Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 1, Hadith 2
It was narrated that ‘Ali said: Abu Bakr bought a saddle from ‘Azib for thirteen dirhams, then Abu Bakr said to ‘Azib. Tell al-Bara to carry it to my house. He said: No, not until you tell us what happened when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out and you were with him. Abu Bakr said: We started our journey at the beginning of the night and we hastened for one day and one night, until it was midday. I looked into the distance to see whether there was anywhere to seek shade, and I saw a rock, so I went to it and it had a little shade. I smoothed the ground for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and spread a garment of camel hair for him, and said: Lie down and rest, O Messenger of Allah. So he lay down, and I went out to see if I could spot anyone looking for us. Then I saw a shepherd and I said: Who do you belong to, O boy? He said: To a man of Quraish. He mentioned his name and I recognised it. I said: Is there any milk in your sheep? He said: Yes | said: Will you milk some for me? He said: Yes. I told him to do that, so he caught a sheep, then I told him to brush the dust from its teat, then to brush the dust off his hands. I had a small vessel with me on the neck of which was a cloth. He milked a little bit of milk for me and I poured it into the vessel until it cooled down. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When I reached him, he had already woken up. I said: Drink, O Messenger of Allah. He drank until I was pleased, then I said: Is it time to move on? So we moved on and the people were coming after us but none of them caught up with us except Suraqah bin Malik bin Ju’shum, who was riding a horse of his, I said: O Messenger of Allah, someone has caught up with us. He said: `Do not be afraid, for Allah is with us.` When he got close to us, and there was no more between us and him then the length of a spear or two or three spears, I said: O Messenger of Allah, this pursuer has caught up with us, and I wept. He said: `Why are you weeping?` I said: I am not weeping for myself; rather I am weeping for you. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed against him . Isra’eel said: al-Bara’ was one of the Ansar from Banu Harithah.
حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مِسْعَرٌ، وَسُفْيَانُ، عَنْ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ الثَّقَفِيِّ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ الْوَالِبِيِّ، عَنْ أَسْمَاءَ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ الْفَزَارِيِّ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ كُنْتُ إِذَا سَمِعْتُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدِيثًا نَفَعَنِي اللَّهُ بِمَا شَاءَ مِنْهُ وَإِذَا حَدَّثَنِي عَنْهُ غَيْرِي اسْتَحْلَفْتُهُ فَإِذَا حَلَفَ لِي صَدَّقْتُهُ وَإِنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حَدَّثَنِي وَصَدَقَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يُذْنِبُ ذَنْبًا فَيَتَوَضَّأُ فَيُحْسِنُ الْوُضُوءَ قَالَ مِسْعَرٌ وَيُصَلِّي وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ ثُمَّ يُصَلِّي رَكْعَتَيْنِ فَيَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا غَفَرَ لَهُ.
Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Book 1, Hadith 2
The above hadith is from the Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal collection of hadiths. The Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal is a foundational work in Islamic hadith literature, highly valued for its comprehensive nature. Its most defining feature is its organizational method; it categorizes hadiths based on the companion of the Prophet who first reported them, with a dedicated section for each. This structure provides a unique window into the practices and sayings of the Prophet as witnessed and related by his diverse companions. Although the Musnad is held in extremely high regard and contains many authentic narrations, it is important to note that, due to its encyclopedic aim of collecting available reports, it also contains some hadiths with weaker chains of transmission that are subject to scholarly scrutiny.
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For more Hadith in Book 1: Musnad Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra)