When Abu Haysar Anas bin Rafi came to Mecca with a group of young men from Banu Abd al-Ashhal, among them Iyas bin Muaz, seeking an alliance with Quraysh against their own people from the Khazraj, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard about them. He came and sat with them and said, "Would you like something better than what you came for?"They asked, "What is that?"He replied, "I am the Messenger of Allah. He has sent me to His servants to call them to worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him, and He has revealed a Book to me." Then he spoke to them about Islam and recited the Quran to them.Iyas bin Muaz, who was a young lad, said, "My people, by Allah, this is better than what you came for."Then Abu Haysar Anas bin Rafi took a handful of pebbles from the valley and threw them in the face of Iyas bin Muaz. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose and left them, and they returned to Medina, where the Battle of Buath took place between the Aws and the Khazraj. Iyas bin Muaz did not live long after that and soon died.Mahmud bin Labeed said, Those of my people who were present at his death told me that they kept hearing him declare Allah's oneness, proclaim His greatness, praise Him, and glorify Him until he passed away. They had no doubt that he died a Muslim, for he had embraced Islam in his heart at that gathering when he heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what he heard.
لما قدم أبو الحيسر أنس بن رافع مكة، ومعه فتية من بني عبد الأشهل فيهم إياس بن معاذ يلتمسون الحلف من قريش على قومهم من الخزرج، سمع بهم رسول الله ﷺ، فأتاهم فجلس إليهم، فقال لهم: هل لكم إلى خير مما جئتم له؟ قالوا: وما ذاك؟ قال: أنا رسول الله، بعثني إلى العباد أدعوهم إلى أن يعبدوا الله لا يشركوا به شيئا، وأنزل علي كتاب ثم ذكر الإسلام، وتلا عليهم القرآن، فقال إياس بن معاذ، وكان غلاما حدثا: أي قوم، هذا والله خير مما جئتم له، قال: فأخذ أبو الحيسر أنس بن رافع حفنة من البطحاء فضرب بها في وجه إياس بن معاذ، وقام رسول الله ﷺ عنهم وانصرفوا إلى المدينة، فكانت وقعة بعاث بين الأوس والخزرج قال: ثم لم يلبث إياس بن معاذ أن هلك. قال محمود بن لبيد: فأخبرني من حضره من قومي عند موته أنهم لم يزالوا يسمعونه يهلل الله ويكبره ويحمده ويسبحه حتى مات، فما كانوا يشكون أن قد مات مسلما لقد كان استشعر الإسلام في ذلك المجلس حين سمع من رسول الله ﷺ ما سمع.
Ahmad (23619), Tabarani in al-Kabir (1/251), Hakim (3/180–181), and Bayhaqi in al-Dalail (2/420) all narrated it from the hadith of Muhammad bin Ishaq, who said, "Husayn bin Abdul-Rahman bin Amr bin Saad bin Muaz, brother of Banu Abdul-Ashhal, narrated to me from Mahmud bin Labeed," and he related it.Its chain of transmission is hasan because of the explicit statement of Muhammad bin Ishaq and his teacher Husayn bin Abdul-Rahman, whom Ibn Hibban rated trustworthy, while Ibn Saad said, "He had few narrations." Hakim graded it sahih according to the criterion of Muslim, but that is not correct, for this Husayn bin Abdul-Rahman was not narrated from by Muslim. Dhahabi said, "It is a mursal narration," meaning that Mahmud bin Labeed was among the youngest of the companions, and the mursal narrations of the companions are accepted.