The account about Sa‘d Al-Aswad As-Sulami
Fatwa No: 266365

Question

Assalam alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu! There is a very famous story circulating on Internet and many speakers use it in their speeches. No one has ever mentioned any source for it in their speeches or on online forums. The story is about a Sahaabi with the name Sa’ad Al-Aswad Al-Sulumi who mentioned to the Prophet (peace be upon him) that no one is ready to give their daughter to him in marriage, to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) replies to go to Amr Ibn Wahab and ask her daughter's hand in marriage. This Sahabi was martyred in the battlefield and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said something like "The Messenger said, “I cried because my beloved companion passed away. And I saw his sacrifice and his love for me. But when I saw his fate is by Allah, he had reached the hawd.” Abu Lubaba said, “What is the hawd?” He responded, “it is a fountain from which if a person drinks from, they will never be thirsty again. It is sweeter than honey and whiter than milk. And when I saw his status by Allah, I began to smile. Then I saw his wives in jannah running towards him with such eagerness that their shins were being exposed, so I looked away." Is this story mentioned anywhere in the books of Hadeeth, Tafseer or Tareekh?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

The account referred to in the question was reported by Ibn ‘Adiyy and Ibn Hibbaan in their books about 'Al-Majrooheen' (the deficient narrators of Hadeeth). It was cited in detail in the book Al-Mukhallisiyyaat, account no. 3007. One of the reporters of this narration is Muhammad ibn ‘Umar whose Hadeeth is Matrook (abandoned). However, this story is fabricated as Al-Haakim has stated, and Ibn Hajar quoted him as saying that in his Al-Isaabah (a biographical encyclopedia about the Companions).

Allaah Knows best.

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