132 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Sufyan ibn Muhammad al-Massisi narrated to us; he said: Abu Nuʿaym Isḥaq ibn al-Furat al-Tajibi—of the clan of Kindah—narrated to us; he said: Abu al-Haytham al-ʿAbdi narrated to us, from Malik ibn Anas, from al-Zuhrī, from Abu Ḥadrad—or Ibn [Abī] Ḥadrad—al-Aslami, who said:

I arrived in Medina during the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, intending ⦗108⦘ the hajj. When I reached [Mecca] I prayed, “O Allah, grant me a companion from among Your Prophet’s Companions—one whom Your Prophet loved and who loved Your Prophet.” Suddenly a black youth appeared, riding a donkey and leading a she-camel, and behind her was an elderly man on his donkey. I said to the youth, “Boy, who is that elder?” He replied, “Muhammad ibn Maslamah al-Ansari, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).” Thus I found the best travelling companion and the finest host.

One day on our journey we spoke about gratitude and kindness. Muhammad said, “We were once in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said to Hassan ibn Thabit, ‘Hassan, recite for me a poem from the pre-Islamic era, for Allah has lifted from us the sin of their poetry and its transmission.’ So Hassan recited to him the ode of al-Aʿsha in which he lampooned ʿAlqamah ibn ʿUlathah:

ʿAlqam, you are no match for ʿAmir,
who cuts both knotted and loose cords alike.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then said, ‘Hassan, do not recite this poem to me again after this sitting.’ Hassan replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, do you forbid me concerning a polytheist who is residing with Caesar?’ ⦗109⦘ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Hassan, those who are most grateful to people are the most grateful to Allah. Caesar asked Abu Sufyan ibn Harb about me and he spoke disparagingly, whereas this man was asked about me and spoke well; so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) thanked him for that.’”