Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 6707

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'sa'ah bin Najiyah al-Mujashi'i (may Allah be pleased with him), who is the grandfather of the famous poet al-Farazdaq bin Ghalib, that: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) presented Islam to me. I accepted Islam, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) taught me some verses of the Qur'an. I said: "O Messenger of Allah! In the period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) I did some deeds (which were outwardly good); will I receive a reward for them?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What did you do?" I said: Two of my she-camels, ten months pregnant, went astray. I set out riding my camel to search for them, and I saw two tents in an open plain. I went towards them and found an old man there. I asked: Have you come across two pregnant she-camels? He asked: What is their mark? I said: It is the brand of Banu Darim. He said: We have found your two she-camels; through them Allah has saved the lives of these two households of the tribe of Mudar. He was still talking to me when a woman called out from the other dwelling: "A child has been born, a child has been born!" The old man asked: What has been born? If it is a boy, he will be our partner among our people, and if it is a girl, bury her alive. The woman said: It is a girl. I asked: Who is this newborn? He said: She is my daughter. I said: I will buy her from you. He said: O brother of Banu Tamim! Would you sell your own daughter? While I am an honoured man of Mudar! I said: I am not buying her person from you; rather, I am buying her life from you, so that you do not kill her. He asked: In exchange for what will you buy her? I said: For these two she-camels of mine and the young they will give birth to. He said: Will you also give me this camel of yours in addition? I said: Yes, on the condition that you send a messenger with me; when I reach my home, I will return your camel to him. He did so, and when I reached home, I returned the camel to him. Then, at some hour of the night, I thought to myself: This is such a noble deed that no one among the Arabs has done it before me. So, until the appearance of Islam, I saved the lives of 360 girls who were to be buried alive; I would buy each girl for two pregnant she-camels and a camel. So will I receive a reward for that? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Its reward has been established for you, since Allah has blessed you with the gift of Islam." Abbad says: Confirmation of this statement of Sa'sa'ah is found in this verse of al-Farazdaq: "My grandfather is the one who stopped those who buried girls alive, and gave new life to the girls who were to be buried alive, so that they could not be buried."