poetry, and it cannot be uttered by anyone's tongue as poetry. By Allah, that man is truthful and the people are liars. Sayyiduna Unays was (also) a poet. 5. Abu Dharr said: I said: Take over for me, and I will go and see. My brother said: Very well, but be on your guard against the people of Makkah, for they dislike this man and treat him with harsh words. Abu Dharr said: I set off until I reached Makkah. He said: I became a guest of one of their men. He said: I asked: Where is the one you call the Sabi? Abu Dharr said: He pointed towards me (to the people) and said: (Seize this) Sabi! Abu Dharr said: The people of the valley rained down on me with every clod of earth, bone and the like, until I fell unconscious. He said: When I got up, (it seemed to me) as though I were a red idol. Abu Dharr said: I came to Zamzam, washed the blood from myself and drank the water of Zamzam. 6. Abu Dharr said: Then on a bright, clear moonlit night Allah Almighty cast sleep upon the people of Makkah. He said: None of the people of Makkah came to circumambulate the House except two women. Abu Dharr said: The two women came by me while they were calling on Isaf and Na'ilah. I said: Marry one of them to the other. He said: Even this did not stop them from what they were saying. He said: Then the two came by me again and I said: They are like a piece of wood. I said this outright. Abu Dharr said: The two women went off wailing and saying: If only someone from our people were here. 7. Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr met these women while the two of them were descending from the mountain. They asked: What is the matter with you two? The women said: The Sabi is between the Ka'bah and its coverings. They asked: What did he say to you? The women said: He said a word to us that fills the mouth. 8. Abu Dharr said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came until he reached the Black Stone, and he and his companion touched it. Then he circumambulated the House and prayed his prayer. I came to him when he had finished his prayer, and I was the first to greet him with the greeting of peace. He said: And upon you, and the mercy of Allah. From whom are you? I said: From Ghifar. He lowered his hand towards his head. I said to myself: He disliked that I traced myself to Ghifar. I went to take his hand, but his companion, who knew him better than I did, restrained me. Then he raised his head and said: Since when have you been here? I said: I have been here for ten, counting days and nights. He said: Who has been feeding you? I said: I had no food except the water of Zamzam, yet I grew fat until the folds of my belly creased, and I felt no weakness of hunger in my liver. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is blessed; it is a food that nourishes. 9. His companion said: Permit me to feed him tonight. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr set off, and I set off with them. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr opened a door and took out for me raisins of Ta'if with his hand. That was the first food I ate there. 10. I stayed as long as I stayed, and then I met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been directed to a land of date palms, and I think it can only be Yathrib. Will you convey (the message) from me to your people? Perhaps Allah will benefit them through you and reward you on their account. I said: Yes. I set off until I came to Unays, and he said: What have you done? I said: What I have done is that I have accepted Islam and affirmed the truth. Unays said: I have no aversion to your religion; I too have accepted Islam and affirmed the truth. We came to our mother, and she said: I have no aversion to the religion of you two; I too have accepted Islam and affirmed the truth. 11. He said: We loaded up and travelled until we came to our people, Ghifar. Some of them accepted Islam before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah. Ima' bin Rahadah used to lead them in prayer, and he was their chief. The rest of them said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) comes, we will accept Islam. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, and the rest of them accepted Islam. The tribe of Aslam came and said: Our brothers! We accept Islam on the same terms on which they accepted it. So they accepted Islam. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Ghifar, may Allah forgive it; and Aslam, may Allah keep it safe.