ZAYDUL KHAYR [radhiallaahu anhu]
A Man of Insight and Forbearance
Zaydul Khayr was a man of outstanding character both in Jahiliyah
and in Islam, a man famous for his chivalry and generosity, a pure
gem which Islam has polished and made its many facets sparkle. His
name in Jahiliyah was Zaydul Khayl (the horseman). His many
qualities are praised in ancient literary books, which relate this
story about him:
An elder from bani Amir related to ash-Shaybani, "We had a year
of drought where both crops and livestock perished. A man took his
family in the direction of al-Hirah in Iraq fleeing the famine. He
left them there and told them to wait for him until he came back,
and swore to himself not to come back unless he got provision for
them or die in his quest. He marched for a whole day, and when night
fell, he came upon a tent. Seeing a colt tied next to it, he said to
himself, "Here is my first gain." He untied it and was about to
mount it when he heard a man calling, "let go of the colt and save
your life." He left it and fled. He continued his march for seven
days until he reached a corral for camels next to a huge tent which
had a leather dome, a sign that its dwellers were wealthy. As the
sun was about to disappear in the horizon, he sneaked into the tent.
An old man was sitting in the middle; the man looked very feeble. He
sat behind him without being noticed. Soon a man riding a tall
magnificent horse approached the tent. The rider was huge almost of
giant proportions. Two servants were walking at his sides, and with
him were a hundred she-camels following a male camel. The male camel
knelt and the rest followed suit surrounding him. The rider pointed
to a big, fat camel and ordered one of his servants to milk her,
then he said to him, "Take this milk to the old man." The servant
took a full bowl into the tent, put it in front of the old man and
withdrew. The man took two sips and put the bowl down, thereupon the
intruder sneaked closer to him, picked up the bowl and drank all
that was in it. The servant came back to take the bowl. He ran to
his master and said, "O master ! He drank it all!" The rider
rejoiced and ordered to give the old man another bowl of milk. The
man took two other sips and put it down, after which the intruder
took it and drank only half of it. He feared that the rider would
become suspicious. The rider ordered his servants to slaughter a
sheep. He then roasted some meat for the old man and fed him with
his own hands until he was satiated, then he ate with his servants.
Soon after, they all retreated to their beds and fell fast asleep.
At that time the intruder untied the male camel and mounted it,
leaving the camp, with all the rest of the camels following him. He
rode for the whole night. From time to time, he would turn back to
look if anyone was following him, but he would see nobody, until the
sun was high up in the sky, when he glanced back and saw far in the
horizon, a form that looked like and eagle. When it got nearer he
realized that it was a man riding a horse, which he soon recognized
as the owner of the camels. He dismounted, tied the camel, and took
an arrow from his quiver. He positioned himself between the camels
and the rider and got ready to shoot. The horse rider stood at a
distance far from him and said, "Untie the camel and give it to me."
"No way," he replied, "I left behind in Hirah my wives and children
who are starving, and I swore not to come back unless with
provisions or money." "Woe to you," said the horse rider, "You are a
dead man if you do not do as I say." "I will not untie it," said the
thief. "You are indeed an arrogant man," replied the horseman! Then
he pointed to the rein of the camel and told the thief to choose one
of the three knots that were tied in it. He chose the middle one.
The rider shoot an arrow and it lodged right into the middle knot as
if he put it there with his own hand, then he shot another one and
hit the first knot then another and hit the third knot. Dumfounded,
the man returned his arrow into his quiver and gave himself up. The
horseman took his bow and arrows from him and ordered him to get on
the horse behind him. "What do you think I am going to do to you"
asked the rider? "The most terrible thing," he answered! "And why,"
asked the horseman? "Because of the hardship I brought to you,"
answered the thief. "How do you think I will harm you after you kept
company with Muhalhil and shared his food and drink with him!" When
he heard the name Muhalhil, the thief realized who the horseman was,
and quickly asked, "Are you Zaydul Khayl, son of Muhalhill?" He said
yes. "Be the best of captors," pleaded the thief. "Do not worry,"
said Zayd. When they arrived at the camp and got the camels back to
the corral, Zayd said, "By Allah if these camels were mine I would
have given them to you, but they belong to one of my sisters. But if
you stay with us a few days I will give you of the booty I may get
in the next raid I am planning." It was not long before Zayd raided
the tribe of Numayr, and captured nearly a hundred camels which he
gave all to the man, and sent an escort to protect him until he
reached his destination.
This was a glimpse of Zayd during his Jahiliyyah days. As for his
encounter with Islam, it is related in the seerah of the Prophet,
sallallahu alayhe wasallam, as follows: When news of the Prophet,
sallallahu alayhe wasallam, came to Zaydul Khayl who was the chief
of the tribe of Tayyi, he decided to go to Madinah to hear more
about his message, and so he invited the elders among his tribesmen
to accompany him. The deputation arrived at Madinah and entered the
Prophet's masjid while he was giving the Khutbah. They were
mesmerized by his speech and the way his companions were listening
to him, apparently affected by his words. Some of Zayd's companions
felt envy and jealousy when they heard the eloquent speech of the
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, and so one of them said, "I see
a man who seeks to dominate the Arabs, and by Allah I will never let
him possess me!" They turned away from the truth, and left. As for
Zayd and the rest, they listened to the end, after which Zayd stood
up and said, "O Muhammad, I bear witness that there is none worthy
of worship but Allah, and that you are the Messenger of Allah." He
was of the tallest and most handsome among men, and as he stood
there the Prophet came near to him and asked, "Who are you?" "I am
Zaydul Khayl, son of Muhalhil!" "No but you are from now on Zaydul
Khayr (of the goodness), not Zaydul Khayl. Praise is due to Allah
Who brought you down from your valley and mountain and opened your
heart to Islam." From that day on he was known as Zaydul Khayr. The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, took Zayd, along with a group
of the companions to his house. There he offered him a cushion to
lean on but he turned it to him, refusing to sit in such a way in
the presence of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam. The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said, "O Zayd, no man has ever
been spoken of in highest terms but when I have met him I have found
that he falls below what was said of him, except you. O Zayd there
are two qualities in you that are beloved to Allah and His
Messenger." "And what are they O Messenger of Allah," asked Zayd?
"Insight and forbearance," replied the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam. "Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah Who made me in the way that
pleases Him and His Messenger. Messenger of Allah, give me three
hundred horsemen and I promise I will raid the Byzantine and fight
them until I defeat them." "O what a man you are, and how much
goodness there is in you," said the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam, showing how pleased he was by his determination. All
Zayd's tribesmen who came with him embraced Islam after witnessing
how he sincerely accepted it. When Zayd went back to his tribe, the
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam bid him farewell and, as Zayd
faded away in the distance, he said, "What a man! He could
accomplish great things, if he were spared by the Madinah fever." A
plague was going around in Madinah at that time. On his way home,
Zayd started to feel the sickness creeping in his body. He gave full
rein to his horse for he wished to reach his people and call them to
Islam before it was too late; but Zayd was overcome with the fever,
and died before reaching his homeland. He died as pure as a white
cloth, for there was no time between his Islam and his death, for
him to commit a sin!
Alia Amer
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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