Musnad Ahmad Hadith 4381

It is narrated from Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that once during the Makkan period, we were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) along with a few companions. During this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “One of you should come with me, but only that person in whose heart there is not even a particle of pride.” Upon hearing this, I stood up to go with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and took with me a vessel which, according to my assumption, contained water. I set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). As we walked, when we reached the upper part of Makkah, I saw a large crowd of black people. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) drew a line and said to me, “Stand here until I return.” So I stood in my place, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went towards them. I saw that they were advancing towards the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with great enthusiasm. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a long conversation with them throughout the night, and at dawn, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to me and said: “O Ibn Mas’ud! Have you been standing since then?” I replied: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! It was you who told me, “Stand here until I return.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked me, “Do you have water for ablution?” I replied: Yes! Now, when I opened the vessel, it contained nabidh (a drink made from dates). I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! By Allah! When I took this vessel, I thought it contained water, but it has nabidh in it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It is fine dates and purifying water,” and performed ablution with it. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up to pray, two men came and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! We wish that you lead us in prayer as well. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made them stand in a row behind him and led us in prayer. When the prayer was finished, I asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! Who were these people? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “These were the jinn of Nusaybin. They had come to me to have some of their disputes settled. They also asked me for provisions for their journey, which I gave them.” I asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)! Did you have anything that you could give them as provisions for the journey? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I gave them dung. Whatever droppings they find, it becomes food for them, and whatever bones they find, meat appears on them.” For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade using dung and bones for istinja (purification).