Al-Wāqidī (1) relates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ took up residence in the house of Abū Ayyūb, Asʿad ibn Zurārah seized the reins of the Prophet’s camel, and the animal remained in his care.

He further transmits from Zayd ibn Thābit, who said:

“The very first gift offered to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ after he lodged with Abū Ayyūb was one that I delivered: a dish containing crumbled bread mixed with milk and clarified butter. I said, ‘My mother sent this dish.’ He replied, ‘May Allah bless you,’ then invited his Companions and they ate. After that came Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah’s bowl of tharīd and meat gravy. Hardly a night passed without three or four men taking turns to stand at the Prophet’s door bearing food. His stay in the house of Abū Ayyūb lasted seven months.

“While he was still there, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched his freedman Zayd ibn Ḥārithah together with Abū Rāfiʿ, giving them two camels and five hundred dirhams to bring Fāṭimah and Umm Kulthūm, the two daughters of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; his wife Sawdah bint Zamʿah; and Usāmah ibn Zayd. Ruqayyah had already emigrated with her husband ʿUthmān, and Zaynab remained in Mecca with her husband, Abū al-ʿĀṣ ibn al-Rabīʿ. Also with them were Umm Ayman, the wife of Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, and ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Bakr, who escorted Abū Bakr’s family, among them ʿĀʾishah—Mother of the Believers—whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had not yet consummated marriage with.”

Al-Bayhaqī (3) states: ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbdān told us; Aḥmad ibn ʿUbayd al-Ṣaffār told us; Khalf ibn ʿAmr al-ʿUkbarī narrated to us; Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr narrated to us; ʿAṭṭāf ibn Khālid narrated to us; Ṣiddīq ibn Mūsā (4) narrated to us, from ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr:

“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached Madinah, his mount knelt between the house of Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī and the house of al-Ḥasan ibn Zayd. The people came and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, the lodging is ready.’ The camel then rose, and he said, ‘Leave her alone, for she is under command.’ She continued until she reached the spot where the pulpit now stands and knelt again, then wove her way through the crowd. Nearby was a shelter of palm-branches that they kept repaired and used for shade; there the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dismounted and took refuge in its shadow.

Abū Ayyūb approached him and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, my house is the closest to you; move your baggage to me.’ He replied, ‘Yes,’ and Abū Ayyūb carried his saddle-pack to his home.

A man then asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, where will you stay?’ He answered, ‘A man is with his baggage wherever it is.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained in that shelter for twelve nights, until the mosque was built.

This is a magnificent distinction for Abū Ayyūb Khālid ibn Zayd—may Allah be pleased with him—for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ resided in his house. We have likewise transmitted, through Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them—that when Abū Ayyūb arrived in Basrah, while Ibn ʿAbbās was its governor on behalf of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—may Allah be pleased with him—, the son of