Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 7355

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out of his house at an hour in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not usually go out, nor would anyone meet him (peace and blessings be upon him) at that time. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "O Abu Bakr! What has brought you at this time?" He said: I came out to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to behold his radiant face and to greet him with salam. Only a little while passed before Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also came. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "O Umar! What is the reason for your coming?" He said: O Messenger of Allah! Hunger. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And I too have felt some of that." Then they all went together to the house of Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). He owned many date palms and goats, but he had no servant. They did not find him at home, so they asked his wife: Where is your husband? She said that he had gone to fetch sweet water for us. Only a little while had passed when Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) came carrying a heavy waterskin. He put it down, then embraced the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and began saying that his father and mother be ransomed for him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he took them to his garden and spread out a mat for them. Then he went to a date palm, brought a bunch of dates and placed it before them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why did you not pick out the ripe dates from it for us?" He said: O Messenger of Allah! My intention was that you choose for yourselves from the half-ripe and ripe dates. So they all ate those dates and drank from that water, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah! This is the blessing about which you will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection: cool shade, good ripe dates and cool water." Then Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) went to prepare food for them, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Beware! Do not slaughter a milk-giving animal." So he slaughtered a young female goat or a young male goat for them, prepared it and brought it to them, and they all ate. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "Do you have a servant?" He said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When captives come to us, come to us." Then two captives were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with no third one with them. Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Choose one of the two." He said: O Messenger of Allah! You choose for me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one whose counsel is sought is entrusted. Take this one, for I have seen him praying, and accept my counsel to treat him well." Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) took the servant to his wife and informed her of what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had said. His wife said: You cannot reach the standard of what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said about him except by freeing him. He said: He is free. (Hearing this,) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty has not sent any prophet or khalifah except that he has two kinds of close confidants: a confidant who commands him to do good and forbids him from evil, and another who spares no effort in corrupting him and leading him into trial. And whoever is protected from bad companions has been protected (from every evil)."
This hadith has an authentic chain and is on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it. It has been narrated by Yunus bin Ubayd and Abdullah bin Kaysan, via Ikrimah, from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), more complete and longer than this narration of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). As for the hadith of Yunus bin Ubayd: