Abū al-Miswar al-Qurashī, al-Zuhrī, was a Companion, one of the ṭulaqāʾ, and the senior figure of the Banū Zuhrah. The Prophet ﷺ clothed him in a luxurious cloak (1), which he later sold for forty ounces (uqiyyahs). He was also counted among those whose hearts were being won over (al-muʾallafa qulūbuhum).
Abū ʿĀmir al-Khazzāz—on the authority of Abū Yazīd al-Madani, from ʿĀʾishah—reported that she said:
“Makhramah ibn Nawfal came, and when the Prophet ﷺ heard of his arrival he said, ‘What a wretched clansman!’ Yet when he entered, the Prophet received him cordially. After he had left, I questioned the Prophet about it, and he replied, ‘O ʿĀʾishah, have you ever known me to be foul-mouthed? Indeed, the worst of people are those whose evil others must guard against (2).’”
Makhramah lived on past the year fifty and died in 54 AH, at the age of one hundred and fifteen.
= Siyar Alam al-Nubala, 3/489; al-Istiab, 3/1380; Ibn Asakir, Tarikh Dimashq, 16/155; Usd al-Ghabah, 5/125; al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, 2/316; al-Dhahabi, al-Ibar, 1/60; Ibn Hajar, al-Isabah, 9/146; Ibn al-Imad, Shadharat al-Dhahab, 1/60.
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, 5/164 (Book of Gifts, “How to take possession of a slave or property”) and 10/229 (Book of Dress, “The Qaba’”); Muslim, no. 1058 (Book of Zakat, “Giving to one who asks rudely”); Abu Dawud, 4028; al-Tirmidhi, 2818; al-Nasa’i, 8/205; Ahmad, 4/328.
(2) Abu Amir al-Khazzaz, whose personal name was Salih b. Rustum, is prone to error even though Muslim includes him among his transmitters. He is mentioned in Usd al-Ghabah, 5/126, through the isnad of al-Nadr b. Shumayl (“narrated to us Abu Amir al-Khazzaz”). Al-Hafiz also cites him in al-Taqrib, 10/379, while Abd al-Ghani b. Sa id list him in al-Mubhamat and al-Khatib includes him in his Tarikh.
The same incident is transmitted—without naming the visitor—by Malik in the Muwatta; al-Bukhari, 10/378–379 (Book of Manners, “The Prophet was neither obscene nor a habitual curser”); Muslim, no. 2591 (Book of Birr and Sila, “Gentleness toward one whose evil is feared”); Abu Dawud, 4791; al-Tirmidhi, 1996; and Ahmad, 6/38, all through the chain of Muhammad b. al-Munkadir → Urwa → Aisha: “A man sought permission…”.
Several scholars identify the man as Uyayna b. Hisn b. Hudhayfa b. Badr al-Fazari, nicknamed “al-ahmaq al-muta” (the heeded fool). The Prophet showed him courtesy in the hope that his conversion would lead his tribe to embrace Islam, for he was their chief. Others maintain that he was Makhrama b. Nawfal, relying on the version cited by the author.