and they have let us share in every comfort, to the point that we feared they would carry off the whole reward.”
He replied, “No! So long as you praise them and pray for Allah to bless them, the reward is shared.”

This report has a three-link chain that meets the standards of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, yet none of the compilers of the Six Books recorded it through this particular route, although it is soundly established in the Ṣaḥīḥ from another chain.

Al-Bukhārī also narrated: al-Ḥakam ibn Nāfiʿ told us; Shuʿayb related to us; Abū al-Zinād, from al-Aʿraj, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Helpers said to the Prophet ﷺ, “Divide the date-palms between us and our brothers.” He replied, “No.” They said, “Then spare us the labour and we will let you share in the fruit.” They said, “We hear and obey.” Al-Bukhārī alone related this wording.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to the Helpers, “Your brothers have left their wealth and children behind and have come to you.” They replied, “Our property shall be divided among us into portions.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Or would you rather do something else?” They asked, “What is that, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “They are a people who do not know how to work, so you take care of the labour and share the produce with them.” They said, “Yes.”

We have already cited the ḥadiths and reports on the virtues of the Helpers and their noble qualities when discussing His words, Exalted be He: “And those who had settled in the city and in faith before them…” (Qur’an 59:9).

Section

On the death of Abū Umāmah Asʿad ibn Zurārah ibn ʿAdas ibn ʿUbayd ibn Thaʿlabah ibn Ghanm ibn Mālik ibn al-Najjār—one of the twelve leaders on the Night of al-ʿAqabah, from the clan of Banū al-Najjār. He witnessed all three pledges at al-ʿAqabah and, according to one opinion, was the first to pledge allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the night of the second ʿAqabah. He was a young man and was the first to lead the Friday prayer in Madinah, at Naqīʿ al-Khaḍimāt in Ḥazm al-Nabīt, as mentioned earlier.

Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq said: During those very months Abū Umāmah Asʿad ibn Zurārah died while the mosque was still being built; he was seized by al-dhibḥah—or, some say, al-shahqah (pleurisy).