In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid Al-Azimi, may Allah preserve him.
The Story of the Sale of the Camel of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him.
This story clearly illustrates
The mercy, humility, and gentleness of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Toward his noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
This story was narrated by the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) in their two Sahihs,
By Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, and by others.
Imam Ahmad cited it in his Musnad in a lengthy and detailed manner.
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with a good (hasan) chain of transmission,
On the authority of Jabir Ibn 'Abdillah, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said:
"I went out with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
On the expedition of Dhat al-Riqa',
Riding an exhausted camel of mine.
When the Messenger of Allah turned back,
The other travel groups began pressing ahead,
While I began lagging behind,
Until the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, caught up with me.
He asked,
'What is the matter with you, O Jabir?'
He said:
I replied, 'O Messenger of Allah,
This camel of mine is slowing me down.'
He said,
'Make it kneel.'
And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, made his camel kneel as well.
Then he said,
'Hand me this stick from your hands,'
Or he said,
'Cut a stick for me from a tree.'
He said:
So I did.
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, took it
And poked the camel with it several times.
Then he said,
'Mount!'
So I mounted,
And by the One Who sent him with the truth, it set out
Keeping pace stride for stride with his she-camel,
That is, matching her in pace and walking right beside her.
He said:
And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, conversed with me,
Saying,
'Will you sell me this camel of yours, O Jabir?'
I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,
Rather, I gift it to you!'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
'No,
But sell it to me.'
He said:
I said,
'Name a price for me then.'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
'I will take it for one dirham.'
I said, 'No,
In that case, the Messenger of Allah would be shortchanging me!'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said,
'Then for two dirhams.'
I said, 'No.'
He said: And the Messenger of Allah kept raising the price for me until it reached an ounce of silver (uqiyyah).
I said, 'I agree.'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked, 'Do you agree?'
I said, 'Yes.'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, 'Then it is a deal.'
I said, 'It is yours.'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, 'I have taken it.' Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"Then he said to me, 'O Jabir, have you married yet?' I said, 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' The Messenger of
Allah, peace be upon him, asked, 'A previously married woman or a virgin?' I replied, 'A previously married woman.' The Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, said, 'Why not a young maiden with whom you could play and who could play with you?' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah,
my father was killed on the day of Uhud and left behind seven daughters, so I married a mature woman who could gather
them together and take care of them.' The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, 'You have made the right choice, if Allah wills.'
He said, 'When we reach Sirar, we will order a camel to be slaughtered and we shall stay there for that day
of ours, and she will hear of our arrival and shake out her cushions.' I said, 'By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we do not have
any cushions!' The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, 'You will soon have them, so when you arrive,
be intimate with your wife.' Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said: When we arrived at Sirar,
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered a camel to be slaughtered, and we stayed there for that day.
When evening fell, the Messenger of Allah entered the town and we entered too. He said: So I informed
my wife of the conversation and what the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had said to me. She said, 'Proceed then, and we hear and obey!'
He said: The next morning, I took the halter of the camel, brought it along, and made it kneel
at the door of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Then I sat down in
the mosque near him. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came out and saw
the camel, so he asked, 'What is this?' They said, 'O Messenger of Allah, this is a camel brought by Jabir.' The Messenger
of Allah, peace be upon him, asked, 'Where is Jabir?' So I was called for him, and the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, said, 'Come, my nephew! Take the halter of your camel, for it is yours!' Then he called
Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, 'Go with Jabir and give him an ounce of silver.' So I went with him,
and he gave me an ounce and added a little extra. Jabir said: By Allah, its wealth kept growing
with us, and we continued to see its blessing in our home until it was lost yesterday among what the people lost—meaning,
on the Day of al-Harrah. In another narration in the Musnad with an authentic chain, Jabir, may Allah be pleased
with him, said: When I arrived in Medina, I brought it to him, and the Messenger of Allah said,
'O Bilal, weigh out an ounce for him and add a qirat.' I said, 'This is a qirat that the Messenger of
Allah gave me as an extra, and it will never part from me until I die.' So I placed it in a pouch,
and it remained with me until the people of the Levant came on the Day of al-Harrah and took it among what they plundered.
Ibn Majah narrated in his Sunan with an authentic chain on the authority of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
'I was with the Prophet, peace be upon him, on an expedition, and he said to me, "Will you sell us this mount of yours
for a dinar, and may Allah forgive you?" And he kept adding one dinar after another,
saying along with every dinar, "And may Allah forgive you," until it reached twenty dinars.'
Imam al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban, and al-Hakim narrated on the authority of Jabir Ibn 'Abdillah, may Allah be pleased
with both of them, who said: 'The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sought forgiveness for me on the Night of
the Camel twenty-five times.' The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography.
Though longing among people for one another may stretch long, longing for you knows no bound;
May Allah bestow blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised and lips move in remembrance of the Ever-Living.