The Islam of Hazrat Zaid bin Sa’nah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)

At the time when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) performed hijrah and came to Madinah Munawwarah, there were many Jews living there in the blessed city. These Jews had their own priests who were knowledgeable and learned. These Jewish priests were called Rabbis, and they had studied the Towraah which is the divine kitaab that Allah Ta‘ala had revealed to Nabi Musa (‘alaihis salaam).

In the Towraah, Allah Ta‘ala had informed and told Nabi Musa (‘alaihis salaam) regarding the final Nabi – Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Allah Ta‘ala had mentioned different signs through which people could recognize Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) so that when he appears in the world later on, people can bring imaan in him, accept his message and follow his deen.

When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) appeared, then even though the Jews recognized all the signs in him and knew that he was the true Nabi of Allah Ta‘ala, they still did not accept him because he was from the Arabs and was not from their people – the non-Arabs. However, there were a few Jews who accepted Islam and were blessed by Allah Ta‘ala to become Sahaabah.

One of these Jews was Hazrat Zaid bin Sa’nah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) who was among the main Rabbis of the Jews in Madinah Munawwarah. This is the story of how Hazrat Zaid bin Sa’nah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) accepted Islam.

There were many signs of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned in the Towraah. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came to Madinah Munawwarah, then Hazrat Zaid bin Sa’nah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had watched Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) carefully and had seen all the signs in him, except for two signs which he was still waiting to see. Both these signs were regarding the beautiful behaviour of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam).

The first sign is that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was very tolerant and patient, and the second sign is that the more a person behaves badly towards him, the more he will tolerate and overlook the person’s bad behaviour, and instead he would show him more compassion.

Because Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) wanted to see these two signs in Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he decided that he would test Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). He intended to behave badly with Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) so that he could see whether Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) would be patient and forgiving towards him, or whether he would become angry and lose his temper with him.

One day, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came out of his home and Hazrat Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was with him. Just then, a Bedouin who lived in the desert came to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and said, “O Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! My people have accepted Islam, and before they accepted Islam, I told them that if they become Muslims, they will receive abundant sustenance and food from Allah Ta‘ala. Now we are going through a drought and have no food. I am afraid that they will leave Islam because of this difficulty. O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! Are you able to assist us and give us something?”

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) wanted to help them, so he looked towards a certain Sahaabi and asked, “Do we have anything to give them and assist them?” However, the Sahaabi replied, “No, we do not have anything.”

Hazrat Zaid bin Sa’nah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was there at the time and had heard the conversation. He came to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and said, “O Muhammed! If you want, I will lend you the money, on the condition that I must be paid a certain amount of dates at such-and-such time.” Saying this, he mentioned a certain time when he wanted to be paid the dates.

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) agreed to this, and so Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) gave some gold to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) took the gold and gave it to the Bedouin and told him to spend it on his people and assist them.

Thereafter, time passed, and when there were still two or three days left for the time when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had to pay the dates to Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) came to him.

At the time when Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) came to him, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had just come back from a janaazah and was seated near a well with some of the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum).  Some of the Sahaabah who were there with Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) were Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and Hazrat Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).

Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then came to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), grabbed the kurta and shawl of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and spoke to him in a very rude and disrespectful manner. Even though there were still two or three days left to pay him the dates, he said to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “O Muhammed! It seems that you do not want to pay me!”

Then he insulted the family of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). He said, “I know all the children of your grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, very well! It is known that all of you do not pay your debts on time!”

When Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) heard this Jew speaking rudely and disrespectfully to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he became very angry. He loved Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) so much that he could not tolerate anyone treating him in this manner. He was so angry that he looked at the Jew and said, “O enemy of Allah! What are you saying? If Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was not here, I would have cut off your head and killed you!”

However, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) remained calm and did not become angry or upset. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) smiled and told Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) that instead of becoming angry, there was a better way that he could have responded. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said to him, “O Umar! You should have advised me to make sure that I pay my debts on time, and you should have advised this man to ask me for his payment in a polite manner.”

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) thereafter said to Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “Take him with you and pay him what we owe him. Also pay him some extra dates because you spoke to him in such a manner.”

Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) immediately obeyed Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). He took Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and paid him all the dates he was owed, and also gave him an extra amount of dates.

Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was surprised and asked Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “Why are you giving me extra dates??” Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “This is the command of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). He instructed me to give you this extra amount because I spoke to you in a harsh manner.”

Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then asked Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), “O Umar! Do you know who I am?” Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “No, I do not know.” Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “I am Zaid bin Sa’nah.”

Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) asked him, “Are you the same Zaid bin Sa’nah who is the learned scholar of the Jews?” He replied, “Yes, I am that very same person.” Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then asked him, “When you are such a learned person, then why did you behave in such a rude manner before Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)?”

Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) replied, “The reason is that I had seen all the signs of prophethood in him, besides two signs, and I felt that I would not be able to see these two signs without testing him. The first sign is that he is very tolerant and patient, and the second sign is that the more a person behaves badly towards him, the more he will tolerate and overlook the person’s bad behaviour and show him compassion. Now that I have also seen these two signs in him, I make you a witness that I am accepting Islam.”

Hazrat Zaid (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) thereafter returned to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and accepted Islam. He also gave half of his money to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to spend in charity on the ummah. Later on, he participated in many battles, until he was eventually martyred in the Battle of Tabook. (Majma’uz Zawaa’id #13898)

Lessons:

1. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was always tolerant, patient and forgiving. If people troubled him, he did not become angry and behave badly with them or speak to them rudely. However, if people were disobeying Allah Ta‘ala and committing sins, such as men not performing salaah in the musjid, or people troubling their parents, then Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) would become angry with them. In other words, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was never ever rude, and he would not become angry for himself, but would only become angry if people did not listen to Allah Ta‘ala.

2. Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had such great love for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) that he could not tolerate anyone being rude to him or speaking to him badly. We must also have love for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his Sunnah, and we must try our best to bring his Sunnah into our lives.

3. If we treat any person badly or we are rude to them or hurt them, then we must ask them to forgive us and we must also try to make them happy in some way. If we are able to, we can also give them a small gift.