Musnad Ahmad 1404

Translation

✧ An old man from Banu Tamim sat with me in the mosque of Basra, and he had a scroll in his hand. This was in the time of al-Hajjaj. He said to me: O 'Abd Allah, do you think this document will be of any use to me with this ruler? I asked: What is this document? He said: It is a letter from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ which he wrote for us, that we should not be transgressed against in our alms. I said: No, by Allah, I do not think it will help you at all. How did this document come about? He said: I came to Madinah with my father when I was a young boy, with camels of ours that we were selling. My father was a friend of Talhah b. 'Ubayd Allah al-Taymi, so we stayed with him. My father said to him: Come out with me and sell these camels of mine. He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has forbidden a settled person from selling on behalf of a bedouin, but I will go out with you and sit while you present your camels. When I am satisfied with a man's trustworthiness and honesty among those who bargain with you, I will tell you to sell to him. So we went out to the market and stood with our backs [to the camels], and Talhah sat nearby. Men bargained with us until a man offered us what we were pleased with. My father said to him: Should I sell to him? He said: Yes, I am satisfied with his trustworthiness for you, so sell to him. So we sold to him. When we had received our money and finished our business, my father said to Talhah: Get for us from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a letter that we should not be transgressed against in our alms. He said: This is for you and for every Muslim. My father said: Even so, I would like to have a letter from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So he went out and brought us to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said: O Messenger of Allah, this man is from the desert people and a friend of ours. He would like you to write him a letter that he should not be transgressed against in his alms. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: This is for him and for every Muslim. He said: O Messenger of Allah, he would like to have a letter from you confirming that. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wrote this letter for us.

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