Virtues of Zayd bin Harithah bin Sharahil bin Abd al-Uzza (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) adopting him as a son

Al-Hasan bin Usamah bin Zayd narrates from his father; he related that Harithah bin Sharahil married a woman of Nabhan, a branch of the tribe of Tayyi', from whom Jabalah, Asma' and Zayd were born. Then that woman died and left her children in the care of their maternal grandfather. Harithah wanted to take them with him, but their maternal grandfather refused and said: "What we have is better for them." Then they agreed that Harithah would take Jabalah and Asma' and leave Zayd there. Then some horsemen of the tribe of Fazarah came from Tihamah, attacked the tribe of Tayyi', took Zayd captive and brought him to the market of Ukaz. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him before his prophethood and said to Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her): "O Khadijah, I have seen a boy in the market whose qualities are such-and-such." He (peace and blessings be upon him) described his intelligence, manners and handsomeness. "If I had wealth, I would buy him." So Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) instructed Waraqah bin Nawfal, and he bought him with the wealth of Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Khadijah, gift this boy to me of your own free will." She said: "O Muhammad, I see a handsome boy, and I fear that you might sell him or give him away to someone." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O fortunate one, I have asked for him only so that I may adopt him as my son." She said: "Yes, O Muhammad." So the two of them raised him and took him as their son, and he came to be called Zayd bin Muhammad. Then a man from his tribe came, saw Zayd and recognized him, and asked: "Are you Zayd bin Harithah?" He said: "No, I am Zayd bin Muhammad." He said: "No, rather you are Zayd bin Harithah; the features of your father, your paternal uncles and your maternal uncles are such-and-such. They have worn out their bodies and spent their wealth in searching for you." At that Zayd said (in verse): "I yearn for my people, though I am far away; indeed I am a dweller of this House near the sacred sites (masha'ir). So abandon the grief that has worn you down, and do not wander the earth aimlessly like camels. For, praise be to Allah, I am in the best of families, the finest of Ma'add, noble generation after generation." When this news of him reached Harithah, he said: "I wept for Zayd and I do not know what befell him: is he alive, so that there may be hope for him, or has death come to him? By Allah, I do not know, yet I keep asking: did the plain swallow you, or did the mountain destroy you? Would that I knew whether time will ever bring you back; your return to me is all I need of this world. The sun reminds me of him when it rises, and his memory comes before me when the darkness of evening falls. If the winds blow, they stir up his memory even more; how long my grief and my dread over him have grown! I will drive swift she-camels across the earth with all my effort, and I will not tire of roaming until the camels tire. Until he comes, or my death comes to me; and every person is mortal, even if hope keeps him deceived." Then Harithah bin Sharahil came to Makkah together with his brothers and family. They came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the courtyard of the Ka'bah, where some of his Companions were also present, among them Zayd bin Harithah. When they saw Zayd, they recognized him and Zayd also recognized them, but out of respect for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) he did not rise to go to them. They said: "O Zayd!" but Zayd gave them no reply. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: "O Zayd, who are these people?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is my father, this is my paternal uncle, this is my brother, and these are my family." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Get up and greet them, O Zayd." So he got up and greeted them, and they greeted him. Then they said to Zayd: "O Zayd, come with us." Zayd replied: "I will never want anyone else in place of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." They said: "O Muhammad, we are ready to give you blood money (ransom) in exchange for this boy; ask for whatever you wish, and we will bring it to you." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I ask of you that you bear witness that there is no true god except Allah and that I am the last of His prophets and messengers, and then I will send him with you." They refused, hesitated and began to prevaricate, then said: "Accept from us the dinars we have offered you." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "There is another matter here besides this: I have left the decision to him (Zayd). If he wishes, let him go, and if he wishes, let him stay here." They said: "Now nothing remains, does it?" Then they said: "O Zayd, Muhammad has now given you permission, so come with us." Zayd said: "Never, never! I do not want anyone else in place of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I cannot prefer any father or child over him (peace and blessings be upon him)." They reasoned with Zayd at length, pleaded with him, and told him how overwhelmed with grief the people behind him were for him, but Zayd refused and swore that he would not go with them. Harithah said: "As for me, I devote my own self to you: I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger." But the rest of them refused.

When Harithah bin Sharahil lost his son Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), he used to weep in grief for him and recite these verses: "I wept for Zayd, and I do not know what befell him," then he mentioned the entire long ode.

It is narrated from Jabalah bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), the brother of Zayd bin Harithah; he said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, send my brother Zayd with me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There he is (in front of you); if he himself wishes to go, I will not stop him." Then Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah, I will not choose anyone (in the world) over you." Jabalah said: (Seeing this, in my heart) I said: Surely my brother's opinion is better and superior to mine.
This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it, and it is a supporting witness (shahid) for the previous hadith.