Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When Allah Almighty intended to guide Zayd bin Sa’nah, Zayd bin Sa’nah said: Of all the remaining signs of prophethood, I have recognized all of them in the face of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). When I visited him, only two things remained, which I had not yet discerned in his personality. One was: how much forbearance and (tolerance) is there in your temperament? The second was: when someone behaves rudely with you, do you show even more forbearance? So I wanted to interact with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gently and keep meeting him so that I could gauge your forbearance.

The narrator states: Once, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) came out of his chamber, and Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. A man, who appeared to be a Bedouin, came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: O Messenger of Allah! The people of such-and-such village have accepted Islam. I had told them that if they accepted Islam, Allah Almighty would grant them more sustenance. Now they have been afflicted by drought, there has been no rain, and I fear, O Messenger of Allah! Just as they entered Islam out of greed, they might leave Islam out of greed as well. If you deem it appropriate, send them something that can help them.

The narrator says: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) looked towards a person sitting beside him—I think it was Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)—and he said: O Messenger of Allah! I do not have anything like that. Zayd bin Sa’nah says: I came close to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Will you sell me the specified dates of the garden of Banu so-and-so, on the condition of payment at such-and-such time? The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No. O Jew, I will sell you specified dates for such-and-such period, but I will not specify the garden of Banu so-and-so. I replied: Fine. So the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) made a deal with me. I opened my bag and took out eighty mithqals of gold and gave it to him, which was in exchange for the specified number of dates, to be paid at such-and-such time.

The narrator states: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave that gold to the man and said: Go quickly to them and help them with this. Sayyiduna Zayd bin Sa’nah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the appointed time was near, with two or three days still remaining, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) went to attend the funeral of an Ansari. With him were Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and some other companions. When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had performed the funeral prayer, he sat near a wall. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and, looking at him sternly, said: O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), will you not pay me my due? By Allah! I do not know of any procrastination from you, i.e., the descendants of Abdul Muttalib. Because I know your dealings.

The narrator says: I looked towards Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and his eyes were boiling with anger. He glared at me and said: O enemy of Allah! Are you saying this to the Messenger of Allah, what I am hearing, and behaving in this manner, what I am seeing? By the One Who sent him with the truth, if it were not for his respect, I would have struck off your neck with this sword. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gently and kindly and said:“O Umar! There was more need for a different reaction from you. You should have told me to pay well and told him to demand well. O Umar! Take him with you. Give him his due, and for the scolding you gave him, give him an extra sa’ of dates.”

Sayyiduna Zayd bin Sa’nah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took me with him, paid me my due, and gave me twenty extra sa’ of dates. So I asked: What is this extra payment for? He replied: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed me that for the scolding I gave you, I should give you this extra payment. I asked: O Umar! Do you know who I am? He replied: No! Who are you? I said: I am Zayd bin Sa’nah. He asked: The great scholar of the Jews? I replied: Yes, the great scholar of the Jews.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Why did you speak and behave with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in this manner? I replied: O Umar! I had seen all the signs of prophethood in the face of the Messenger of Allah when I visited him. Only two things remained unknown to me about him. One was: how much forbearance is there in his temperament? The second was: when someone behaves rudely with him, does he show forbearance and patience? Now I have come to know both. O Umar! Now I make you a witness that I am pleased with Allah as Lord, Islam as religion, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as Prophet (i.e., I believe in them). And I make you a witness that half of my wealth, although among the Jews I have the most wealth, is charity for the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Say that it is for some of them, because you cannot fulfill all of them. So I said: It is for some of them.

Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Zayd went to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and Sayyiduna Zayd said: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. (The narrator says:) Then Sayyiduna Zayd bin Sa’nah (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted faith in the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He affirmed the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), participated in many battles with him, and then died facing the enemy during the Battle of Tabuk. May Allah have mercy on Zayd. He stated: I heard Walid say that this entire narration was related to me by Muhammad bin Hamzah from his father, from his grandfather, from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him).