Musnad Abi Ya'la 6830 — he said: I came to Madinah and stopped

It is narrated from a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I came to Madinah and stopped at the edge of a valley. There were two men there who had a goat between them, and the buyer was saying to the seller: "Deal kindly and gently with me in this sale." I said to myself: Is this that Hashimi man who has turned people away (from the religion of their forefathers)? I looked carefully, and he was a perfect man with a well-proportioned body, a broad forehead, a fine straight nose and slender eyebrows; from the hollow of his throat down to his navel ran a fine line of black hair like a thread, and he was dressed in two old sheets. He came near us and said: "Peace be upon you," and the people returned the greeting. Then only a little time had passed when the buyer addressed him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), tell him to deal gently with me in buying and selling. He (peace and blessings be upon him) stretched out his blessed hand and said: "You yourselves own your wealth. I only hope that when I meet Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, on the Day of Resurrection, none of you will be demanding from me anything for a wrong I did him in respect of his wealth, his life or his honour, except what is by right. May Allah Almighty have mercy on a person who is lenient in selling, lenient in buying, lenient in taking, lenient in giving, lenient in paying back and lenient in demanding repayment." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) went on, and I thought: By Allah, I will certainly follow this man, for he speaks well. So I followed him (peace and blessings be upon him) and called out: O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! He (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards me with his whole attention and said: "What do you want?" I said: Are you the one who has misguided and destroyed people and turned them away from what their forefathers used to worship? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is all in the hands of Allah." I asked: What do you call to? He said: "I call the servants of Allah to Allah." I asked: What do you say? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and that I, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), am the Messenger of Allah; and you should believe in what Allah has sent down upon me, reject al-Lat and al-Uzza, establish the prayer and pay zakah." I asked: What is zakah? He said: "That (a due is taken) from our rich and returned to our poor." I said: What you are calling to is an excellent thing. That Companion says: (Before this conversation) there was no breathing soul on the face of the earth more hateful to me than him (peace and blessings be upon him), but I had not yet left that place before love for him (peace and blessings be upon him) settled in my heart greater than for my children, my parents and all people. I said: I have recognised the truth. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have you really recognised it?" I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that I, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), am the Messenger of Allah, and believe in what has been sent down upon me." I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I go to a watering place where a great number of people gather; I will call them too to the religion to which you have called me, and I hope that they will follow you. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well, call them." So all the men and women living by that water became Muslims, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed his blessed hand over the head of that (Companion).