Hadith #93

Arabic Text

English Translation

Muḥammad ibn Sābiq narrated to us: ʿĪsā ibn Dīnār narrated to us: My father narrated to us, that he heard al-Ḥārith ibn Abī Ḍirār al-Khuzāʿī say: I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he called me to Islam. I entered it and affirmed it. He called me to pay zakāh, and I affirmed it. I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, I shall return to my people and call them to Islam and the payment of zakāh. Whoever responds to me, I shall collect their zakāh, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ shall send me a messenger by such-and-such a time to bring what I have collected of zakāh.' When al-Ḥārith collected the zakāh from those who responded and the appointed time came at which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was to send to him, the messenger was delayed and did not come. Al-Ḥārith feared that displeasure from Allah عز وجل and His Messenger had occurred. He summoned the leaders of his people and said: 'the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had set a time to send his messenger to collect the zakāh I had, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ does not break his word. I see no reason for the delay of his messenger except displeasure. So come, let us go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had sent al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah to al-Ḥārith to collect the zakāh. When al-Walīd had traveled partway, he became afraid and turned back. He came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, al-Ḥārith withheld the zakāh from me and wanted to kill me.' the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched an expedition to al-Ḥārith. Al-Ḥārith set out with his companions, and when the expedition departed from Madinah, al-Ḥārith met them. They said: 'This is al-Ḥārith.' When he reached them, he said: 'To whom were you sent?' They said: 'To you.' He said: 'Why?' They said: 'the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had sent al-Walīd ibn ʿUqbah to you, and he claimed that you withheld the zakāh and wanted to kill him.' He said: 'No, by the One who sent Muḥammad with the truth, I never saw him at all, and he never came to me.' When al-Ḥārith entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said: 'You withheld the zakāh and wanted to kill my messenger?' He said: 'No, by the One who sent you with the truth, I never saw him and he never came to me. I only came because the messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was delayed, and I feared that there had been displeasure from Allah عز وجل and His Messenger.' Then al-Ḥujurāt was revealed: {O you who believe, if a wicked person comes to you with news, verify it, lest you harm a people in ignorance and then become regretful over what you have done} — up to: {a bounty from Allah and a favor, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.}