1 of 2 · Before the conquest of Makkah · Makkah and Madinah
Abu Rafi' رضي الله عنه
A Slave in the House of al-'Abbas
His name was Aslam; some biographers give it as Ibrahim, and he is known by his kunyah, Abu Rafi'. One of the narrators of his hadith said that he was a Copt (Sunan Abi Dawud 2758). He was owned by al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's ﷺ uncle, and al-'Abbas gave him to the Prophet ﷺ as a gift. This is how the biographers Ibn Sa'd, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr and Ibn Hajar describe it.
Abu Rafi' himself told how Islam came to him. Quraysh sent him as a messenger to the Prophet ﷺ, and when he saw him, Islam was placed in his heart. He said he would never go back to them. The Prophet ﷺ answered: "I do not break a covenant, and I do not hold back envoys. Go back, and if you still feel what you feel now, then come back." He went back, then returned and became Muslim (Sunan Abi Dawud 2758).
Even when someone wished to stay with him, the Prophet ﷺ kept his word to his enemies, and Abu Rafi's faith was tested by that wait and held firm.
A believer keeps his agreements even with those who oppose him, and true faith survives a delay.
Is there a promise you would be tempted to break if breaking it seemed to serve a good cause?
- Sunan Abi Dawud 2758 Graded by Al-Albani: Sahih · Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad SahihSahih
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical report
- Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Isti'abHistorical report
- Ibn Hajar, al-IsabahHistorical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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