Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “(The water of Zamzam) is blessed, it is food that satisfies hunger.” This hadith is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr and Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them all). This is the hadith of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), who says: We set out as a delegation from our tribe Ghifar, who used to consider the sacred months lawful. I (Abu Dharr al-Ghifari), my brother Anis, and my mother set out and stayed with our maternal uncle. He honored us greatly and treated us kindly, but his people became jealous of us. So they said: When you go out from your family, Anis comes to them. So our uncle came and began to backbite us regarding what had been said to him. I said to him: The kindness you did to us, you have now spoiled it, and we will not come to you again. We reached our camels, mounted them, and set off. My uncle wrapped himself in a cloth and began to weep. We kept going until we camped near Mecca. Anis began to stay away from our camels. They both went to a soothsayer, who chose Anis. So Anis came to us with our camels and some more camels. He said: O my nephew! I have been praying for three years before meeting the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: For whom? He said: For Allah, the Exalted. I said: In which direction did you face? He said: In whichever direction my Lord turned my face. I used to pray ‘Isha at the end of the night. Then I lay down, lost in thought, until the sun rose. Anis said: I have some work in Mecca, so take care of things for me. Anis left, reached Mecca, and repaid my kindness with evil. Then he returned. I asked: What did you do? He said: I met a man in Mecca who is upon your religion; he claims that Allah has sent him. I said: What do people say about him? He said: They call him a poet, a soothsayer, and a magician. Anis himself was a poet. He said: But I have heard the words of soothsayers and compared his words to the words of poets, but no tongue can judge that (the words of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) are poetry. By Allah! He is truthful and the people are liars. I said: Now take care of things for me so that I may go and see (what the real matter is). I reached Mecca and, intimidating a man, asked: Where is the man whom you call irreligious? He pointed at me and said: This is the irreligious one. (Upon hearing this) the people of the valley rushed at me with clods of earth and bones, and I fell unconscious. When (I regained consciousness and) got up, it seemed as if I was a red stone. I came to the water of Zamzam, washed off the blood, drank its water, and O my nephew! I stayed there for thirty days. I had no food except the water of Zamzam; by drinking it I became fat (i.e., it sufficed for my nourishment) and the folds of my stomach disappeared. I did not feel any weakness due to hunger. (Days passed and) one day in Mecca, it was a moonlit night and the sky was clear, suddenly they heard a voice that no one should circumambulate the Ka’bah, and two women were calling upon Isaf and Na’ila. He said: They passed by me during the circumambulation. I said: Marry one to the other. But they did not desist from their words. (During another circuit) they passed by me again. I said: They are like pieces of wood, and I did not say this metaphorically. Both of them went away screaming and shouting, saying: If only there was a man from our group here! He said: Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr were coming down (from a height) in front of them. They said: What is the matter with you? They said: Between the Ka’bah and its curtains is an irreligious man. They said: What did he say to you? They said: He said something that fills the mouth. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, touched the Black Stone, and he and his companion circumambulated the Ka’bah and then prayed. When they finished the prayer, Abu Dharr said: I was the first person to greet them with the greeting of Islam and said: O Messenger of Allah! Peace be upon you. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.” Then he said: “Who are you?” I said: I am from the tribe of Ghifar. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lowered his hand and placed his finger on his forehead. I thought to myself that perhaps he disliked my attribution to Ghifar. I wanted to take his hand, but his companion stopped me, and he knew him better than I did. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head and asked: Who was feeding you? I said: I had no food except the water of Zamzam; by drinking it I became fat and the folds of my stomach disappeared, and I did not feel any weakness due to hunger. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “This water is blessed, and it is food that satisfies hunger.” Sayyiduna Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! Allow me to feed him tonight. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) set off, and I went with them. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) opened the door and began to bring dates from Ta’if. This was the first food I ate, and some was left over. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: “A land of date palms has been made subservient to me; I think it is Yathrib (i.e., Madinah). Will you convey my message to your people? Perhaps Allah will benefit them through you and grant you reward because of them.” I went to Anis. He asked: What did you do? I said: I have accepted Islam and affirmed it. He said: I do not turn away from your religion; I too have submitted and affirmed it. We both went to our mother, and she said: I do not turn away from your religion; I too have become Muslim and submitted. We mounted and reached our tribe Ghifar. Half the tribe became Muslim. Ima’ bin Rahdah al-Ghifari, who was their chief, used to lead them in prayer. The other half of the tribe said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) comes to Madinah, we too will become Muslim. So when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, those people from the other half of the tribe also became Muslim. The people of the tribe of Aslam came and said: O Messenger of Allah! We become Muslim upon that which our brothers became Muslim. Then they became Muslim, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The tribe of Ghifar—may Allah forgive them, and the tribe of Aslam—may Allah keep them safe.”