Uday ibn Hatim

Son of Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn al-Hashraj ibn Imri' al-Qays ibn Adi ibn Akhzam ibn Abi Akhzam ibn Rabi'a ibn Jarwal ibn Thu'al ibn Amr ibn al-Ghawth ibn Tayyi (١). His mother was al-Nawar bint Thurmula ibn Thur'ul ibn Jusham ibn Abi Haritha ibn Judayy ibn Tadul ibn Buhtur (٢) ibn Atud ibn Unayn ibn Salaman ibn Thu'al. Hatim of Tayyi was among the most generous of the Arabs, and his kunya was Abu Saffana after his daughter, while Adi's kunya was Abu Tarif. Adi ibn Hatim had brothers from his mother who were nobles: Lam, Hulays, and Milhan. And Fasqas perished in the Jahiliyya, the Banu Rabbar ibn Ghutayf ibn Haritha ibn Sa'd ibn al-Hashraj ibn Imri' al-Qays ibn Adi ibn Akhzam ibn Abi Akhzam. Milhan witnessed Siffin alongside Mu'awiya, and Ali ibn Abi Talib appointed Lam ibn Rabbar as his deputy over al-Mada'in when he marched to Siffin.

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, he said: Abu Bakr ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Sabra narrated to me, on the authority of Abu Umayr al-Ta'i, who said: Among the account of Adi ibn Hatim and his acceptance of Islam is that he used to say: There was no man among the Arabs more intense in his hatred for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, than I, and I was a noble chief who had led my people. So I said: If I follow him I shall become a tail, and I was a Christian who considered that I was upon a religion, and I used to take from my people a quarter of the spoils (٣), so I was as a king, on account of what my people did for me and what the people of my religion did with me. So when I heard of Muhammad I hated him, and I said to a slave of mine who was an Arab and a shepherd of my camels: Prepare for me from my camels some docile, fat mounts and keep them near me; do not let them stray (٤) far from me, and if you hear that the army of Muhammad has trodden these lands, then inform me, for I see that his cavalry has trodden all the lands of the Arabs. And it is said: He had a spy in Medina, and when he heard of the movement of Ali ibn Abi Talib he became wary of him. He said: So I remained for as long as Allah willed.

Then one morning he came to me and said: O Adi, what you were going to do when Muhammad's cavalry overwhelmed you, do it now, for I have seen banners, and I asked about them and they said: These are the armies of Muhammad. I said: Bring my camels close to me. So he brought them near, and I carried off my family and my children, then I said: I shall join the people of my religion among the Christians in al-Sham. So I took the route of al-Jawshiyya (١) through the desert of Ihala (٢), and I left behind the daughter of Hatim (٣) among the encampment (٤).

So when we reached al-Sham I settled there, while the cavalry of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, those who were with Ali ibn Abi Talib when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, dispatched him to al-Fuls to demolish it and to launch raids, came opposing me. He set out with two hundred men and they raided the quarter of the household of Hatim at dawn, and they captured women, children, and sheep, but they did not capture any of the men, and they captured the daughter of Hatim among those they captured. So she was brought to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, among captives from Tayyi, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had been informed of my flight to al-Sham. The daughter of Hatim was placed in an enclosure by the gate of the mosque in which the women used to be confined, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by her, so she rose to him, and she was a beautiful, eloquent woman, and she said: O Messenger of Allah, the father has perished and the one who would intercede is absent, so be gracious to me, may Allah be gracious to you! He said: Who is the one who would intercede for you? She said: Adi ibn Hatim. He said: The one who fled from Allah and from His Messenger? She said: And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed on and left me, until the next day he passed by me and I said the same, and he said to me the same, until the day after that he passed by me and I had despaired, so I said nothing. Then a man behind him gestured to me to stand and speak to him, she said: So I stood and I said: O Messenger of Allah, the father has perished and the one who would intercede is absent, so be gracious to me, may Allah be gracious to you. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Indeed I have done so, but do not be hasty in departing until you find from your people someone you can trust who will convey you to your land, then inform me. She said: And I asked about the man who had gestured to me to speak to him, and it was said to me: He is Ali ibn Abi Talib, do you not know him? He is the one who took you captive. She said: By Allah, no sooner had I been taken captive than I cast the veil over my face, so I saw no one until I entered Medina. She said: And I stayed until a caravan from Quda'a arrived, she said: for I wished only to go to my brother in al-Sham. So I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and I said: There has come to me from my people someone I can trust who will convey me. She said: So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, clothed me and provided me a mount and gave me provisions, and I went out with them until I reached al-Sham (١).

Adi said: By Allah, while I was sitting among my family, I suddenly beheld a litter-borne woman (٢) coming down toward me (٣) heading for us, so I said: The daughter of Hatim! He said: And indeed it was she, he said: So when she came upon me she poured forth (٤) saying: The severer of kinship, the wrongdoer, you carried off your family and your children and left the remnant of your father. He said: I said: O my little sister, say nothing but good, for by Allah I have no excuse; I did what you mention. He said: Then she dismounted and stayed with me, and I said to her: What do you think regarding the affair of this man? And she was a woman of sound judgment. She said: By Allah, I think you should join him swiftly, for if the man is a prophet then precedence to him is best, and if he is a king then you will not be humiliated in the might of Yemen, and you are who you are and your father is your father; moreover I have been informed that the leading ones of his companions are your own people, the Aws and the Khazraj (٥).

He said: So I set out until I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in Medina, and I entered upon him while he was in his mosque, and I gave the greeting, and he said: Who is the man? I said: Adi ibn Hatim. He said: So he set off with me to his house, when a weak, elderly woman met him and stopped him, and he stood with her for a long while as she spoke to him about her need, so I said to myself: By Allah, this is no king; a king surely has a state other than this. Then he went on, and when he entered his house he took hold of a cushion of leather stuffed with palm fibers and presented it to me and said: Sit on this. I said: No, rather you sit upon it. So it fell into my heart that he was free of being a king. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sat upon it, and he saw on my neck an idol of gold, so he recited this verse {They took their rabbis and their monks as lords besides Allah} [Surat al-Tawba: 31] so I said: By Allah, they did not worship them. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Were they not such that when they made something lawful for them they deemed it lawful, and when they forbade something to them they deemed it forbidden?! He said: I said: Yes indeed, he said: Then that is their worship of them. Then he said: Now then, O Adi! Were you not a Rakusi (١)? He said: I said: Yes indeed. He said: And did you not used to take among your people a quarter of the spoils? He said: I said: Yes indeed, he said: But that was not lawful for you in your religion. He said: I said: Yes, by Allah, he said: So I knew that he was a sent prophet who knows what we are ignorant of (٢).

Then he said: Perhaps, O Adi ibn Hatim, what prevents you from entering into this religion is the need you see among them; but by Allah, wealth will soon overflow among them until no one can be found to take it, and perhaps what prevents you is only the multitude of their enemies and the fewness of their numbers that you see; but by Allah, it will soon be that one hears of a woman setting out from al-Qadisiyya on a camel until she visits this House, fearing nothing, and perhaps what prevents you from entering into it is that kingship and authority are in the hands of others than them; but by Allah, it will soon be that one hears that the white palaces of the land of Babil have been conquered for them. Adi said: So I accepted Islam, and Adi used to say: Two have come to pass and one remains: wealth will surely overflow until no one can be found to take it (٣).

He said: Hawdha ibn Khalifa informed us, he said: Awf ibn Muhammad ibn Sirin narrated to us, he said: Adi ibn Hatim said.

He said: And Abu Umar al-Hawdi informed us, he said: Yazid ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, he said: Muhammad ibn Sirin narrated to us, on the authority of Adi ibn Hatim.

He said: And Arim ibn al-Fadl informed us, he said: Hammad ibn Zayd narrated to us, he said: Ayyub and Hisham narrated to us, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Sirin, on the authority of Abu Ubayda ibn Hudhayfa, on the authority of a man, and Hisham said, on the authority of Abu Ubayda: He is the one who said: I used to ask people about the hadith of Adi ibn Hatim while he was beside me and I did not ask him, so I came to him and asked him.

He said: And Yazid ibn Harun informed us, he said: Hisham ibn Hassan informed us, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Sirin, on the authority of Abu Ubayda, on the authority of a man who said: I said to Adi ibn Hatim: There is a hadith that has reached me concerning you which I would love to hear from you; then they all agreed together upon the hadith of Adi ibn Hatim, and the account of some of them merged into the account of others.

Adi ibn Hatim said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent, I hated him as intensely as I had ever hated anything at all, so I set off and went out fleeing from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions, until I was at the farthest land of the Arabs adjoining the Romans. Yazid said in his account: So I came upon Caesar, but I hated my latter place just as I had hated my former place, he said: So I said to myself: A man of the Arabs says: I am the Messenger of Allah, and by Allah, were I to come to him and observe him and look, then if what he says is true I would follow him, and if it were otherwise it would do me no harm.

He said: So I returned, retracing my steps as I had begun, and I came back to Medina, and when I entered it the people looked out at me and said: Adi ibn Hatim has come, he said: until I reached the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions - either he said: in the mosque, or he said: by the mosque - he said: The Messenger of Allah said to me: O Adi ibn Hatim, accept Islam and you will be safe, he said: I said: Indeed I follow a religion. And some of them said: Indeed I am upon a religion. He said: Then he said: O Adi ibn Hatim, accept Islam and you will be safe, he said: I said: Indeed I follow a religion, he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: O Adi ibn Hatim, accept Islam and you will be safe, he said: I said: Indeed I follow a religion, he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I am more knowing of your religion than you are. He said: I said: You are more knowing of my religion than I am - twice or three times? He said: I am more knowing of your religion than you are.

Then he said: Are you not the head of your people? He said: I said: Yes indeed, he said: Are you not a Rakusi? - he said: meaning a sect of Christianity - he said: I said: Yes indeed, he said: Do you not take a quarter of the spoils? He said: I said: Yes indeed, he said: But that is not lawful for you in your religion. He said: And he spoke the truth, by Allah. So I was humbled at that and abased myself. He said: Then he said: O Adi ibn Hatim, accept Islam and you will be safe, for I think - or I see, or as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said - that what prevents you from accepting Islam is only the destitution you see among those around me, and that you see the people are against us as one band (١). And Yazid said in his account: And the Arabs have shot at them, and you say: Only the weak among the people and those who have no power have followed him; have you seen al-Hira? He said: I said: I have not seen it, though I know its location, he said: The litter-borne woman from the litters of the Muslims will soon set out from it without any protection, until she circumambulates the House, and the treasures of Kisra ibn Hurmuz will surely be opened for us! He said: I said: Kisra ibn Hurmuz? He said: Kisra ibn Hurmuz, he said: I said: Kisra ibn Hurmuz? He said: Kisra ibn Hurmuz, he said: I said: Kisra ibn Hurmuz? Three times. And wealth will surely overflow until a man will be concerned to find someone who will accept from him his wealth as charity but will not find him. Adi ibn Hatim said: I have seen two: I myself traveled with the litter-borne woman from al-Hira to the Ancient House without any protection, meaning that he performed the Hajj with his family, he said: And I was among the first cavalry that raided al-Mada'in, he said: And I swear by Allah that the third will surely come just as these two have come; it is indeed the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, which he narrated to me (١).

He said: Sulayman Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi narrated to us, he said: Shu'ba informed us, on the authority of Simak ibn Harb, who said: I heard Murayy (٢) ibn Qatari narrate that he heard Adi ibn Hatim say: I said: O Messenger of Allah, my father used to maintain ties of kinship, and he mentioned noble traits of character, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Your father intended a thing and he attained it.

He said: Abdullah ibn Ja'far informed us, he said: Isa ibn Yunus narrated to us, on the authority of Mujalid, on the authority of Amir, on the authority of Adi ibn Hatim, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, taught me the fasting, and he said: When you fast, then fast thirty days unless you see the crescent before that.

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, he said: Mansur ibn Abi al-Aswad narrated to me, on the authority of Sa'id ibn Ubayd al-Ta'i, who said: Adi ibn Hatim had fled from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to al-Sham, then he came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was a Christian, and he accepted Islam.

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed me, he said: Abu Marwan narrated to me, on the authority of Aban ibn Salih, on the authority of Amir ibn Sa'd, on the authority of Adi ibn Hatim, that he came while on his neck there was an idol of gold, so the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: {They took their rabbis and their monks as lords besides Allah} [Surat al-Tawba: 31]. So Adi said: By Allah, they did not worship them. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Were they not such that when they made something lawful for them they deemed it lawful, and when they forbade something to them they deemed it forbidden? So Adi said: Yes indeed. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Then that is their worship of them.

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, he said: Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Aziz narrated to me, on the authority of al-Zuhri, who said: That day Adi ibn Hatim entered upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while beneath the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was a cushion of leather stuffed with palm fibers, so the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, cast it down, and said: Sit (١).

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, he said: Utba ibn Jubayra narrated to me, on the authority of al-Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Amr ibn Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, who said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, returned from the Hajj in the year ten, he came to Medina and stayed until he saw the crescent of Muharram of the year eleven, then he dispatched the collectors of charity among the Arabs, and he dispatched Adi ibn Hatim over Asad and Tayyi (٢).

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, he said: Mansur ibn Abi al-Aswad narrated to me, on the authority of Isma'il ibn Abi Khalid, on the authority of al-Sha'bi, who said: When the Apostasy occurred, the people said to Adi ibn Hatim: Hold on to the charity that is in your hands, for if you do so you will lead the two allied tribes, so he said: I would never do so until I deliver it to Abu Bakr ibn Abi Quhafa. So he came with it to Abu Bakr until he handed it over to him.

Muhammad ibn Umar said, then the account returns to the first, he said: Adi ibn Hatim was of the most resolute judgment and the most excellent desire for Islam, a desire greater than the desire of one who had distributed the charity among his people, saying: Do not be hasty, for if someone arises to undertake this affair he will find you while you have not distributed the charity, and if it is as you suppose, then by my life your wealth is in your own hands and no one will overcome you for it. So he silenced them by that, and he ordered his son to send out the camels of charity to pasture and to bring them back in the evening, and he came with them one night at the time of the evening meal, so he beat him and said: Why did you not hurry with them? Then he brought them back the second night somewhat later than that, so he began to beat him while they spoke to him on the boy's behalf. So when it was the third day he said: O my son, when you have sent them out to pasture, then shout behind them and head with them toward Medina, and if anyone of your people or others meets you then say: I want the pasture; what is around us has become too scant for us. So when the time came at which the boy used to return, the boy did not come, and his father began to expect him and to say to his companions: How strange is the detaining of my son! And some of them said: Shall we go out, O Abu Tarif, and follow him (١)? He said: No, by Allah. So when he rose in the morning he prepared to set out early, and his people said: Shall we go out with you? He said: Let none of you go out with me, for if you saw him you would come between me and beating him, since he has disobeyed my command as you see. I say to him: Take them out to pasture for a journey, and one night he brings them at nightfall and one night he strays far with them (٢) (٣).

So he went out on a camel of his swiftly until he caught up with his son, then he drove the camels down toward Medina, and when he was at the valley of Qanat the cavalry of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq met him, commanded by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and it is said Muhammad ibn Maslama - and that is more firmly established with us. So when they looked at him they hastened toward him and seized him and what was with him, and they said to him: Where are the horsemen who were with you? So he said: No one is with me, so they said: Yes indeed, horsemen were with you (٤), and when they saw us they hid themselves. So Ibn Mas'ud said - or Muhammad ibn Maslama: Leave him be, for he has not lied nor have you lied; the helpers of Allah were with him and he did not see them. So it was the first charity that was brought to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq; he came to him with three hundred (٥) camels (٦).

He said: Yazid ibn Harun informed us, he said: Hisham ibn Hassan informed us, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Sirin, who said: When the people apostatized in the time of Abu Bakr, Adi ibn Hatim gathered his people and said to them: Will you not gather the charity of your wealth so that I may bring it to this man, for if he prevails you will have taken your share of it, and if he does not prevail then I am a guarantor for it and will return it to you? So they did, and he brought it to Abu Bakr.

He said: Yazid ibn Harun and Ya'la ibn Ubayd informed us, they said: Isma'il ibn Abi Khalid narrated to us, on the authority of Amir al-Sha'bi, who said: When it was the time of Umar, Adi ibn Hatim came to Umar, and when he entered upon him, it was as though he perceived something from him, meaning coldness, so he said: O Commander of the Believers, do you not know me? He said: Yes, by Allah, I know you, may Allah honor you with the best of recognition; I know you, by Allah, you accepted Islam when they disbelieved, and you knew the truth when they denied it, and you were faithful when they betrayed, and you came forward when they turned back. He said: Enough for me, O Commander of the Believers, enough for me, O Commander of the Believers, enough (١).

The account returns to the account of Muhammad ibn Umar, he said: When Adi ibn Hatim accepted Islam he wished to return to his land, so the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent to him excusing himself (٢) for lack of provisions and saying: There is not in the household of Muhammad a handful (٣) of food this morning, but you will return and it will be good. So when he came to Abu Bakr, he gave him thirty prescribed shares. So Adi said: O successor of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, you are today more in need of them, and I am free of need of them. So Abu Bakr said: Take them, O man, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, excusing himself to you and saying: But you will return and it will be good; so you have returned and Allah has brought the good, and I am carrying out what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, promised during his lifetime. So he carried it out. So Adi said: I take them now, for they are a gift from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so Abu Bakr said: Then so it is (٤).

He said: And Adi ibn Hatim marched with Khalid ibn al-Walid against the people of the Apostasy, and there had joined Adi from Tayyi a thousand men, while Jadila held back (٥) from Islam, and they are a clan of Tayyi, while Adi was of al-Ghawth. So when Jadila resolved to apostatize and encamped to one side, Muknif ibn Zayd al-Khayl al-Ta'i came to them, and said: Do you wish to be a disgrace (٦) upon your people, that not a single man of Tayyi has gone back! And here is Abu Tarif with a thousand of Tayyi! So he broke their resolve (٧).

So when he encamped at Buzakha he said to Adi: O Abu Tarif, will you not march (١) against Jadila? So he said: O Abu Sulayman, do not do it; is it more beloved to you that I fight with you with two hands or with one hand? So Khalid said: Rather with two hands. So Adi said: Then Jadila is one of my two hands. So Khalid held back from them, and Adi came to them and called them to Islam, and they accepted Islam, so he marched with them to Khalid, and when Khalid saw them he was alarmed and supposed that they had come for battle, so he cried out to his companions to take up arms, but it was said to him: It is only Jadila that has come to fight alongside you. So when they came they alighted to one side, and Khalid came to them and welcomed them, and they excused themselves to him for their holding aloof, and they said: We are at your disposal wherever you wish. So he rewarded them with good, and not a single man of Tayyi apostatized (٢).

So Khalid marched on his objective. Adi ibn Hatim said: Make my people the vanguard of your companions. He said: O Abu Tarif, the matter has drawn near and the fighting has become entangled (٣), and I fear that if your people advance and the fighting becomes entangled with them (٤) they will be routed, and so those with us will be routed; but rather let me put forward a people who are steadfast, who have precedents and firmness. So Adi said: The judgment is the judgment you have seen. So he put the Muhajirun and the Ansar forward (٥).

He said: So when Tulayha refused to acknowledge what he was called to, Khalid withdrew to his camp and appointed over his watch that night Adi ibn Hatim and Muknif ibn Zayd al-Khayl, and the two of them had sincere intention and religion. So they kept watch through the night among a company of the Muslims, and when it was the time before dawn Khalid arose and arrayed his companions, and placed his banners in their positions; he handed his greatest banner to Zayd ibn al-Khattab, who advanced with it, and Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas advanced with the banner of the Ansar, and Tayyi requested a banner to be tied for them, so Khalid tied a banner and handed it to Adi ibn Hatim and made a right wing and a left wing.

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, he said: Usama ibn Zayd ibn Aslam narrated to me, on the authority of Nafi the client of Banu Usayd, on the authority of Nabil (٦) the client of Uthman ibn Affan, who was his chamberlain, who said: Adi ibn Hatim came to the door of Uthman while I was upon it, and I turned him away from it. So when Uthman came out for the noon prayer Adi appeared before him, and when Uthman saw him he welcomed him and was cordial to him, so Adi said: I came to your door but your doorkeeper had distressed (١) the people and barred me from you, so Uthman turned to me and rebuked me and said: Do not bar him, and make him the first whom you admit, for by my life we surely know his right and his merit, and the opinion of the two successors concerning him and his people; for he came to us with the charity driving it while the lands were ablaze as though they were a flame of fire from the people of the Apostasy. So the Muslims praised him for what they saw of him (٢).

He said: Muhammad ibn Umar informed us, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Ja'far, on the authority of Imran ibn Mannah, who said: Adi ibn Hatim was present at the House on the day Uthman was killed, and when the people came out saying: Uthman has been killed, Uthman has been killed, Adi said: Not even a yearling she-goat will bleat over his killing (٣). So when it was the Day of the Camel his eye was put out, and his son Muhammad was killed alongside Ali, and his other son was killed alongside the Kharijites, so it was said to him: O Abu Tarif, has a yearling she-goat bleated over the killing of Uthman? So he said: Yes indeed, by your Lord, and the greatest he-goat too (٤).

Muhammad ibn Umar and Hisham ibn Muhammad al-Sa'ib al-Kalbi said: Adi ibn Hatim witnessed al-Qadisiyya, the Day of Mihran, Qiss al-Natif, al-Nukhayla, and with him was the banner, and he witnessed the Camel alongside Ali ibn Abi Talib, and his eye was put out on that day, and his son was killed, and he witnessed Siffin and al-Nahrawan alongside Ali. And he died in the time of al-Mukhtar at al-Kufa, being one hundred and twenty years of age.

He said: al-Fadl ibn Dukayn informed us, he said: Isra'il narrated to us, on the authority of Abu Ishaq, who said: I saw Adi ibn Hatim, a tall man, one-eyed, of handsome face, praying in the front of the mosque, prostrating upon a wall whose height from the ground was a cubit (٥).

He said: Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Asadi informed us, he said: Mis'ar narrated to us, on the authority of Sa'id ibn Shayban, who said: One who saw Adi ibn Hatim crumbling bread for the ants informed me. And one who heard Sa'id ibn Shayban mention it informed me, on the authority of Abu Sawra al-Sinbisi, on the authority of Adi, and he added in it: They are neighbors and they have a right (١).