The Delegation of Laqīṭ ibn ʿĀmir al-Muntafiq, Abū Razīn al-ʿUqaylī, to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
ʿAbd Allāh, the son of Imām Aḥmad, said (1): Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥamzah ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥamzah ibn Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr al-Zubayrī wrote to me: “I have sent you this ḥadīth, having reviewed it and heard it exactly as I am writing it to you, so relate it on my authority.” He said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Mughīrah al-Ḥizāmī narrated to me; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAyāsh al-Samaʿī al-Anṣārī al-Qubāʾī, from Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, narrated to me; from Dalham ibn al-Aswad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥājib ibn ʿĀmir ibn al-Muntafiq al-ʿUqaylī; from his father; from his uncle Laqīṭ ibn ʿĀmir. Dalham (2) added: My father al-Aswad also related it to me, through ʿĀṣim ibn Laqīṭ, that Laqīṭ set out as a delegate to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, accompanied by a companion called Nahīk ibn ʿĀṣim ibn Mālik ibn al-Muntafiq. Laqīṭ said:
“My companion and I travelled until we reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Madinah (3) at the close of Rajab. We entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and found him just after he had completed the dawn prayer, standing and addressing the people. He said:
‘O people! Indeed, I have been conserving my voice for you these past four days so that I might let you hear. Now then, is there anyone whom his people have sent (as their delegate)?’
They replied, ‘Explain to us what the Messenger of Allah is saying; perhaps the talk of his own self or of his companion distracts him, or some wandering thought diverts him. Indeed I will be asked, “Have I conveyed?” So listen and you shall live. Sit down, sit down.’
He continued: The people sat down, while my companion and I remained standing. When his attention and gaze were free for us, I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what knowledge of the unseen do you possess?’ By Allah, he laughed, shook his head, and knew that I was seeking whatever scraps of that knowledge I could obtain. He said:
‘Your Lord—Exalted is He—has withheld the keys to five matters of the unseen; none knows them but Allah.’ And he gestured with his hand.
I asked, ‘What are they?’ He said:
‘Knowledge of the appointed time of death: He knows when the death of each one of you will occur, while you do not. [Knowledge of the drop of semen when it is in the womb: He knows it, whereas you do not.] Knowledge of what will take place tomorrow—and of what you will eat tomorrow; you do not know it. Knowledge of the day the rain will come: He looks upon you while you stand, impoverished and bent over, then He laughs, for He knows that relief for others is near.’
Laqīṭ said: ‘I replied, “By no means…’”