Hadith #214

Arabic Text

English Translation

Yahyā narrated to us, from ‘Awf: Abū Rajā’ narrated to us: ‘Imrān ibn Husayn narrated to me, who said: We were on a journey with the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. We traveled by night until, in the last part of the night, we fell into that deep sleep — no sleep is sweeter for the traveler. What woke us was the heat of the sun. The first to awaken was so-and-so, then so-and-so — Abū Rajā’ used to name them but ‘Awf forgot — then ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allāh be pleased with him, was the fourth. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, when he slept, was not awakened until he woke on his own, for we did not know what might happen to him in his sleep. When ‘Umar woke and saw what had happened to the people — and he was a man with a deep, powerful voice — he said the takbīr loudly. He kept saying the takbīr and raising his voice until the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ woke to his voice. When the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ awoke, they complained about what had happened. He said: No harm — or: It does not harm. Mount up! So they mounted and traveled a short distance, then he dismounted. He called for water for ablution, performed wudū’, the call to prayer was made, and he led the people in prayer. When he turned from his prayer, there was a man sitting apart who had not prayed with the group. He said: What prevented you, so-and-so, from praying with the group? He said: O Messenger of Allāh, I was in a state of major ritual impurity and there was no water. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: Use clean earth (tayammum), for it suffices you. Then the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ continued traveling, and the people complained to him of thirst. He dismounted, called for so-and-so — Abū Rajā’ used to name him but ‘Awf forgot — and called for ‘Alī, may Allāh be pleased with him. He said: Go and search for water for us. They set out and met a woman between two water-skins — or two leather bags — of water on her camel. They asked: Where is the water? She said: My last contact with water was yesterday at this time, and our menfolk have gone away. They said: Then come with us. She asked: Where to? They said: To the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. She said: The one they call the Sābi’ (the apostate)? They said: He is the one you mean, so come. They brought her to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and told him the story. They helped her down from her camel, and the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ called for a vessel. He poured water from the mouths of the two water-skins — or the two leather bags — into it, then tied their mouths shut. He opened the spouts and called out to the people: Come, water yourselves and fill your vessels! Everyone who wished drank, and everyone who wished filled his vessel. The last thing he did was give the man who had been in a state of major impurity a vessel of water and said: Go and pour it over yourself. She was standing there watching what was being done with her water. By Allāh, when he stopped, it seemed to us that the skins were fuller than when he began. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: Gather food for her. They collected dates, flour, and meal until they had gathered a great deal of food. They placed it in a cloth, loaded her onto her camel, and put the cloth before her. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said to her: You know, by Allāh, we did not diminish your water at all. Rather, it was Allāh — mighty and majestic is He — who gave us water. She went to her people, having been delayed. They asked: What kept you, so-and-so? She said: Something amazing! Two men met me and took me to this man called the Sābi’, and he did with my water such-and-such. By Allāh, he is either the greatest sorcerer between here and here — she said, gesturing with her index and middle fingers toward the sky, meaning heaven and earth — or he is truly the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. After that, the Muslims would raid the polytheists around her, but they would never attack the clan she belonged to. One day she said to her people: I believe these people are leaving you alone deliberately. Do you wish to embrace Islām? They obeyed her and entered Islām.