ثنا عَلِيٌّ ، نَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ ، نَا بُنْدَارٌ ، نَا عَبْدُ الصَّمَدِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَارِثِ ، نَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ ، نَا زيدُ بْنُ أَسْلَمَ ، قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ شَيْخًا ، يُقَالُ لَهُ : سُرَّقٌ ، فَقُلْتُ : " مَا هَذَا الاسْمُ ؟ ، فَقَالَ : اسْمٌ سَمَّانِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَنْ أَدَعَهُ ، قُلْتُ : لِمَ سَمَّاكَ ؟ ، قَالَ : قَدِمْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُمْ أَنَّ مَالِي يَقْدُمُ فَبَايَعُونِي فَاسْتَهْلَكْتُ أَمْوَالَهُمْ ، فَأَتَوْا بِي إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، فَقَالَ لِي : " أَنْتَ سُرَّقٌ ، وَبَاعَنِي بِأَرْبَعَةِ أَبْعِرَةٍ ، فَقَالَ الْغُرَمَاءُ لِلَّذِي اشْتَرَانِي : مَا تَصْنَعُ بِهِ ؟ ، قَالَ : أُعْتِقُهُ ، قَالُوا : فَلَسْنَا بِأَزْهَدَ مِنْكَ فِي الأَجْرِ ، فَأَعْتَقُونِي بَيْنَهُمْ ، وَبَقِيَ اسْمِي " .
Zaid bin Aslam narrates: I saw an elderly man in Alexandria whose name was Saraq. I asked: What kind of name is this? He replied: This name was given to me by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and I will not abandon it. I asked: Why did the Prophet (peace be upon him) give you this name? He replied: I came to Madinah and informed people that my goods were arriving. Some people made deals with me, and I owed them payments. My goods were lost. Those people took me to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He said: "You are Saraq!" Then he had me sold for four she-camels. The creditors asked the buyer: "What will you do with him?" He replied: "I will set him free." So those people said: "We are in as much need of reward as you are." So together they set me free, but my name remained.