Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (2/591)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

I added, “Whoever saw him lying there would think he had been struck down, so he would sit on his chest to recite ruqya over him, or something of that sort.

ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, narrating from ʿĀmir, from Abū Hurayrah, said:
‘I was among the People of the Ṣuffah when the Messenger of Allah sent us some ʿajwah dates. Because of hunger we would pair two dates together, and whenever one of us had done so he would say to his companion, “I have paired mine, so pair yours.” (1)

ʿUmar ibn Dharr related to us—from Mujāhid, from Abū Hurayrah—who said:
“By Allah, I would at times lean against the ground from hunger, and I would even tie a stone to my stomach because of hunger. I once positioned myself on their path, and Abū Bakr passed by. I asked him about a verse in the Book of Allah—only in the hope that he would invite me along—but he went on without doing so. Then ʿUmar passed, and it was the same. Finally the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came by, and he recognized from my face what I was suffering of hunger, and he said, ‘Abū Hurayrah!’

I replied, ‘At your service, O Messenger of Allah.’

I went into the house with him and he found some milk in a cup. He asked, ‘Where did this come from?’

They answered, ‘So-and-so sent it to you.’

He said, ‘Abū Hurayrah, go to the People of the Ṣuffah (2) and invite them.’

The People of the Ṣuffah were the guests of Islam; they had neither family nor wealth. Whenever charity was brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he would send it to them and would not partake of any of it; but when a gift came to him, he would eat from it and share it with them.

(1) Ibn Hibban records the hadith in his Sahih (no. 1350) through the isnad: Ishaq b. Ibrahim – Jarir – Ata b. al-Saib – Abu Hurayra. Ata b. al-Saib’s narration became unreliable after his mental lapse, and Jarir is among those who heard from him during that period. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar cites the report without comment in Fath al-Bari, 9/494 (Book of Foods). It is also found in Ibn Asakir, Tarikh Dimashq, 19/111/1. (2) The suffa was a sheltered section of the Prophet’s mosque in Medina set aside for the destitute muhajirun who had no home; its residents were therefore called the People of the Suffa. They carried out major communal duties: learning and transmitting the Quran and the sunnah—making the suffa the first Islamic school—guarding the Prophet, and remaining on standby to execute his instructions, such as locating anyone he wished to summon. In doing so they fulfilled these obligations on behalf of the broader Muslim community.

قُلْتُ: كَانَ يَظُنُّهُ مَنْ يَرَاهُ مَصْرُوْعاً، فَيْجْلِسُ فَوْقَهُ لِيَرْقِيْهِ، أَوْ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ. عَطَاءُ بنُ السَّائِبِ: عَنْ عَامِرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: كُنْتُ فِي الصُّفَّةِ، فَبَعَثَ إِلَيْنَا رَسُوْلُ اللهِ بِتَمْرٍ عَجْوَةٍ، فَكُنَّا نَقْرِنُ التَّمْرَتَيْنِ مِنَ الجُوْعِ، وَكَانَ أَحَدُنَا إِذَا قَرَنَ، يَقُوْلُ لِصَاحِبِهِ: قَدْ قَرَنْتُ، فَاقْرِنُوا (١) . عُمَرُ بنُ ذَرٍّ: حَدَّثَنَا مُجَاهِدٌ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: وَاللهِ إِنْ كُنْتُ لأَعْتَمِدُ عَلَى الأَرْضِ مِنَ الجُوْعِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتُ لأَشُدُّ الحَجَرَ عَلَى بَطْنِي مِنَ الجُوْعِ، وَلَقَدْ قَعَدْتُ عَلَى طَرِيْقِهِمْ، فَمَرَّ بِي أَبُو بَكْرٍ، فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللهِ، مَا أَسْأَلُهُ إِلاَّ لِيَسْتَتْبِعَنِي، فَمَرَّ وَلَمْ يَفْعَلْ، فَمَرَّ عُمَرُ، فَكَذَلِكَ، حَتَّى مَرَّ بِي رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ فَعَرَفَ مَا فِي وَجْهِي مِنَ الجُوْعِ، فَقَالَ: (أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ) . قُلْتُ: لَبَّيْكَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ. فَدَخَلْتُ مَعَهُ البَيْتَ، فَوَجَدَ لَبَناً فِي قَدَحٍ، فَقَالَ: (مِنْ أَيْنَ لَكُم هَذَا؟) . قِيْلَ: أَرْسَلَ بِهِ إِلَيْكَ فُلاَنٌ. فَقَالَ: (يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، انْطَلِقْ إِلَى أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ (٢) ، فَادْعُهُمْ) . وَكَانَ أَهْلُ الصُّفَّةِ أَضْيَافَ الإِسْلاَمِ، لاَ أَهْلَ وَلاَ مَالَ، إِذَا أَتَتْ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ ﷺ صَدَقَةٌ، أَرْسَلَ بِهَا إِلَيْهِمْ، وَلَمْ يُصِبْ مِنْهَا شَيْئاً، وَإِذَا جَاءتْهُ هَدِيَّةٌ أَصَابَ مِنْهَا، وَأَشْرَكَهُمْ فِيْهَا،

(١) أخرجه ابن حبان في " صحيحه " (١٣٥٠) من طريق إسحاق بن إبراهيم، عن جرير، عن عطاء بن السائب، عن أبي هريرة. وعطاء بن السائب قد اختلط، وجرير ممن سمع منه بعد الاختلاط، وذكره الحافظ في الفتح ٩ / ٤٩٤ في الاطعمة عن ابن حبان، وسكت عليه، وهو في " تاريخ دمشق " لابن عساكر ١٩ / ١١١ / ١. (٢) الصفة: كانت في مسجد النبي ﷺ في المدينة يكون فيها فقراء المهاجرين، ومن لا منزل له منهم، وأهلها منسوبون إليها. وكان أهل الصفة يقومون بفروض عظيمة، منها تلقي القرآن والسنة، فكانت الصفة مدرسة الإسلام، ومنها حراسة النبي ﷺ، ومنها الاستعداد لتنفيذ أوامره وحاجاته في طلب من يريد طلبه من المسلمين وغير ذلك، وكانوا قائمين بهذه الفروض عن المسلمين.