Thawban (ra): The One Called “An-Nabawi” | The Firsts | Sahaba | Dr. Omar Suleiman

Thawban (ra): The One Called "An-Nabawi"

This is now a perfect transition to the companion that has the longest biography amongst those that were around the Prophet ﷺ, and someone who I really wanted to cover because once we get into the series of the signs of the Day of Judgment, his name is everywhere. His name is everywhere. And this is the man who is known as Thawban. If you read the hadiths about the Day of Judgment and the occurrence of the Day of Judgment and the signs of the end of time and prophecies, the name An-Thawban, it shows up multiple times. Over 120 narrations to Thawban.

And Imam Al-Dhahabi رحمه الله تعالى titles him, though he is Thawban, Mawla Rasulullah ﷺ, Thawban, also the freed slave of the Prophet ﷺ, Imam Al-Dhahabi رحمه الله has a beautiful title for him. He calls him Thawban al-Nabawi, Thawban al-Nabawi. You know Imam Al-Dhahabi sometimes he praises the companions in this way, by calling them a nickname. I want you to think about when you think of al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Masjid ﷺ, for him to call him Thawban al-Nabawi is a high praise for the attachment of Thawban to the Prophet ﷺ, who was not only going to be freed by the Prophet ﷺ, but whose entire existence becomes defined by his attachment to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. So his nisba, his description is al-Nabawi. You know if you did an English translation it would be the prophetic Thawban because Nabawi means prophetic, but he is the Thawban of the Prophet ﷺ.

Background and Name

His actual name is either Thawban ibn Bujaddad or Thawban ibn Jahdar, Thawban ibn Bujaddad or Thawban ibn Jahdar. But in the books of hadith he's only Thawban, an-Thawban, an-Thawban, an-Thawban. There's only one, رضي الله تعالى عنه. His kunya is Abu Abdullah or Abu Abdur-Rahman, even though he had no children.

So Thawban would leave no descendants to narrate from him, but instead he would be narrated from by a large group of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, as well as the tabi'een being one of the frequent narrators of hadith on behalf of the Prophet ﷺ. And he had many, many, many students around the Muslim world and the greatest of the tabi'een would become his students as well. Shaddad ibn Aws, Jubair ibn Nufair, Abu Idrees al-Khawlani, Abu Salama ibn Abdur-Rahman, Khalid ibn Ma'adan. These are all names that you would hear as the scholars of the tabi'een, they actually would become his students. So unlike a companion who merely narrated a few hadiths, Thawban actually would go on to have students, رضي الله تعالى عنه, of the most prominent caliber.

And by the way, this already shows you the shift that happened in the mindset of the Muslims as a result of the Prophet's ﷺ ba'ith, as a result of his coming. That a mawla, that someone who was a freed slave, was not just looked at as someone we have to be nice to, someone we have to feed the way that we eat ourselves, and someone we have to clothe with the same clothes, but actually could become a scholar and a leader and a governor of a people, instantly. This started with the sahabah of the Prophet ﷺ, it's not even something that took a generation in order for it to be enacted, in order for it to come into effect.

How He Came to the Prophet ﷺ

So Thawban رضي الله تعالى عنه, mawla Rasulullahi ﷺ, as we said, ibn Bujaddad or Jahdar Abu Abdillah, Abu Abdur-Rahman, narrates over 120 hadith. He was originally from Yemen, and he initially comes into the prophetic sphere in a very interesting way. He was actually a captive of battle, he was a captive of battle. So he was an aseer, he was a prisoner of war. Which battle? We actually don't know which one. We know his origins to be Yemeni, to be from Yemen in some way, but we don't actually know which battle, and some of the ulama really just try to place his timeline with some of the battles that took place around the middle of the Madani period. So it's not necessarily that he was captured or he was a war captive from Hejaz or from Yemen, no, not at all. Rather, it could have been one of the small expeditions that took place between the year five after hijrah until Fatah Mecca, where you had especially some of those battles that took place between Mecca and Ta'af and on the outskirts.

But this is what we know about him. He came in as a captive into the prophetic sphere. The Prophet ﷺ sees him after he comes into the sight of the Prophet ﷺ, the line of sight of the Prophet ﷺ as a prisoner of war. He's clearly not someone who's a leader of battle, nor is he someone who's particularly hostile to Islam, but he's a prisoner of war. And the Prophet ﷺ immediately goes up to him, and this is the prophetic basira, the vision of the Prophet ﷺ and seeing someone special. He says to him, listen, if you'd like to go back to your people, you're free to go. So no ransom, you're not enslaved, you're not remaining a prisoner in any way. If you'd like to remain back and go back with your people, then go ahead and do so. He said to him, if you'd like to stay, you are amongst us, the people of my family, the people of my household. Wait, what? I went from being a prisoner of war to being Ahlul Bayt, to being from the Prophet's household.

So Thawban saw the Prophet ﷺ and his eyes knew that he was looking at something special, عليه الصلاة والسلام, and the Prophet ﷺ saw the sincerity of Thawban رضي الله عنه. So he said to the Prophet ﷺ immediately, I will stay and I will be from the Prophet's family, I'll serve amongst the Prophet's family. Basically, he'll be a freed slave, but he'll be in the companionship of the Prophet ﷺ and he'll be in the khidmah of the family of the Prophet ﷺ. So he stayed with the Prophet ﷺ. So he stayed close to the Prophet ﷺ and he memorized much of the knowledge of the Prophet ﷺ. So he was not just a passive person that was doing chores, that was trying to help out or in the physical sense of khidmah. He was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ, he was asking the Prophet ﷺ questions and he was listening in on the halaqat of the Prophet ﷺ as well.

وَطَالَ عُمْرُهُ وَاشْتَهَرَ ذِكْرُهُ And he lived for a very long time and he became very famous amongst the sahabah and the tabi'een. So he's someone whose fame would grow and he would become notorious in the life of the companions and the tabi'een.

So he attains this honor of being someone who serves not just the Prophet ﷺ in close capacity but serves the family of the Prophet ﷺ and he's someone who wanted to live up to what the Prophet ﷺ saw in him of expectation. The goodness that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw in him immediately.

A Narration About the Prophet's Family

There's a famous narration as a hadith, the sanad is weak, the chain is weak, but it's in the books of seer, the books of biography, that well part of it is weak. When the Prophet ﷺ went on a journey and this is known about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Thawban says that the very last person he would see when he left and the very first person he would see when he came back was who? What do you all think? Aisha رضي الله عنها? No. Fatima رضي الله عنها, his daughter. The very last person the Prophet ﷺ would bid farewell to and the very first person he would greet when he came back was Fatima رضي الله عنها. He'd go to the house of Fatima right away and he'd pick up al-Hassan and al-Hussain رضي الله عنهما and he'd play with them and that was his sunnah رضي الله عنها when he came to travel.

So it was kind of known that this is what the Prophet ﷺ does. Last thing he does, he goes and he bids farewell to his daughter. First thing he does when he comes back, he goes back to his daughter. And Fatima رضي الله عنها would wait for the return of the Messenger ﷺ. So when she knew that the Prophet ﷺ was coming back on this particular journey, she hung up like a beautiful curtain on her door and she adorned al-Hassan and al-Hussain and she put on them like these silver bracelets on al-Hassan and al-Hussain, ready to greet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

And the Prophet ﷺ when he returned from that journey, in that particular instance, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ didn't go to her house. Could be for numerous reasons. He had something to tend to, عليه الصلاة والسلام. He was tired, صلى الله عليه وسلم. There are so many different things. He had to tend to something in his actual home, عليه الصلاة والسلام. There's so many different possibilities. But you can imagine Fatima رضي الله عنها, the relationship she has with her father, صلى الله عليه وسلم. She thought maybe I did something wrong. Let me undo what I did differently. So she took the curtain down and she took the bracelets off of al-Hassan and al-Hussain and she sent them to the house of the Prophet ﷺ and said, you know, I'm getting rid of these. If there was something that prevented you, oh my dear father, oh Messenger of Allah ﷺ from coming to my house, they're gone.

And so the Prophet ﷺ, he takes the bracelets and he says to Thawban رضي الله عنه, to take these to so-and-so's family, basically give them away. But, and then he explains to Thawban, he says, إن هؤلاء أهل بيتي. So these people are my family. So he says, أكره أن يأكلوا طيباتهم في حياتهم الدنيا. SubhanAllah, what a powerful, like, what a powerful prophetic parable. I would hate that my family exhausts all of their goodness in this life. Like, I don't want them, when Allah عز وجل says, أذهبتم طيباتكم في حياتكم الدنيا واستمتعتم بها, that you got everything good that you wanted in this life. So there's nothing, فاليوم لا تجزون, or there's, you will not have on the day of judgment, except for عذاب الهون, except for punishment. The Prophet ﷺ says, I definitely want that my family has a different standard.

But at the same time, the Prophet ﷺ doesn't want to hurt their feelings. So the Prophet ﷺ says to me instead, he says, buy Fatima a necklace, or asab, which is basically like a type of bone, like something that's more simple, right? And give for al-Hassan wa al-Hussain siwarayn, two bracelets, but from ivory, something that's simpler than those bracelets that they were initially wearing, so that they can still be happy. But at the same time, like, I want there to be a certain roughness that me and my family have. And this is one of the proofs of the Prophethood of the Messenger ﷺ, that at the height of his power ﷺ, did his standard of living change? Absolutely not. In fact, it got harsher as his power grew ﷺ because the Prophet ﷺ was looking towards al-Jannah and he wanted his family to have that same type of mindset towards al-Jannah.

Narrations from Thawban

However, Thawban also saw the generosity of the Prophet ﷺ towards his family. So if you start to look at the ahadith that Thawban narrates, it gives you, you know, an idea into the prophetic practice and what he saw. So he narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim)

That the best dinar that a man can spend is a dinar that he spends on his family, or a dinar that he spends on a horse, في سبيل الله, in the path of Allah, meaning in battle, or a dinar that he spends on his companions in the path of Allah, في سبيل الله, meaning in battle. So this is significant because Thawban sees the kindness of the Prophet ﷺ towards his family and he narrates some of the ahadith as well about the kindness of the Prophet ﷺ towards his family.

Some of the other narrations, he narrates being on a journey with the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet ﷺ slaughtering a goat and telling him, أصلح لنا لحم هذه الشاة To prepare this goat and the barakah of the preparation of that and the way that things would multiply in their quantity from the Prophet ﷺ. He narrates some of those miracles from the Prophet ﷺ in journey.

He narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, this is an authentic hadith by the way:

(Sahih Muslim)

That whoever promises me or guarantees me that they will not beg from the people, he said then I guarantee that person Jannah.

The Mindset of Self-Reliance

This was a mindset that the Prophet ﷺ wanted from the companions. Of course, some of their other narrations:

I took a pledge with the Prophet ﷺ that I would never ask from people anything.

So, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Yazid who narrates from Thauban, he says:

Said Thauban, who narrated the hadith from the Prophet ﷺ that I guarantee Jannah for someone that doesn't ask people, that doesn't beg anything from anyone. Said Thauban, if he was riding his camel or riding an animal and he dropped his whip, he would not ask someone to pick it up for him. He'd get down and he'd pick it up himself, trying to hold on to the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.

The Reward of Visiting the Sick

Thauban, رضي الله عنه, also used to visit people. When he visits people, he said, I heard the Prophet ﷺ say:

He said that the Prophet ﷺ said, Indeed, a Muslim remains in the greatest garden of Paradise, in the harvest of Paradise, so long as he visits his brother Muslim.

Knowledge from Close Companionship

I'll mention just a few more narrations and get back to a story, إن شاء الله تعالى. Abu ad-Darda, رضي الله عنه, Ma'dan ibn Talha says that Abu ad-Darda narrated to me in Syria that the Prophet ﷺ vomited, or when he vomited, he broke his fast. So I then went and I met Thauban, مولى رسول الله ﷺ, in the masjid in Damascus. And I asked him, Is it true that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ vomited, he would break his fast? Thauban, رضي الله عنه, said yes. And he said, and I used to be the one to pour the wudu' of the Prophet ﷺ. I would be with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I would be the one to actually pour his wudu' for him ﷺ.

Ma'dan ibn Talha, he also says that in the masjid of Damascus, I met Thauban, مولى رسول الله ﷺ, and I said to him, Show me a deed. Show me a deed that is going to benefit me or enter me into Jannah. So he was quiet. Thauban was quiet for a long time. Then he turned towards me and he said, I enjoin you to make long سجداه, prostrate.

That there is no man who makes one سجدة for Allah, except that Allah will raise him in degree by one, raise his status by one degree, and will remove one of his sins as a result. So I enjoin you to make plenty of سجود.

True Wealth

We also find that Thauban narrates some of the meanings of the آيات or أسباب النزول in the Quran, the reasons for revelation. And so Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه says that we were with the Prophet ﷺ when Allah revealed to him, Those who used to pile up gold and silver, those who hoard up gold and silver, and he says we were with the Prophet ﷺ in one of his journeys, and the companion said, This has been revealed about gold and silver, about gold and silver. If we knew which type of wealth was best, then we would stick to that type of wealth. Meaning is this like a condemnation of owning gold and silver? Is there a better type of currency, يا رسول الله? If we know, then we would do that.

And the Prophet ﷺ said, The best form of wealth is a tongue that keeps remembering Allah, and a heart that is grateful. And a righteous spouse that assists you in your faith, that helps you in your faith. That's wealth. Everything else is not wealth. So the Prophet ﷺ said to us, As we wondered about this آية, A tongue that remembers Allah, a heart that is grateful, and a spouse that supports you in your faith in Allah, that this is the best form of wealth, that this is what you should try to pile up on instead.

Famous Narrations from Thauban

I'm going to, إن شاء الله تعالى, just summarize this part by saying that some of the most famous hadiths that we know, for example, hadith of fasting six in Shawwal, which I hope, إن شاء الله تعالى, all of you are doing. It's Thauban's hadith. Saying اللهم أنت السلام after the prayer. Thauban's hadith. سجدة السهو. How you make two سجداه if you have forgetfulness. It's Thauban's hadith, رضي الله تعالى عنه. So many of the famous دعاء, رضيت بالله ربا, Thauban's hadith, many of the rulings on divorce. That's why we say he took علم from the Prophet ﷺ. Like he sat with the Prophet ﷺ and learned from him. Or from Thauban, رضي الله تعالى عنه.

Narrations About the End Times

But his most famous narrations are the narrations about the end of times. And they're very hard narrations. Because he was the one that was narrating almost like these warnings from the Prophet ﷺ about how bad it was going to get. About how bad it was going to get. And that's why in the new series, you're going to see his hadiths come up many times. Because he narrates many of them, and they're authentic hadith.

So for example, he narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

That once the sword is imposed on the ummah, it will not be removed until the day of judgment.

The famous hadith that the people will gather to consume you. Nations will gather to feast upon you, like a meal on a table. And the condition of الوهن. يا رسول الله, is it because we are little? No. You are many. You are many. But it's something other than that. Which is that Allah عز وجل would put in your heart الوهن. That condition. Which is حب الدنيا. To love the world too much and to hate death. This is also a narration from Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه.

The Hadith of Good Deeds Turned to Dust

And one more narration that I'll move on in this regard to his life with the Prophet ﷺ. As he continues to be in his presence ﷺ. When you hear the علماء say hadith Thauban. The hadith of Thauban. They're narrating this hadith usually. Where the Prophet ﷺ said:

The Prophet ﷺ said that, I know a people of my nation who will come on the day of judgment with good deeds like the mountain of Tihamah. And Allah will turn those mountains of good deeds into scattered particles of dust.

And he says, صِفْهُمْ لَنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يا رسول الله, who are these people? Describe them to us. So Thauban is asking the Prophet ﷺ, tell us who these people are. Tell us what their description is. So that we can. أَنْ لَا نَكُونَ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَا نَعْلَمْ So that we're not amongst them without knowing.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

They are your brothers. They are from your own. They worship just like you. They pray at night just like you. But they are a people who when they are alone with the boundaries of Allah, then they transgress those limits. Willingly, without any care whatsoever. So there's a recklessness, meaning there's a hypocrisy here. That they pray like you, they do what you have to do, what they have to do to be amongst you. But when they are alone with the things that Allah عز وجل prohibits, then they become reckless and transgression of those limits. سبحان الله, what a diagnosis of a modern condition, where it's so easy to be alone with the things Allah عز وجل prohibited. May Allah عز وجل protect us. اللهم آمين.

The Beautiful Love of Thauban

So he narrates all of these أحاديث. But I'm going to share the most beautiful thing about him. The most beautiful thing about him, رضي الله تعالى عنه. And that is his description. And there's a particular آية that came down in regards to Thauban, رضي الله تعالى عنه. And it's narrated about him:

This is a beautiful way to describe someone. Says he loved the Prophet ﷺ severely. And he was extremely impatient when he was away from him. Like he got agitated when he wasn't with the Prophet ﷺ. Like he was waiting for the Prophet ﷺ to come out every day. He wanted to attach himself to the Prophet ﷺ constantly. So he loved him severely. And he couldn't wait to see him every single day. Does this sound like a person like who comes into society as a slave and a captive? I'm waiting for him every day.

So one day he says that this hadith, the famous hadith is about Thauban. He says that the Prophet ﷺ came out to him one day and he noticed like his color changed. It's like pale and upset. And like he looked different. Something physically was wrong with him.

And you could tell that he was extremely sad. Prophet ﷺ said, what is it? What caused your color to change? Like, are you okay? Are you sick? What's going on? What happened?

So he says, يا رسول الله, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

I'm not hurt. There's no pain. He said, except that when I don't see you for some time, I start missing you. And he said that, I start to find myself getting anxious. حَتَّى أَلْقَاكَ And you know, I'm getting anxious. When am I going to see you, يا رسول الله?

Then he said, and this is so beautiful and powerful:

So then I thought to myself, what about the آخرة? What about the hereafter? سبحان الله And I started to get nervous. Like what if I don't see you there?

Like it's one thing I get nervous and I get agitated. Like I can't wait to see the Prophet ﷺ every single day. Then he said, I remembered, wait a minute, we're going to die. And then there's an آخرة. And he says, how am I going to be able to see you there? So he really got sad now because he says:

Like you're going to be raised with the Prophets. Even if I get to Jannah, I know that I'm going to be in a low part of Jannah. So you're going to be all the way up there with the Prophets and I'm going to be in a low part of Jannah. I can't wait to see you every day in دنيا. What am I going to do even if I get to Jannah? What's Jannah without the Prophet ﷺ? Think about how beautiful and pure that love is that he has for the Prophet ﷺ.

So he remembered that and he started to say that beyond that and if I don't get into Jannah, then that's even worse because لَا أَرَاكَ أَبَدًا I'll never see you. Like if I'm in Jannah, even if I make it to Jannah, I'm barely going to see you because you're going to be on a different level. And if I don't get to Jannah, then I'll never see you at all.

The Revelation of Divine Comfort

So Allah عز وجل revealed the آية:

that whoever follows or whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger ﷺ, whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger ﷺ, Allah revealed whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger ﷺ, They will be with those that Allah عز وجل is pleased with. From the نبيين, from the Prophets, والصديقين والشهداء From the truthful ones, from the martyrs, والصالحين And from the righteous, وحسن أولئك رفيقا And how beautiful a company or a companionship that is.

And so Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه is at the سبب النزول of that آية. He's at the reason of that revelation. Like you'll be with the Prophet ﷺ. أنت مع من أحببت You'll be with the one that you love.

And so this was Allah comforting Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه And all of those who love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that even after he dies, you will still be with him. You will still be with him.

So what do you think happened to Thauban when the Prophet ﷺ actually died?

The Condition of Bilal

He had the condition of Bilal رضي الله عنه. You know what the condition of Bilal is? He couldn't stay in Medina. So I can't take it anymore. Soon as the Prophet ﷺ died and they buried the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he spent a couple of days in Medina and then he left. Because everywhere he looked, he remembered the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And he could not handle the separation from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

So he went to Ash-Sham. He participated in the expeditions and he basically said to Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه Just keep me perpetually in jihad. I just want to be in battle. I don't want to be in Medina. I can't be around the Prophet ﷺ when he's... I mean, I can't be in this place when the Prophet ﷺ has passed away. SubhanAllah.

Thauban's Travels and Teaching

So he goes off into the expeditions to Ash-Sham. The first documentation of him is in Damascus. So he settled in Damascus for some time and that's where he gathered many students from the Tabi'een and taught much about the Prophet ﷺ.

Then secondly in Ramlan, Palestine. So he had a home in Palestine. He lived in Palestine for some time and he had students in Palestine who he narrated to. And there was a clear recognition of many of the narrations about As-Sa'a, the narrations of the hour in Palestine.

And then he took part in the conquest of Misr, of Egypt. So he fought in the army of Amr ibn al-As رضي الله عنه and he lived in Egypt for some time رضي الله تعالى عنه and he had a home in Egypt and he had students in Egypt.

And then finally he went to Al-Hims in Syria back towards Ash-Sham. And that is where he would spend the rest of his life was in Ash-Sham رضي الله تعالى عنه.

The Hadith of the Prophet's Fountain

And one of the most beautiful hadiths that he narrates is there's a story behind it. Abu Salam al-Habashi, he says that Amr ibn Abdulaziz رحمه الله who's one of the narrators from Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه. He says, he sent for me and I came to him upon a riding animal as a rakib and I had to bring him a lot of stuff swiftly. So Amr ibn Abdulaziz basically apologized to him for giving him like a heavy task. I'm sorry I made you do this and I'm sorry I made you carry all this and come to me rushing.

So he said, I'm sorry for the trouble that I caused you and Abu Salam responded and he said أجل والله يا أمير المؤمنين basically it's okay يا أمير المؤمنين and he said to him but there's a hadith that I'm going to narrate to you. So basically almost like as a gift for what I put you through I'm going to narrate a hadith to you and he said that this is a hadith that I heard from Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم concerning the hawd concerning the fountain of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that the Prophet ﷺ said:

The Prophet ﷺ said that my hawd, my fountain on the day of judgment is wider than the distance between Adn and Ayla which is Al-Quds and it's whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. Its cups are as many as the stars in the sky and whoever drinks from it will never feel thirsty again and the first people to come to drink from it will be the poor ones from the muhajireen with their dirty clothes and their disheveled hair who do not have the women open their doors for them and who people do not respond to meaning the rejected, the downtrodden will be the first people that I will bring to my hawd.

Thauban, Mawla Rasulullah ﷺ he lived that life and he's the one narrating from the Prophet ﷺ that the closest people to me on the day of judgment to my hawd are the people that are the most marginalized and put in society away from others. They're turned away from people's doors but they're not turned away from the Prophet ﷺ.

And then Umar bin Abdul Aziz he started to weep as he narrated the hadith because he realized that in his life Allah عز وجل opened the doors for him and he swore by Allah that he would abstain from all the types of riches in this world that would possibly disqualify him from that position with the Prophet ﷺ.

The Final Days of Thauban

So this story went longer than I anticipated it to go so I'll come to the end of Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه and then we'll stop بإذن الله تعالى. The time of his death which is also carries some of that honor of that dignity of being a narrator or being a free slave of the Prophet ﷺ.

Shuraih ibn Ubaid he narrates that Thauban became sick in Al-Hims in Syria and the governor of Homs at the time was a man by the name of Abdullah ibn Qurt. So Thauban lived a long life decades after the Prophet ﷺ and narrated much was very well known amongst the students of knowledge and narrating on behalf of the Prophet ﷺ but the governor did not visit him which was strange seen as strange because of the status of Thauban amongst the people and Allah knows best why that was. Again Thauban is not ibn anybody he's not of the nobles of the Arabs in terms of the Arab distinctions that were given at the time.

The Letter to the Governor

So one of the men visited Thauban and Thauban asked him while he was dying قال أتكتب do you write? do you know how to write? he said yes so he said أكتب he said I want you to write something write something for me pull out that piece of paper and write for me so he said address it to the Amir Abdullah ibn Qurt and he said من ثوبان مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم from Thauban the freed slave of the Prophet ﷺ أما بعد look at his words to proceed.

قال فإنه لو كان لموسى وعيسى مولاً بحضراتك لعدته if Jesus or Moses had a freed slave in your presence he would have went and visited him. He's not offended because of who he is he's saying I'm مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم the tree the lion that honored Safina right I serve the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and you're a Muslim if you knew that someone who served Moses or Jesus was in your presence you would have certainly went and visited that man.

So the man took the letter to the governor of Homs at the time وقام فزعاً so he got up quickly like shocked so they said you know what's wrong with him? did something happen? like did someone wage war? like did you just get a battle cry? and he said no, no, it's something else and then he went and he visited Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه and he went to his bedside and as he entered in Thauban رضي الله تعالى عنه said to him sit down next to me أجلس حتى أحدثك let me now give you some hadith from the Prophet ﷺ sit down and I'm going to narrate some hadith from the Prophet ﷺ to you.

The Final Hadith

So he said are you listening? he said I'm listening قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول:

that there are 70,000 people from this ummah that will enter into jannah without any form of punishment and without any form of questioning and with every ألف another سبعون ألف with every 1000 Allah will enter another 70,000 so basically he's giving him a hadith to strive for do better here's a standard right strive for the cream of the crop be the best version of yourself that you can may Allah سبحانه وتعالى make us amongst them.

And Thauban رضي الله عنه you can imagine wanted to be from those سبعين ألف one of those 70,000 and Allah عز وجل includes him from the greatest of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ in this regard and he passed away in the 54th year after hijra رضي الله تعالى عنه may Allah عز وجل unite him and unite us with our beloved one ﷺ اللهم أمين.

وجزاكم الله خيراً السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته