granting them to Tamim and his brother Nuʿaym (1).
In the Sahih it is reported on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbas:
A man from the tribe of Sahm set out with Tamim al-Dari and ʿAdi ibn Badda. He died in a land of unbelief, and they brought back his estate. When they did so, they missed a silver bowl. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made the two of them swear an oath, but later the bowl was found in Mecca, and it was said, “We bought it from Tamim and ʿAdi.” Two men from the heirs of the Sahmi then rose and swore, “Our testimony is more deserving than their testimony, and the bowl belongs to our kinsman.”
Concerning them the verse was revealed: “Witnesses between you when death approaches one of you…” [al-Maʾidah (2): 110] (2).
Qatadah said about the verse, “And whoever possesses knowledge of the Scripture” [al-Raʿd: 45]: “It refers to Salman, Ibn Salam, and Tamim al-Dari” (3).
(1) Ibn Saʿd, 1/267 and 7/408; Al-Amwal, pp. 349-350.
Habra – also called Habrun (Hebron). According to Yaqut, it is the village that contains the grave of our master Ibrahim al-Khalil in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem); the place is now more commonly known simply as al-Khalil.
ʿAynun is likewise a village in the vicinity of Bayt al-Maqdis.
(2) Reported by al-Bukhari, 5/308, in the Book of Wills, chapter on the verse “Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu shahadatu baynikum idha hadara ahadakum al-mawt” (O you who believe, testimony must be taken between you when death approaches one of you – Q 5:106); also by al-Tirmidhi (3062) and Abu Dawud (3606). On the strength of this hadith, some jurists allow the testimony of ahl al-dhimma (non-Muslims living under Muslim rule) to a Muslim’s will when the latter is travelling. This opinion is related from Abu Musa al-Ashʿari and adopted by Shurayh, Ibrahim al-Nakhaʿi, al-Awzaʿi, and Imam Ahmad. See Sharh al-Mufradat, p. 333.
(3) Transmitted by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, 13/177, through the chain Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla – Muhammad ibn Thawr – Qatada. After mentioning the comments of Qatada and others, Ibn Kathir (2/521) states: the sound view is that the phrase wa-man ʿindahu (“and those who have [knowledge]” – Q 34:6) is a generic term that includes the scholars of the People of the Book who find the description and qualities of Muhammad in their earlier scriptures and in the prophecies of previous prophets, as in His words: “Wa-rahmati wasiʿat kulla shayʾ… alladhina yattabiʿuna al-rasula al-nabiya al-ummiyya alladhi yajidunahu maktuban ʿindahum fi-l-Tawrati wa-l-Injil” (My mercy encompasses all things; I shall prescribe it for those who fear Me… those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written with them in the Torah and the Gospel – Q 7:156-157), and: “A-wa lam yakun lahum ayatun an yaʿlamahu ʿulamaʾu Bani Israʾil” (Was it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel know it? – Q 26:197), and similar passages indicating that the scholars of Bani Israʾil recognise him from their revealed books.