It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: At the time of the battle of Bu'ath I was six years old, and it took place five years before the Hijrah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, I was eleven years old. I was brought to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and the people said: This is a boy of the Khazraj tribe who has recited sixteen surahs of the Qur'an. I was not permitted (because of my young age) to take part in the battles of Badr and Uhud, but I was permitted to take part in the battle of the Trench.

It is narrated from Ibn Umar that Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) used to write both scripts, Arabic and Hebrew. The first battle in which he took part with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the battle of the Trench, when he was fifteen years old. On that day he was carrying earth along with the Muslims, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What an excellent boy he is!" That day his eyes overcame him and he fell asleep. Then Umarah bin Hazm came and took his weapons without his being aware of it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "O great sleeper (Abu Ruqad)! You kept sleeping until your weapons were gone." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Does anyone know about this boy's weapons?" Umarah bin Hazm said: O Messenger of Allah! They are with me. Then he returned them. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade frightening a believer and taking his belongings, whether in jest or in earnest. In the expedition of Tabuk, the banner of Banu Malik bin al-Najjar was with Umarah bin Hazm, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took it from him and gave it to Zayd bin Thabit. Umarah said: O Messenger of Allah! Has some complaint about me reached you? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, but the Qur'an is given precedence, and Zayd has acquired more of the Qur'an than you."

It is narrated from Ibn Umar that when Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) died, his son Isma'il was young and had not heard anything from his father. There is a difference of opinion about the time of his death; in our view he died in Madinah in the year 45 AH at the age of fifty-six, and Marwan bin al-Hakam led his funeral prayer.

It is narrated from Ali bin al-Madini that Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit bin al-Dahhak bin Zayd bin Lawdhan bin Amr bin Abd Awf bin Ghanm bin Malik bin al-Najjar (may Allah be pleased with him) died in the year 44 or 45 AH.