Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 63
sahih

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

While we were sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said: "Who amongst you is Muhammad?" At that time the Prophet (ﷺ) was sitting amongst us (his companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, "This white man reclining on his arm." The man then addressed him, "O Son of `Abdul Muttalib." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I am here to answer your questions." The man said to the Prophet, "I want to ask you something and will be hard in questioning. So do not get angry." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Ask whatever you want." The man said, "I ask you by your Lord, and the Lord of those who were before you, has Allah sent you as an Messenger to all the mankind?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "By Allah, yes." The man further said, "I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you to offer five prayers in a day and night (24 hours).? He replied, "By Allah, Yes." The man further said, "I ask you by Allah! Has Allah ordered you to observe fasts during this month of the year (i.e. Ramadan)?" He replied, "By Allah, Yes." The man further said, "I ask you by Allah. Has Allah ordered you to take Zakat (obligatory charity) from our rich people and distribute it amongst our poor people?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "By Allah, yes." Thereupon that man said, "I have believed in all that with which you have been sent, and I have been sent by my people as a messenger, and I am Dimam bin Tha`laba from the brothers of Bani Sa`d bin Bakr."

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنْ سَعِيدٍ ـ هُوَ الْمَقْبُرِيُّ ـ عَنْ شَرِيكِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي نَمِرٍ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ، يَقُولُ بَيْنَمَا نَحْنُ جُلُوسٌ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الْمَسْجِدِ، دَخَلَ رَجُلٌ عَلَى جَمَلٍ فَأَنَاخَهُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ، ثُمَّ عَقَلَهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَيُّكُمْ مُحَمَّدٌ وَالنَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مُتَّكِئٌ بَيْنَ ظَهْرَانَيْهِمْ‏.‏ فَقُلْنَا هَذَا الرَّجُلُ الأَبْيَضُ الْمُتَّكِئُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ ابْنَ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ قَدْ أَجَبْتُكَ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنِّي سَائِلُكَ فَمُشَدِّدٌ عَلَيْكَ فِي الْمَسْأَلَةِ فَلاَ تَجِدْ عَلَىَّ فِي نَفْسِكَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ سَلْ عَمَّا بَدَا لَكَ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَقَالَ أَسْأَلُكَ بِرَبِّكَ وَرَبِّ مَنْ قَبْلَكَ، آللَّهُ أَرْسَلَكَ إِلَى النَّاسِ كُلِّهِمْ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ نَعَمْ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ أَنْشُدُكَ بِاللَّهِ، آللَّهُ أَمَرَكَ أَنْ نُصَلِّيَ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسَ فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ قَالَ ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ نَعَمْ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ أَنْشُدُكَ بِاللَّهِ، آللَّهُ أَمَرَكَ أَنْ نَصُومَ هَذَا الشَّهْرَ مِنَ السَّنَةِ قَالَ ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ نَعَمْ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ أَنْشُدُكَ بِاللَّهِ، آللَّهُ أَمَرَكَ أَنْ تَأْخُذَ هَذِهِ الصَّدَقَةَ مِنْ أَغْنِيَائِنَا فَتَقْسِمَهَا عَلَى فُقَرَائِنَا فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ نَعَمْ ‏"‏‏.‏ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ آمَنْتُ بِمَا جِئْتَ بِهِ، وَأَنَا رَسُولُ مَنْ وَرَائِي مِنْ قَوْمِي، وَأَنَا ضِمَامُ بْنُ ثَعْلَبَةَ أَخُو بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ‏.‏ رَوَاهُ مُوسَى وَعَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْحَمِيدِ عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ أَنَسٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِهَذَا‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 3, Hadith 5
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 1, Book 3, Hadith 63 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was the most humble of people. People would come to him and ask him about the teachings of Islam, and he would teach them and answer their questions as appropriate to their circumstances, until the matter became clear in their minds. In this hadith, Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Dimam ibn Tha‘labah (may Allah be pleased with him) – who was the chief of his people, Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr – came to Madinah to meet the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and ask him about the pillars of Islam so that he could teach his people after he went back. He came in and found the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and his companions in the mosque. Dimam was riding a camel, and he made it kneel on the ground in the mosque, then he tied it so that it would not move. Then he said to them: Which of you is Muhammad? The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was reclining on a mat of his in the midst of the people, because he was so humble. The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) told Dimam that the fair-skinned man who was reclining on the mat was the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so Dimam called out to him: O son of ‘Abdul Muttalib, naming him after his grandfather. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: “I hear you”; in other words, ask me your questions so that I can answer you. He only answered in this abrupt manner because the man had not paid any attention to what was required of him, which was to show respect and be well-mannered, when he brought his camel into the mosque and asked “Which of you is Muhammad?”, and addressed him as son of ‘Abdul Muttalib. Then Dimam said: I am going to ask you some questions, and may seem harsh, so do not get upset or be angry with me. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Ask whatever you want”, meaning ask whatever comes to your mind. Dimam said: I ask you by your Lord and the Lord of those who came before you, has He sent you to all people? The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) replied: “By Allah, yes”, Allah has indeed sent me as a bringer of glad tidings and a warner to all people. Then Dimam adjured the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) by Allah (may He be glorified in exalted), reminding him of Allah, to answer him: has Allah enjoined upon His slaves to offer the obligatory prayers, fast Ramadan, and to collect the obligatory zakah, taking this charity from the rich and giving it to the poor? The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) answered by saying, “By Allah, yes.” At this point, Dimam hastened to declare his belief and become a Muslim. In fact, he told the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he would call all his people to Islam. Then he introduced himself to the Prophet, telling him that he was Dimam ibn Tha‘labah, a man of Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr, among whom the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had been breast-fed. In this hadith, we see that a man may be identified by his physical characteristics, such as whether he is fair-skinned or dark-skinned, tall or short, because the Sahabah said: We said: He is this fair-skinned man. It also highlights the humility of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and how he sat among his companions, and none of them stood whilst he was sitting, as the non-Arabs used to do unnecessarily. The hadith also indicates that a person may give an apology and seek forgiveness before speaking, so that what he says will be well received by the one to whom he is speaking..
Related hadiths3
Compare isnād across 3 related chains →