We came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the people rejoiced greatly at our arrival. When we reached the gathering, they made room for us and we sat down. The Prophet ﷺ welcomed us and prayed for us, then he looked at us and asked, "Who is your chief and leader?"We all pointed to al-Mundhir bin Aidh.The Prophet ﷺ asked, "Is this al-Ashajj?" That was the first day this name was given to him, on account of a wound on his face caused by a donkey's hoof.We replied, "Yes, Messenger of Allah."He had stayed behind the rest of the group to hobble their mounts and gather their belongings. Then he took out his travel bag, removed his journey clothes, and put on his finest garments. He then approached the Prophet ﷺ, who had stretched out his leg and was reclining. As al-Ashajj drew near, the people made room for him and said, "Come here, Ashajj."The Prophet ﷺ sat upright, drew in his leg, and said, "Here, Ashajj." So he sat on the right of the Prophet ﷺ, who sat upright, welcomed him warmly, and treated him kindly. Then he asked him about his homeland and named for him the villages of as-Safa, al-Mushaqqar, and other villages of Hajar.He said, "May my father and mother be ransom for you, Messenger of Allah, you know the names of our villages better than we do."He replied, "I have walked through your land, and it has been spread out for me."Then he turned to the Ansar and said, "Ansar, honor your brothers, for they resemble you in Islam, and they are the most similar to you in their hair and complexion. They embraced Islam willingly, neither under coercion nor out of revenge for any loss, while other peoples refused to accept Islam until they were killed."When he asked, "How did you find the hospitality and generosity of your brothers toward you?"They answered, "The best of brothers. They softened our beds, served us excellent food, and spent night and morning teaching us the Book of our Lord and the Sunnah of our Prophet."The Prophet ﷺ was pleased and delighted by this. Then he turned to us, one by one, examining what we had learned and what they had taught us. Among us were those who had learned the tahiyyat, the Opening of the Book, a surah or two, and a sunnah or two.Then he turned his face toward us and asked, "Do you have any of your provisions left?"The people were delighted at this and rushed to their saddles. Each man came back with a heap of dates and placed it on a leather mat in front of him. He gestured with a palm-stalk in his hand, with which he was pointing, that was longer than a forearm but shorter than two, and asked, "Do you call this taadud?"We said, "Yes."Then he gestured to another heap and asked, "Do you call this sarafan?"We said, "Yes."Then he gestured to another heap and asked, "Do you call this barni?"We said, "Yes."He said, "Indeed, this is the best of your dates and the most beneficial for you."So we returned from that delegation and planted much of it, and our desire for it grew, until the bulk of our palms and dates became barni.Then al-Ashajj said, "Messenger of Allah, our land is heavy and unwholesome. If we do not drink these beverages, our complexions become disturbed and our bellies swell up."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do not drink from gourds, green-glazed jars, or hollowed stumps. Let one of you drink from his waterskin, with its mouth tied."Al-Ashajj said to him, "May my father and mother be ransom for you, Messenger of Allah, grant us a concession with regard to this much," and he gestured with his palms.He said, "Ashajj, if I were to grant you a concession in something like this," and he gestured with his palms in this way, "you would drink it in something like this," and he opened his hands and spread them wide, meaning something larger than that, "until when one of you became intoxicated from his drink, he would rise to his cousin and slash his shin with the sword."Among the delegation was a man from Banu Asar called Harith, whose shin had been slashed during a drinking party of theirs in a house, because he had recited a line of poetry about a woman of theirs. One of the people of that house had risen and slashed his shin with a sword.Harith said, "When I heard this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I began letting down my garment to cover the wound on my shin, but Allah had already revealed it to His Prophet ﷺ."
حدثنا يونس بن محمد حدثنا يحيى بن عبد الرحمن العصري قال حدثنا شهاب بن عباد أنه سمع
قدمنا على رسول الله ﷺ فاشتد فرحهم بنا فلما انتهينا إلى القوم أوسعوا لنا فقعدنا فرحب بنا النبي ﷺ ودعا لنا ثم نظر إلينا فقال من سيدكم وزعيمكم فأشرنا جميعا إلى المنذر بن عائذ فقال النبي ﷺ أهذا الأشج فكان أول يوم وضع عليه هذا الاسم لضربة بوجهه بحافر حمار فقلنا نعم يا رسول الله فتخلف بعد القوم فعقل رواحلهم وضم متاعهم ثم أخرج عيبته فألقى عنه ثياب السفر ولبس من صالح ثيابه ثم أقبل إلى النبي ﷺ وقد بسط النبي ﷺ رجله واتكأ فلما دنا منه الأشج أوسع القوم له وقالوا هاهنا يا أشج فقال النبي ﷺ واستوى قاعدا وقبض رجله هاهنا يا أشج فقعد عن يمين النبي ﷺ واستوى قاعدا فرحب به وألطفه ثم سأل عن بلاده وسمى له قرية الصفا والمشقر وغير ذلك من قرى هجر فقال بأبي وأمي يا رسول الله لأنت أعلم بأسماء قرانا منا فقال إني قد وطئت بلادكم وفسح لي فيها قال ثم أقبل على الأنصار فقال يا معشر الأنصار أكرموا إخوانكم فإنهم أشباهكم في الإسلام وأشبه شيء بكم شعارا وأبشارا أسلموا طائعين غير مكرهين ولا موتورين إذ أبى قوم أن يسلموا حتى قتلوا فلما أن قال كيف رأيتم كرامة إخوانكم لكم وضيافتهم إياكم قالوا خير إخوان ألانوا فرشنا وأطابوا مطعمنا وباتوا وأصبحوا يعلموننا كتاب ربنا وسنة نبينا فأعجب النبي ﷺ وفرح بها ثم أقبل علينا رجلا رجلا يعرضنا على ما تعلمنا وعلمنا فمنا من تعلم التحيات وأم الكتاب والسورة والسورتين والسنة والسنتين ثم أقبل علينا بوجهه فقال هل معكم من أزوادكم شيء ففرح القوم بذلك وابتدروا رحالهم فأقبل كل رجل معه صبرة من تمر فوضعها على نطع بين يديه وأومأ بجريدة في يده كان يختصر بها فوق الذراع ودون الذراعين فقال أتسمون هذا التعضوض قلنا نعم ثم أومأ إلى صبرة أخرى فقال أتسمون هذا الصرفان قلنا نعم ثم أومأ إلى صبرة فقال أتسمون هذا البرني فقلنا نعم قال أما إنه خير تمركم وأنفعه لكم قال فرجعنا من وفادتنا تلك فأكثرنا الغرز منه وعظمت رغبتنا فيه حتى صار عظم نخلنا وتمرنا البرني قال فقال الأشج يا رسول الله إن أرضنا أرض ثقيلة وخمة وإنا إذا لم نشرب هذه الأشربة هيجت ألواننا وعظمت بطوننا فقال رسول الله ﷺ لا تشربوا في الدباء والحنتم والنقير وليشرب أحدكم في سقائه يلاث على فيه فقال له الأشج بأبي وأمي يا رسول الله رخص لنا في هذه فأومأ بكفيه وقال يا أشج إن رخصت لكم في مثل هذه وقال بكفيه هكذا شربته في مثل هذه وفرج يديه وبسطها يعني أعظم منها حتى إذا ثمل أحدكم من شرابه قام إلى ابن عمه فهزر ساقه بالسيف وكان في الوفد رجل من بني عصر يقال له الحارث قد هزرت ساقه في شرب لهم في بيت تمثله من الشعر في امرأة منهم فقام بعض أهل ذلك البيت فهزر ساقه بالسيف قال فقال الحارث لما سمعتها من رسول الله ﷺ جعلت أسدل ثوبي لأغطي الضربة بساقي وقد أبداها الله لنبيه ﷺ