We were traveling with the Prophet ﷺ, and we journeyed through the night until, in the last part of it, we lay down for a rest. There is no rest sweeter to a traveler than that. Nothing woke us but the heat of the sun. The first to wake was so-and-so, then so-and-so, then so-and-so. Abu Raja used to name them, but Awf forgot. The fourth was Umar bin Khattab. When the Prophet ﷺ slept, no one would wake him until he woke on his own, since we did not know what might be happening to him in his sleep.When Umar woke up and saw what had befallen the people, being a strong, resolute man, he called out the takbir, raising his voice. He kept on calling the takbir loudly until the Prophet ﷺ was awakened by his voice.When the Prophet ﷺ woke, the people complained to him about what had happened to them. He said, "There is no harm," or, "It will cause no harm. Set off." So he set off and traveled a short distance, then halted and called for water for ablution. He performed his ablution, the call to prayer was made, and he led the people in prayer.When he finished his prayer, he noticed a man standing apart who had not prayed with the others. He asked, "What kept you, so-and-so, from praying with the people?"The man replied, "I am in a state of major impurity and there is no water."The Prophet ﷺ said, "Use clean earth, that will suffice you."Then the Prophet ﷺ continued on, and the people complained to him of thirst. So he halted and called for so-and-so, whom Abu Raja used to name but Awf forgot, and he called Ali. He said, "Go and search for water."The two of them set out and met a woman riding a camel between two large waterskins. They asked her, "Where is the water?"She answered, "I was at the water yesterday at this very hour, and our menfolk are away behind us."They said, "Come along, then."She asked, "To where?"They replied, "To the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."She said, "The one who is called the Sabian?"They said, "He is the one you mean. Come along."They brought her to the Prophet ﷺ and related the story to him. He said, "Help her down from her camel." Then the Prophet ﷺ called for a vessel, and he poured into it from the mouths of the two waterskins. He tied up their mouths and opened their lower openings, and it was announced among the people, "Drink and water your animals." So whoever wished drank and whoever wished watered his beasts.The last thing he did was to give the man who was in a state of impurity a vessel of water and say, "Go and pour it over yourself." The woman stood watching what was being done with her water, and by Allah, when he finally left it, it appeared to us fuller than when he had begun.Then the Prophet ﷺ said, "Gather something for her." So they gathered for her dates, flour, and parched barley until they had collected a quantity of food, which they placed in a cloth. They lifted her onto her camel and set the cloth before her. He said to her, "You know, we have not taken any of your water. Rather, it is Allah who has given us to drink."She returned to her family, having been delayed in coming to them. They asked, "What kept you, so-and-so?"She replied, "Something amazing. Two men met me and took me to this man called the Sabian, and he did such and such. By Allah, he is the greatest sorcerer between this and this," and she pointed with her middle and index fingers, raising them to the sky, meaning the heavens and the earth, "or else he is truly the Messenger of Allah."After that, the Muslims used to raid the polytheists around her but never touched the settlement to which she belonged. One day she said to her people, "I do not think these people leave you alone by accident. Will you not enter Islam?" They obeyed her and entered Islam.Abu Abdullah said, "Sabaa" means he left one religion for another. Abu Aliyah said, "the Sabians" are a sect among the People of the Book who read the Zabur.
حدثنا مسدد قال حدثني يحيى بن سعيد قال حدثنا عوف قال حدثنا أبو رجاء
كنا في سفر مع النبي ﷺ وإنا أسرينا حتى كنا في آخر الليل وقعنا وقعة ولا وقعة أحلى عند المسافر منها فما أيقظنا إلا حر الشمس وكان أول من استيقظ فلان ثم فلان ثم فلان يسميهم أبو رجاء فنسي عوف ثم عمر بن الخطاب الرابع وكان النبي ﷺ إذا نام لم يوقظ حتى يكون هو يستيقظ لأنا لا ندري ما يحدث له في نومه فلما استيقظ عمر ورأى ما أصاب الناس وكان رجلا جليدا فكبر ورفع صوته بالتكبير فما زال يكبر ويرفع صوته بالتكبير حتى استيقظ بصوته النبي ﷺ فلما استيقظ شكوا إليه الذي أصابهم قال لا ضير أو لا يضير ارتحلوا فارتحل فسار غير بعيد ثم نزل فدعا بالوضوء فتوضأ ونودي بالصلاة فصلى بالناس فلما انفتل من صلاته إذا هو برجل معتزل لم يصل مع القوم قال ما منعك يا فلان أن تصلي مع القوم قال أصابتني جنابة ولا ماء قال عليك بالصعيد فإنه يكفيك ثم سار النبي ﷺ فاشتكى إليه الناس من العطش فنزل فدعا فلانا كان يسميه أبو رجاء نسيه عوف ودعا عليا فقال اذهبا فابتغيا الماء فانطلقا فتلقيا امرأة بين مزادتين أو سطيحتين من ماء على بعير لها فقالا لها أين الماء قالت عهدي بالماء أمس هذه الساعة ونفرنا خلوفا قالا لها انطلقي إذا قالت إلى أين قالا إلى رسول الله ﷺ قالت الذي يقال له الصابئ قالا هو الذي تعنين فانطلقي فجاءا بها إلى النبي ﷺ وحدثاه الحديث قال فاستنزلوها عن بعيرها ودعا النبي ﷺ بإناء ففرغ فيه من أفواه المزادتين أو سطيحتين وأوكأ أفواههما وأطلق العزالي ونودي في الناس اسقوا واستقوا فسقى من شاء واستقى من شاء وكان آخر ذاك أن أعطى الذي أصابته الجنابة إناء من ماء قال اذهب فأفرغه عليك وهي قائمة تنظر إلى ما يفعل بمائها وايم الله لقد أقلع عنها وإنه ليخيل إلينا أنها أشد ملأة منها حين ابتدأ فيها فقال النبي ﷺ اجمعوا لها فجمعوا لها من بين عجوة ودقيقة وسويقة حتى جمعوا لها طعاما فجعلوها في ثوب وحملوها على بعيرها ووضعوا الثوب بين يديها قال لها تعلمين ما رزئنا من مائك شيئا ولكن الله هو الذي أسقانا فأتت أهلها وقد احتبست عنهم قالوا ما حبسك يا فلانة قالت العجب لقيني رجلان فذهبا بي إلى هذا الذي يقال له الصابئ ففعل كذا وكذا فوالله إنه لأسحر الناس من بين هذه وهذه وقالت بإصبعيها الوسطى والسبابة فرفعتهما إلى السماء تعني السماء والأرض أو إنه لرسول الله حقا فكان المسلمون بعد ذلك يغيرون على من حولها من المشركين ولا يصيبون الصرم الذي هي منه فقالت يوما لقومها ما أرى أن هؤلاء القوم يدعونكم عمدا فهل لكم في الإسلام فأطاعوها فدخلوا في الإسلام قال أبو عبد الله صبأ خرج من دين إلى غيره وقال أبو العالية الصابئين فرقة من أهل الكتاب يقرءون الزبور