Abu Dharr said, "My brother Unays, our mother, and I left our people, Ghifar, who used to treat the sacred month as lawful. We travelled until we came to stay with a maternal uncle of ours, a man of wealth and standing. He honored us and treated us well, and because of that his own people grew envious of us. They said to him, 'When you leave your family, Unays goes in to them behind your back.'"Our uncle came and repeated to us what had been said to him. I told him, 'Whatever kindness you showed us in the past, you have now spoiled it. There can be no living together with you after this.'"So we brought our herd near, loaded our things onto it, and set out, while our uncle covered his face with his garment and wept."We travelled until we camped in the vicinity of Makkah. There Unays entered a contest of boasting with a man, staking our herd against a herd like it. The two of them went to a soothsayer, who judged Unays the winner, so he came back to us with our herd and another like it."Nephew, I had been praying for three years before ever meeting the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."The narrator asked, "To whom were you praying?"Abu Dharr answered, "To Allah.""Then which direction did you face?""Wherever Allah turned me. I would pray in the evening, and at the end of the night I would sink down as though I were a khifa, until the sun rose over me." My father said, and Abu Nadr said, and Sulayman said, "as though I were a khifa," meaning a tent covering.Abu Dharr continued, "Then Unays said to me, 'I have some business in Makkah. Look after things for me until I come back.'"He went off and was gone a long time, and when he returned I asked, 'What kept you?'"He said, 'I met a man who claims that Allah has sent him with the same religion you follow.'"I asked, 'What do people say about him?'"He replied, 'They say he is a poet, a sorcerer, and a soothsayer.' Now Unays himself was a poet, and he said, 'I have heard the speech of soothsayers, and what he says is nothing like theirs. I have measured his words against every meter of poetry, and by Allah, no tongue could call it poetry. By Allah, he speaks the truth and they are the liars.'"I said to him, 'Will you look after things for me while I go and see for myself?'"He said, 'Yes, but be on your guard against the people of Makkah, for they detest him and scowl at him.'" Affan gave the word as shi'afu lahu, Bahz as sabaqu lahu, and Abu Nadr as shafu lahu."So I set out and reached Makkah. I picked out a frail-looking man among them and asked, 'Where is this man you call the renegade?'"He pointed at me and shouted, 'The renegade!' At that the people of the valley fell upon me with every clod of earth and bone they could find, until I collapsed unconscious. When I got up, I looked like a red idol smeared with blood. I went to Zamzam, drank from its water, and washed the blood off myself. Then I went in between the Kaaba and its coverings."Nephew, I stayed there thirty days and nights with no food except the water of Zamzam, and I grew so plump that the folds of my belly cracked, and I never felt the faintness of hunger in my stomach."Then, while the people of Makkah were in a night bright with moonlight, Allah struck the ears of the people of Makkah with sleep, so that no one was circling the House except two women. They came past me calling upon Isaf and Naila, and I said, 'Marry one of them to the other!' That did not turn them from what they were doing. They came past me again, and I spoke plainly, saying they are like a piece of wood, without any euphemism. At that they went off wailing and crying out, 'If only one of our men were here!'"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr met them as the two were coming down from the mountain, and he asked, 'What is the matter with you?'"They said, 'The renegade is between the Kaaba and its coverings.'"They asked, 'What did he say to you?'"The women said, 'He said words to us that fill the mouth.'"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came with his companion until he touched the Stone, then circled the House and prayed. I went up to him, and I was the first person to greet him with the greeting of the people of Islam. He answered, 'And upon you, and the mercy of Allah. Who are you from?'"I said, 'From Ghifar.'"He reached out his hand and placed it on his forehead, and I said to myself, 'He is displeased that I claimed descent from Ghifar.' I wanted to take his hand, but his companion pushed me back, for he knew him better than I did."The Prophet asked, 'How long have you been here?'"I said, 'I have been here thirty days and nights.'"He asked, 'And who was feeding you?'"I said, 'I had no food except the water of Zamzam, yet I grew so plump that the folds of my belly cracked, and I never felt the faintness of hunger in my stomach.'"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'It is blessed water, and it is nourishing food.'"Abu Bakr said, 'Messenger of Allah, allow me to provide his food tonight.' The Prophet agreed."So the Prophet ﷺ set off, and Abu Bakr set off, and I went with them, until Abu Bakr opened a door and began handing us out raisins from Taif. That was the first food I ate in Makkah."I stayed as long as I stayed, and then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'I have been shown a land of date palms, and I do not think it is anywhere but Yathrib. Will you carry my message to your people? Perhaps Allah will benefit them through you and reward you for them.'"So I set out and came to Unays, and he asked me, 'What did you do?'"I said, 'What I did was accept Islam and believe.'"He said, 'I have no aversion to your religion. I too accept Islam and believe.'"Then we went to our mother, and she said, 'I have no aversion to the religion of you both. I too accept Islam and believe.'"So we loaded up and came to our people, Ghifar, and some of them accepted Islam before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived in Madinah." Yazid, in Baghdad, said, and some of them said, "when he arrives," and Bahz said, "Our brothers, we shall accept Islam," and Abu Nadr said the same.Khafaf bin Ima bin Rahda Ghifari used to lead them in prayer, and he was their chief in those days. The rest of them said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrives, we shall accept Islam." So when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Madinah, the rest of them accepted Islam.Abu Dharr said, "Then the tribe of Aslam came and said, 'Messenger of Allah, our brothers, we accept Islam on the same terms they accepted it.' So they accepted Islam, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Ghifar, may Allah forgive them, and Aslam, may Allah keep them safe.'"Bahz said that Ima bin Rahda used to lead them in prayer, and Abu Nadr said Ima.
حدثنا عبد الله حدثنا هدبة حدثنا سليمان بن المغيرة فذكر نحوه بإسناده