Azami 11602

Ahmad narrated it (15559) from Yunus bin Muhammad, who said, "Yahya bin Abdul-Rahman Asri narrated to me, Shihab bin Abbad narrated to us," and he related it. The hadith contains a story, which is as follows.The narrator said, "We came to the Messenger of Allah , and they were overjoyed at our arrival. When we reached the people, they made room for us, so we sat down. The Prophet welcomed us and prayed for us, then looked at us and said, 'Who is your leader and chief?'"We all pointed to Mundhir bin Aaidh, and the Prophet said, 'Is this Ashaj?' That was the first day this name was given to him, because of a blow to his face from a donkey's hoof. We said, 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' Some of the people stayed behind, tethering their mounts and gathering their belongings. Then he brought out his bag, took off his travel clothes, and put on his best clothes. Then he came forward to the Prophet , who had stretched out his leg and was leaning back. When Ashaj drew near him, the people made room for him and said, 'Here, Ashaj.' The Prophet sat up straight and drew in his leg, and said, 'Here, Ashaj.' So he sat on the right side of the Prophet , who welcomed him warmly, treated him kindly, and asked him about his land, naming for him village after village, Safa, Mushaqqar, and other villages of Hajar. He said, 'By my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah, you know the names of our villages better than we do.' He said, 'I have indeed set foot on your land, and it was made known to me there.'"Then he turned to the Ansar and said, 'O company of Ansar, honor your brothers, for they are your likeness in Islam, most similar to you in hair and skin. They embraced Islam willingly, not under compulsion, and not after suffering loss, whereas some people refused to embrace Islam until they were killed.'"When morning came, he said, 'How did you find the generosity of your brothers toward you, and their hospitality?' They said, 'The best of brothers. They softened our bedding, made our food delicious, and spent the night, and in the morning they were teaching us the Book of our Lord and the sunnah of our Prophet .' This pleased the Prophet and made him happy."Then he turned to us, one by one, testing us on what we had learned and what we had been taught. Among us were those who had learned the tahiyyat, the Opening of the Book, one or two surahs, and the sunnahs. Then he turned his face to us and said, 'Do you have any of your provisions with you?'"The people were pleased at this and hurried to their saddlebags. Each man came forward with a heap of dates, which they placed on a leather mat before him. He pointed with a palm-frond stick he was carrying, a bit longer than a forearm but less than two forearms, and said, 'Do you call this Tadud?' We said, 'Yes.' Then he pointed to another heap and said, 'Do you call this Sarfan?' We said, 'Yes.' Then he pointed to another heap and said, 'Do you call this Barni?' We said, 'Yes.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'This is indeed the best of your dates, and the most beneficial for you.'"So we returned from that delegation, and we increased the planting of it, and our desire for it grew so great that most of our palm trees and dates became Barni."Ashaj said, 'O Messenger of Allah, our land is heavy and unhealthy, and if we do not drink these beverages, our complexions become disturbed and our bellies swell.' The Messenger of Allah said, 'Do not drink from gourds, glazed jars, or hollowed-out wood, but let each of you drink from a waterskin tied at its mouth.'"Ashaj said to him, 'By my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah, grant us permission for something like this,' gesturing with his palms held close together. He said, 'O Ashaj, if I granted you permission for something like this' - and he gestured with his palms like this - 'you would drink from something like this' - and he opened his hands and spread them wide, meaning something bigger than that - 'until when one of you becomes drunk from his drink, he would rise against his cousin and strike his leg with a sword.'"Among the delegation was a man from Banu Usr called Harith, whose leg had been struck in a drinking session they had, in a household of theirs, over a verse of poetry about a woman of theirs. Some of the people of that house had risen and struck his leg with a sword. Harith said, 'When I heard this from the Messenger of Allah , I began letting my garment hang down to cover the wound on my leg, though Allah had exposed it.'"Its isnad is hasan because of Yahya bin Abdul-Rahman and his teacher Shihab bin Abbad Abdi Basri, both of whom Ibn Hibban deemed reliable. The story of the delegation of Abdul-Qays has been narrated through many routes that reinforce one another.As for his statement, "The best of your dates is Barni," it has many corroborating narrations, and there is some criticism regarding their chains of transmission, but the many corroborations indicate that it has a basis.Haythami said in Majma (8/177-178), "Ahmad narrated it, and its narrators are reliable," relying on Ibn Hibban's assessment of their reliability.