One of the delegation that came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from Abdul-Qays narrated, "Among the gifts we presented to him was a small bundle, or a waterskin, of taduud or barni dates."He asked, "What is this?"We replied, "This is a gift."The narrator said, "I think he looked at one of the dates, then returned it to its place and said, 'Deliver it to the family of Muhammad.'"The people then asked him about various matters until they asked him about drinks.He said, "Do not drink from gourds, green jars, hollowed stumps, or pitch-coated vessels. Drink from a permitted vessel that is tied at the top."One of us said to him, "Messenger of Allah, what makes you know what gourds, green jars, hollowed stumps, and pitch-coated vessels are?"He answered, "Indeed I know what they are. Which fortress of Hajar is the strongest?"We said, "Mushaqqar."He said, "By Allah, I have entered it and taken its key."The narrator said, "I had forgotten part of his hadith, and Ubaydullah bin Abu Jarwa reminded me of it."He said, "I stood at the spring of Zarah."Then he said, "O Allah, forgive Abdul-Qays, for they accepted Islam willingly, not unwillingly, neither disgraced nor defeated, while some of our own people do not accept Islam until they are humiliated and overpowered."Then his face turned from this direction of the qiblah until he faced the qiblah, and he said, "Indeed, the best of the people of the East are Abdul-Qays."
قال حدثني أحد الوفد الذين وفدوا على رسول الله ﷺ من عبد القيس قال: وأهدينا له فيما يهدى نوطا أو قربة من تعضوض أو برني، فقال: ما هذا؟ قلنا: هذه هدية قال: وأحسبه نظر إلى تمرة منها فأعادها مكانها وقال: أبلغوها آل محمد قال: فسأله القوم عن أشياء حتى سألوه عن الشراب فقال: لا تشربوا في دباء ولا حنتم، ولا نقير، ولا مزفت، اشربوا في الحلال الموكى عليه، فقال له قائلنا: يا رسول الله! وما يدريك ما الدباء والحنتم والنقير والمزفت؟ قال: أنا لأدري ماهيه أي هجر أعز؟ قلنا: المشقر، قال: فوالله لقد دخلتها وأخذت إقليدها، قال: وكنت قد نسيت من حديثه شيئا، فأذكرنيه عبيد الله بن أبي جروة، قال: وقفت على عين الزارة، ثم قال: اللهم اغفر لعبد القيس إذ أسلموا طائعين غير كارهين غير خزايا ولا موتورين إذ بعض قومنا لا يسلموا حتى يخزوا ويوتروا قال: وابتهل وجهه ههنا من القبلة حتى استقبل القبلة، وقال: إن خير أهل المشرق عبد القيس.
Ahmad (17829) and Abu Dawud (3695) both narrated it via the route of Awf (that is, Ibn Jamila), from Abu Qamus, who related it. The wording given is Ahmad's, while Abu Dawud related it in abridged form. Its isnad is sahih.On this subject there is also a report from some members of the delegation of Abdul-Qays, who said, "We came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they were overjoyed at our arrival..." the hadith in full, in which the Messenger of Allah said, "Do not drink from gourd vessels, glazed jars, or hollowed-out wood, and let one of you drink from a waterskin with its mouth tied three times." Ahmad (15559) narrated it from Yunus bin Muhammad, who said, "Yahya bin Abdul-Rahman Asri told me, Shihab bin Abbad narrated to us, that he heard some of the delegation of Abdul-Qays," and they related it. In it, Yahya bin Abdul-Rahman Asri was not deemed reliable by anyone except Ibn Hibban, and for that reason the Hafiz said in Taqrib, "acceptable," meaning when corroborated. I did not find any corroborator for him on this isnad, though part of it is supported by the hadith of Abu Saeed and others.On this subject there is also a report from Jabir bin Abdullah Abdi, who said, "I was among the delegation that came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from Abdul-Qays." He said, "though I was not one of them, I was only with my father." He said, "So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade them from drinking from the vessels you have heard about, gourd vessels, glazed jars, hollowed-out wood, and pitch-coated vessels."Ahmad (23754) narrated it, and Tabarani narrated it through his route in al-Kabir (2/288), from Harith bin Mura Hanafi, Abu Mura, who said, "Nafis narrated to us, from Abdullah bin Jabir Abdi," and he related it. In its isnad is this Nafis, whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in Thiqat (7/546), but he did not mention anyone narrating from him other than Harith bin Mura Hanafi, so he is unknown according to the majority of scholars. He is among the men listed in Tajil (1110).As for Haythami's statement in Majma (5/59), "Ahmad and Tabarani narrated it, and its narrators are reliable," this is based on Ibn Hibban's endorsement, as has been noted repeatedly before.