Virtues of Dirar bin al-Azwar al-Asadi, the poet (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the people of Makkah sent wealth to ransom their captives, Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), sent some wealth as ransom for Abu al-As. Included in that wealth was the necklace which Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) had given her daughter Zaynab at the time of her sending off to the house of Abu al-As. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that necklace, he (peace and blessings be upon him) was overcome with intense tenderness, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Companions: "If you see fit, release her captive and return her wealth to her." The Companions said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah! So they released him and returned her wealth. Abu al-As remained firmly upon his polytheism until, some time before the Conquest of Makkah, he went to Syria with the trade goods of Quraysh. When he had finished his trade and was returning, he encountered a military detachment (sariyyah) of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself had dispatched the detachment towards the caravan in which Abu al-As was returning from Syria. In that detachment there were one hundred and seventy riders, whose commander was Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), and this event took place in Jumada al-Ula of the year 6 AH. They seized all the goods of that caravan and took some people captive, but Abu al-As managed to escape. When this force arrived with the spoils, Abu al-As came by night to Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and sought her protection, and she granted him protection so that he could retrieve his wealth. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came out for the morning prayer and said the takbir, and the people said the takbir with him, a voice was heard.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) relates that Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) called out loudly: O people! I have granted protection to Abu al-As bin al-Rabi'. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concluded the prayer with the salam, he turned to the people and said: "O people! Did you hear what I heard?" The people said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad! I knew nothing about this until I heard what you heard. Indeed, even the lowest-ranking man of the Muslims can grant protection to someone." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went from there to his daughter Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: "O my dear daughter! Honour his lodging (that is, be hospitable to him), but he should not come near you (as a husband), for you are no longer lawful for him."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to the detachment (sariyyah) that had seized the wealth of Abu al-As, and said to them: "This man is connected to us, as you know, and you have taken his wealth. If you do good and return his wealth to him, we would love that; but if you refuse to return it, then it is the fay' wealth from Allah which He has granted you, and you are more entitled to it." The Companions said: O Messenger of Allah! We will return his wealth to him. The narrator says: They returned all his wealth, to the extent that whoever had a rope brought the rope, and whoever had an old leather waterskin or a water vessel brought it, until someone even brought a wooden peg (used in a camel saddle), until they returned his wealth in full and not the slightest thing of it was lost. Then he set off for Makkah and delivered to every owner of wealth among Quraysh who had sent goods for trade with him his wealth. Then Abu al-As called out: "O people of Quraysh! Does any of you have any wealth remaining with me that he has not received?" They said: No, may Allah reward you well; we have found you true to your word and most noble. Then he said: "I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger. Nothing prevented me from accepting Islam while with you in Makkah except the fear that you would think I only wanted to consume your wealth. Now that Allah has had it returned to you and I am free of that responsibility, I accept Islam." Then he left there and emigrated to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned his daughter Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) (to Abu al-As) on the basis of the first marriage, and even after six years had passed he did not perform any new marriage. Then, after accepting Islam, Abu al-As returned to Makkah (to settle his affairs), and therefore he did not take part in any battle with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). After that he came to Madinah, and he passed away in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah of the year 12 AH, during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). He had appointed Sayyiduna al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) as the executor of his will.
Mention of the virtues of Sayyiduna Dirar bin al-Azwar al-Asadi, the poet (may Allah be pleased with him):