What is Faith?

Patience and forbearance in the face of ignorance Zayd ibn Sa’ana, a Jewish scholar, who later accepted Islam, recounts how, when he saw the Prophet, he recognized the signs of Prophethood in his face. There were two things at that time which he had yet to see – his patience and his forbearance. He was soon to learn from his personal experience that the ignorance of another actually intensified this latter quality of the Prophet. One day Zayd ibn Sa’ana saw the Prophet and his cousin Ali approaching and, from another direction a man, apparently a bedouin, riding up to them on a camel. The man explained to the Prophet that he was one of a group of people in a certain town who had accepted Islam, having been told by him that if they became Muslims, they would be abundantly provided for by God. Now a drought had set in there, and he was afraid that his people might forsake Islam out of greed, for it was greed, which had made them become Muslims in the first place. “If you think fit,” he suggested to the Prophet, “You could send them some assistance.” The Prophet looked enquiringly at Ali who, realizing what the Prophet’s glance meant, pointed out that such funds were all exhausted. Zayd ibn Sa’ana then approached the Prophet and offered to give him some money in return for dates. The Prophet agreed, and Zayd ibn Sa’ana handed over eighty mithqals2 of gold, all of which the Prophet gave to the bedouin, saying, “Help them and distribute this justly amongst them.” A day had been fixed for Zayd ibn Sa’ana to be given the dates owed to him, but two or three days beforehand, he went to the Prophet who happened to be sitting in the shade of a wall along with several of his Companions, and, catching hold of him by the clothes, he said to him in a most peremptory fashion, “Why don’t you pay me what you owe me? By God, from what I know of the Banu Muttalib, they are always putting off repaying their debts!” Umar, who was sitting with the Prophet at the time, was inflamed at the Jew’s words and burst out, “Enemy of God, don’t think that I can’t hear what you are saying to God’s messenger. By the One who holds sway over my soul, it is only out of deference to him that I do not cut off your head with my sword!” The Prophet, however, continued to gaze tranquilly at Zayd ibn Sa’ana. Then, turning to Umar he said, “Umar, this man and I both deserved different treatment from you. You might have told me to be quicker at paying my debts and him to be less exacting in demanding them. Go and pay him whatever is due to him, Umar, and give him twenty sa’3 extra for having alarmed him.” (AL-TABARANI, IBN MAJAH)