Yahyā ibn al-Walīd narrated to us; Muḥill ibn Khalīfah related to me; and Abū al-Samḥ said:
“I used to serve the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Whenever he wished to perform a ritual bath, he would say, ‘Hand me my water-skin.’ I would hand it to him and screen him. On one occasion al-Ḥasan—or al-Ḥusayn—was brought, and the child urinated on the Prophet’s chest. I stepped forward to wash it, but he said:
‘A girl’s urine is washed away, whereas from a boy’s urine one merely sprinkles water.’
This same report is related by Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, and Ibn Mājah through the chain of Mujāhid ibn Mūsā.
Among those who served him was the best of all Companions without exception, Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—who personally attended the Prophet during the Hijrah, especially in the Cave and afterward until they reached Madinah, as has been detailed earlier. All praise and gratitude belong to Allah.
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As for the scribes who recorded the Revelation and other matters in his presence—blessings and peace be upon him, and may Allah be pleased with them all—they included the four Caliphs: Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. A full account of each will follow in the chapter covering his period of caliphate, Allah willing, for in Him we place our trust.
Among them as well was Abān ibn Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ ibn Thumayyah ibn ʿAbd Shams ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Quṣayy al-Umayyī. He accepted Islam after his brothers Khālid and ʿAmr, and his conversion came after the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyyah, for he was the one who guaranteed ʿUthmān’s safety when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent him to the Meccans on that day. Others say he embraced the faith at Khaybar, for he is mentioned in the Ṣaḥīḥ, in the ḥadith of Abū Hurayrah concerning the division of the spoils of Khaybar. The reason for his Islam was that, while on a trading journey in Syria, he met a monk who asked him about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The monk inquired, ‘What is his name?’ He answered, ‘Muḥammad.’ The monk said, ‘Then let me describe him to you,’ and he proceeded to do so