It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Banu Sa'd bin Bakr sent Dimam bin Tha'labah to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He came to us, made his camel kneel at the door of the Mosque and tied it, then entered the Mosque, where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with his Companions. He asked: "Which of you is the son of Abd al-Muttalib?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am the son of Abd al-Muttalib." He asked: "Muhammad?" He said: "Yes." He said: "O Muhammad! I am going to ask you questions and I will be somewhat harsh in my questioning, so do not be displeased with me in your heart, for I personally bear no ill will in my heart." He said: "Ask whatever is on your mind." He said: "I ask you by Allah, who is your God, the God of those before you and the God of those who will come after you: Is it Allah who has sent you to us as a Messenger?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, yes." He said: "I ask you by Allah, who is your God, the God of those before you and the God of those who will come after you: Has Allah commanded you that we should worship Him alone, not associate anything with Him, and abandon these idols and rivals that our forefathers used to worship?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah, yes." Then he mentioned the obligations of Islam one by one, including prayer, zakah, fasting and Hajj, asking about each obligation by Allah just as he had asked before, until when he had finished he said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are His servant and Messenger. I will fulfil these obligations and avoid the things you have forbidden me, neither adding to them nor taking away from them." Then he turned back towards his camel, and as he turned his back the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If this man with the two braids is truthful, he will certainly enter Paradise." Dimam was a man of sturdy build, with a thick beard and two braids. Then he came to his camel, untied its rope and went to his people. People gathered around him, and the first thing he did was to begin reviling the idols al-Lat and al-Uzza. The people said: "O Dimam! Stop! Fear their curse, leprosy, elephantiasis and madness." He said: "Woe to you! By Allah, these idols can neither harm nor benefit. Allah has sent a Messenger and revealed a Book to him, by which He has rescued you from the superstitions in which you were caught. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger. I have brought you from him the commands he has given and the things he has forbidden." So, by Allah, before evening fell that day there was not a single man or woman in their settlement who had not become Muslim. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: We have never heard of a delegate to his people better than Dimam bin Tha'labah. The two Shaykhs agreed on the narration of Dimam's arrival in Madinah, but neither of them narrated this hadith in such detail, and this hadith is sahih (authentic).