Mention of Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾī, one of the most generous men of the pre-Islamic era

He is Ḥātim ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Saʿd ibn al-Ḥashraj ibn Imruʾ al-Qays ibn ʿAdī ibn Akhzam ibn Abī Akhzam—whose given name was Hurumah (1) ibn Rabīʿah ibn Jarwal ibn Thaʿal ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Ghawth ibn Ṭayy—better known by his kunya Abū Saffānah al-Ṭāʾī, the father of the Companion ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim (2).

He was famed for his liberality in the Age of Ignorance, and his son enjoyed the same reputation after embracing Islam. Ḥātim’s exploits, astonishing deeds, and remarkable tales of generosity are too numerous to recount, yet he did not perform them seeking the Face of Allah and the Hereafter; his aim was simply reputation and remembrance among people.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bazzār said in his Musnad: “Muḥammad ibn Maʿmar narrated to us; ʿUbayd ibn Wāqid al-Qaysī narrated to us; Abū Naṣr—al-Nāji—narrated to us from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār, from Ibn ʿUmar, who said: Ḥātim was mentioned before the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, ‘That man sought a matter and attained it.’” (3) This ḥadīth is gharīb (solitary).

Al-Dāraquṭnī said: “It is uniquely transmitted by ʿUbayd ibn Wāqid from Abū Naṣr al-Nāji; some say his name was Ḥammād.”

Ibn ʿAsākir added: “Abū Aḥmad al-Ḥākim differentiated between Abū Naṣr al-Nāji and Abū Naṣr Ḥammād, but he did not record the name of al-Nāji. In some of Ibn ʿAsākir’s chains the narrator appears as Abū Naṣr Shaybah al-Nāji. Allah knows best.” (4)

Imām Aḥmad (5) said: “Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; he said: Shuʿbah (6) narrated to us from Simāk ibn Ḥarb, from Marrī ibn Quṭrī, from ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim, who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ‘My father used to maintain kinship bonds and do such-and-such deeds—will he have any reward for that?’ He replied, ‘Your father sought something and obtained it.’”

Abū Yaʿlā likewise narrated it from al-Qawārīrī, from Ghundar, from Shuʿbah, from Simāk with the wording: “Your father desired a matter and attained it,” meaning fame.