Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 116
sahih

It is narrated on the authority of Jabir that Tufail son of Amr al-Dausi came to the Messenger (ﷺ) and said:

Do you need strong, fortified protection? The tribe of Daus had a fort in the pre-Islamic days. The Messenger (ﷺ) declined this offer, since it (the privilege of protecting the Prophet) had already been reserved for the Ansar. When the Messenger (ﷺ) migrated to Medina, Tufail son of Amr also migrated to that place, and there also migrated along with him a man of his tribe. But the climate of Medina did not suit him, and he fell sick. He felt very uneasy. So he took hold of an iron head of an arrow and cut his finger-joints. The blood streamed forth from his hands, till he died. Tufail son of Amr saw him in a dream. His state was good and he saw him with his hands wrapped. He (Tufail) said to him: What treatment did your Allah accord to you? He replied. Allah granted me pardon for my migration to the Messenger (ﷺ): He (Tufail) again said: What is this that I see you wrapping up your hands? He replied: I was told (by Allah): We would not set right anything of yours which you damaged yourself. Tufail narrated this (dream) to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Upon this he prayed: O Allah I grant pardon even to his hands.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَإِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، جَمِيعًا عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ، - قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، - حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ حَجَّاجٍ الصَّوَّافِ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، أَنَّ الطُّفَيْلَ بْنَ عَمْرٍو الدَّوْسِيَّ، أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَلْ لَكَ فِي حِصْنٍ حَصِينٍ وَمَنَعَةٍ - قَالَ حِصْنٌ كَانَ لِدَوْسٍ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ - فَأَبَى ذَلِكَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِلَّذِي ذَخَرَ اللَّهُ لِلأَنْصَارِ فَلَمَّا هَاجَرَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ الطُّفَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو وَهَاجَرَ مَعَهُ رَجُلٌ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ فَاجْتَوَوُا الْمَدِينَةَ فَمَرِضَ فَجَزِعَ فَأَخَذَ مَشَاقِصَ لَهُ فَقَطَعَ بِهَا بَرَاجِمَهُ فَشَخَبَتْ يَدَاهُ حَتَّى مَاتَ فَرَآهُ الطُّفَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو فِي مَنَامِهِ فَرَآهُ وَهَيْئَتُهُ حَسَنَةٌ وَرَآهُ مُغَطِّيًا يَدَيْهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ مَا صَنَعَ بِكَ رَبُّكَ فَقَالَ غَفَرَ لِي بِهِجْرَتِي إِلَى نَبِيِّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ مَا لِي أَرَاكَ مُغَطِّيًا يَدَيْكَ قَالَ قِيلَ لِي لَنْ نُصْلِحَ مِنْكَ مَا أَفْسَدْتَ ‏.‏ فَقَصَّهَا الطُّفَيْلُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏

‏ اللَّهُمَّ وَلِيَدَيْهِ فَاغْفِرْ ‏

Isnad

8 transmitters
  1. 1Abu Bakr bin Abi ShaybaKufa · d. ~235 AH
  2. 2Ishaq bin Ibrahim bin Muhammadal-Basra · d. 253 AH
  3. 3Sulaiman bin Bilal al-TaymiMedina · d. 177 AH
  4. 4Abu Bakr bin Abi UvaisMedina · d. 202 AH
  5. 5Sulaiman bin Harbal-Basra,Makkah · d. ~224 AH
  6. 6Hammad bin ZaydBasra · d. 179 AH
  7. 7Muhammad bin Muslim bin TadrasMakkah · d. 126 AH
  8. 8Jabir ibn 'AbdullahMedinah/Baghdad/Egypt/Damascus · d. ~78 AH/687 CE
References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 1, Hadith 218
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 1, Hadith 211 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet ﷺ called people for Islam amid an environment full of disbelief and polytheism, which made embracing Islam and immigration to Medina difficult decisions. Immigration to Medina meant leaving one’s homeland, property, and family, a decision that led to a great reward. This hadith relates some aspects of At-Tufail ibn Amr Ad-Dousy’s life, one of the Prophet’s companions. He was one of his people’s notables. Upon embracing Islam, he traveled from Yemen, his homeland, to Mecca to offer to the Prophet ﷺ, before the Prophet's immigration to Medina, to immigrate to Dous tribe in Yemen to live in its strong fort which belonged to them in the pre-Islamic period. The Prophet ﷺ declined, for it was the role that Allah reserved for the Ansar to honor them with the Prophet’s immigration to them. Allah did not open the Prophet’s heart to immigrate to a place other than Medina or allow him to do so. Years later, At-Tufail immigrated in the seventh year with Abu Hurairah or in the eighth year with a man from his tribe to Medina and settled in it. They hated Medina’s climate which did not suit their bodies. As a result, At-Tufail’s friend fell sick and was so disturbed and impatient that he took his arrowheads and cut his knuckles. His hands were bleeding till he died. At-Tufail saw him in a dream in a good state while wrapping his hands. He asked him about Allah’s act with him. He confirmed that Allah had honored and forgiven him due to his immigration to the Prophet ﷺ, which refers to Allah’s great reward for immigration to the Prophet ﷺ. To answer At-Tufail’s question about the reason for covering his hands, the man replied that he was told that Allah would not fix his hands that he cut out of impatience. When At-Tufail related that to the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ asked Allah to also include his hands within His forgiveness and mercy. Finally, this hadith contains the following benefits: (1) It shows Allah’s great reward for immigration to His Prophet ﷺ, (2) It clarifies that Allah forgives whomever He wills among the believers, (3) It indicates the Prophet’s perfect compassion towards the believers, for he asked Allah to forgive the man’s sin he committed by his hands, (4) It confirms At-Tufail’s great virtue of his concern for the Prophet’s safety and his desire to be honored with protecting him in his homeland, (5) It confirms Ansar’s merit and prestige, (6) Muslims cannot consider the one who kills himself a disbeliever unless he believes that this act is permissible, and (7) It proves the punishment of some sinners..