Shamail Tirmidhi

The jurist of the Ummah, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates: One day, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out of his house at a time when he would not usually go out, nor would anyone meet him at that time. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) came to serve the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: “Abu Bakr! What has brought you here?” He replied, “I came out to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), to see your blessed face, and to greet you with peace.” Not much time had passed when Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also arrived, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him: “Umar, what has brought you here?” He replied, “O Messenger of Allah! Hunger has brought me out.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I am also feeling hungry.” Then all three of them went to the house of Abu’l-Haytham bin Tihan al-Ansari. Abu’l-Haytham had a date orchard and many goats, but he had no servant. (When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, arrived there,) Abu’l-Haytham was not at home. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked his wife, “Where is your husband?” She replied, “He has gone to fetch sweet water for us.” Shortly after, Abu’l-Haytham arrived carrying a water-skin, and as soon as he put it down, he embraced the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “May my parents be sacrificed for you!” Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his two companions went with him to the orchard. There, he spread a mat for them and himself went to a date palm, brought a bunch of dates, and presented it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Why did you not bring only ripe dates? You brought the whole bunch?” He replied, “O Messenger of Allah! I intended that you may eat whichever ripe or unripe dates you like.” So all three of them ate the dates and drank water from the water-skin. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By Him in Whose hand is my soul, these are among the blessings about which you will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection: cool shade, fresh and pure delicious dates, and cool water.” Abu’l-Haytham went to prepare food for them, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do not slaughter a goat that gives milk.” So he slaughtered for them a sheep or a goat less than a year old and presented it to them (after preparing it). After they ate, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: “Do you have any servant?” He replied, “No.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When we receive captives, come to us.” Later, two captives were brought to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), not more than that. Sayyiduna Abu’l-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: “Choose one of them.” He said, “You choose for me, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The one who is consulted is trustworthy. Take this one, for I have seen him performing prayer, and treat him well.” Abu’l-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) went to his wife and informed her of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) instruction to “treat him well.” She said, “You can only fulfill the Prophet’s command if you set him free.” He said, “He is free.” (When this was reported to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah Almighty has not sent any Prophet nor appointed any Caliph except that he has two trustworthy friends: one who commands him to do good and forbids him from evil, and the other who does not lessen his harm. Whoever is saved from the evil friend is certainly saved from evil.”