106 – The Twelfth ḥadīth: It is narrated from Abū Firās Rabiʿah ibn Kaʿb al-Aslamī, the servant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and one of the People of the Bench, may Allah be pleased with him: “I used to spend the night with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, bringing him the water for his ablution and whatever else he required. One day he said to me, ‘Ask of me.’ I replied, ‘I ask for your companionship in Paradise.’ He said, ‘Anything else?’ I answered, ‘That is all.’ He then said, ‘So help me in regard to yourself by making plentiful prostrations.’” Muslim related it.

[Commentary]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites here the report of Rabiʿah ibn Kaʿb al-Aslamī, may Allah be pleased with him. He was among those free men who served the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; Rabiʿah and Ibn Masʿūd are two such names, and they were honored by serving him. Rabiʿah also belonged to the People of the Bench (ahl al-ṣuffah). These were emigrants who had come to Medina without any dwelling, so the Prophet ﷺ lodged them in a sheltered area attached to the Prophet’s Mosque. Their number sometimes reached eighty, at other times a little fewer. The Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—would bring them food, milk, and the like in charity.

Rabiʿah ibn Kaʿb, may Allah be pleased with him, served the Prophet ﷺ by bringing him the water for ablution and taking care of his needs. The term wuḍūʾ (with an open vowel on the first syllable) denotes the water used for ablution, whereas wuḍūʾ (with a closed vowel) refers to the act of ablution itself. As for “his need,” the ḥadīth does not spell it out; the intent is that Rabiʿah would supply the Prophet ﷺ with whatever he required.