Tamīm al-Dārī and al-Azd

And then there was the delegation of Tamīm al-Dārī. This was discussed in the series on the Hereafter, because it is a very long hadith, so it is not gone through again: he is the one who reported to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) the news of meeting the Dajjāl — a hadith narrated by Imām Muslim.

Finally, there was the delegation of al-Azd, a Yemeni tribe from the southern part of Arabia. Seven men of al-Azd came to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — and by the way, al-Azd are related to the Anṣār, because the Anṣār are descendants of al-Azd. And they came to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Fa-lammā dakhalnā ʿalayhi wa kallamnāhu aʿjabahu mā raʾā min samtinā wa zayyinā — the Messenger of Allah was impressed by them, by their looks, their character and their demeanour. Fa-qāla: mā antum? Qulnā: muʾminūn — what are you? We said: we are believers. Fa-tabassama Rasūlu Allāh wa qāla: inna li-kulli qawlin ḥaqīqah, fa-mā ḥaqīqatu qawlikum wa īmānikum? The Messenger of Allah smiled and said: there is a reality to every statement; so what is the reality of your statement and your īmān? Because they said they were believers — so what is the reality of that? What is the manifestation of that?

Qulnā: khamsa ʿashrata khaṣlah: khamsun minhā amaratnā bihā rusuluka an nuʾmina bihā, wa khamsun amartanā an naʿmala bihā, wa khamsun takhallaqnā bihā fī al-jāhiliyyah, fa-naḥnu ʿalayhā illā an takraha minhā shayʾā — we said: fifteen qualities: five of them your messengers ordered us to believe in; five you ordered us to act upon; and five we took on as our character in the Jāhiliyyah, and we are still upon them — unless you want us to change them. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: what are the five that my messengers ordered you? Qulnā: amaratnā an nuʾmina bi-llāhi wa malāʾikatihi wa kutubihi wa rusulihi wa al-baʿthi baʿda al-mawt — they ordered us to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and resurrection after death. Qāla: wa mā al-khamsu allatī amartukum an taʿmalū bihā? — and what are the five commands that I gave you? Qulnā: amartanā an naqūla lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa nuqīma al-ṣalāh, wa nuʾtiya al-zakāh, wa naṣūma Ramaḍān, wa naḥujja al-bayta man istaṭāʿa ilayhi sabīlā — you ordered us to say lā ilāha illā Allāh, to establish the ṣalāh, to pay the zakāh, to fast Ramaḍān, and to make Ḥajj, for whoever is able.

Wa mā al-khamsu allatī takhallaqtum bihā fī al-jāhiliyyah? — and what are the five that you made your character in the time of the Jāhiliyyah? Qālū: al-shukru ʿinda al-rakhāʾ, wa al-ṣabru ʿinda al-balāʾ, wa al-riḍā bi-murri al-qaḍāʾ, wa al-ṣidqu fī mawāṭini al-liqāʾ, wa tarku al-shamātati bi-al-aʿdāʾ. Again, the five: al-shukru ʿinda al-rakhāʾ, being grateful in times of ease; wa al-ṣabru ʿinda al-balāʾ, and being patient in times of difficulty; wa al-riḍā bi-murri al-qaḍāʾ, and accepting destiny; wa al-ṣidqu fī mawāṭini al-liqāʾ, and being true when the enemies meet; wa tarku al-shamātati bi-al-aʿdāʾ, and avoiding malicious joy over our enemies — meaning they did not go to extremes in making fun of their enemies; they were decent even with the enemy. Qāla Rasūlu Allāh: ḥukamāʾu ʿulamāʾ, kādū min fiqhihim an yakūnū anbiyāʾ — you are wise and knowledgeable; because of your understanding you have almost become prophets. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was very impressed by their wisdom.

And then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: wa ana azīdukum khamsan fa-yatimmu lakum ʿishrūna khaṣlah, in kuntum kamā taqūlūn — and I will give you five more, so that you will have twenty qualities, if you are as you say: fa-lā tajmaʿū mā lā taʾkulūn — do not gather what you will not eat; wa lā tabnū mā lā taskunūn — and do not build what you will not live in; wa lā tanāfasū fī shayʾin antum ʿanhu ghadan tazūlūn — and do not compete over something that you will leave behind tomorrow; wa-ttaqū Allāha alladhī ilayhi turjaʿūna wa ʿalayhi tuʿraḍūn — and fear Allah, to whom you will return and before whom you will be presented; wa-rghabū fīmā ʿalayhi taqdamūna wa fīhi takhludūn — and aspire to what you are going towards, where you will live for ever; meaning the Hereafter. Fa-nṣarafa al-qawmu min ʿindi Rasūli Allāh, wa ḥafiẓū waṣiyyatahu wa ʿamilū bihā — they left, and they kept the advice of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and acted on it.

Only some of the delegations that came to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) have been covered; so one can see that it was a busy year, with people coming and accepting Islam from the four corners of the Arabian Peninsula. And this is towards the end of the life of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): he was now witnessing the fruit of his daʿwah; he was now harvesting the fruit of the seed he had planted in Makkah in the early days, when it was very difficult. Now the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was seeing the manifestation of his efforts, through the blessing of Allah (swt), and the barakah that Allah (swt) had put in his daʿwah.