ADIYY IBN HATIM EMBRACES ISLAM

Among the leaders of the Christians who entered Islam—when it became clear to them that it was the truth—was the highly respected leader of his people, ʿAdiyy ibn Hātim al-Ṭāʾī. We will recount his story as narrated by Imam Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, and others.[1]
ʿAdiyy ibn Hātim said: “I came to the Prophet while he was sitting in the mosque, and the people around him said, ‘This is ʿAdiyy ibn Hātim.’ I had come without any protection or official document of safety. When I approached the Prophet, he took my hand, for he had previously said, ‘I hope that Allah will place his hand in mine.’
He (the Prophet) stood up for me. Along the way, a woman and a child came to him and said, ‘We have a need from you.’ The Prophet stopped and attended to their need before resuming. Then he took my hand and brought me to his house. The boy prepared a cushion for him, and he (the Prophet) sat on it. I sat in front of him. He praised Allah and extolled Him, then said: “What prevents you from saying ‘There is no deity worthy of worsip but Allah’? Do you know of any deity other than Allah?” I replied, “No.” Then he spoke for a while and said: “What prevents you from saying ‘Allah [2] is the Greatest’? Do you know of anything greater than Allah?” I replied, “No.” He then said: “The Jews have earned Allah’s wrath, and the Christians are astray.” I said, “I am a Hanif (monotheist) and a Muslim.”
Upon hearing this, I saw his face brighten [3] with happiness. Then he ordered that I be lodged with a man from the Ansar, and I began visiting the Prophet at the beginning and end of each day.
One evening, while I was with him, a group of people in woollen garments approached him. He prayed and stood up, urging them to give charity, saying: “Even if it is just a sa’ (a measure), or half a sa’, or a handful, or part of a handful, protect yourselves from the heat of Hellfire with whatever you can, even if it is a date, or half a date. For indeed, one of you will meet Allah, and He will say to him what I am telling you: ‘Did I not give you hearing and sight?’ The person will reply, ‘Yes indeed.’ Allah will say: ‘Did I not give you wealth and children?’ The person will reply, ‘Yes indeed.’ Allah will then ask: ‘What have you brought forth for yourself?’ The person will look ahead of him and behind him, to his right and to his left, he will find nothing to shield his face from the heat of Hell. So let each of you protect himself from the Fire, even if it is with half a date, and if he cannot find that, then with a kind word. For I do not fear poverty for you. Allah will bring such abundance that a woman will travel from Yathrib to Hira, or even farther, without any fear for her safety, except perhaps a wolf attacking her sheep.” [4]
I thought to myself, “What about the thieves of Tayy?”
ʿAdiyy was highly respected among his people, so much so that he would take a quarter of their war spoils (al-mirbāʿ [5]).
Hammād ibn Zayd narrated from Ayub, who narrated from Muhammad ibn Sirin, that Abu ʿUbaydah ibn Hudhayfah [6] said: ʿAdiyy ibn Hatim recounted: “Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and I disliked him more than anything else I had ever disliked. So, I left and travelled to the farthest land of the Arabs, near the Romans. However, I disliked that place even more than the first. I thought to myself, ‘I should go to him and listen to what he has to say.’
So, I came to Medina. When the people saw me, they exclaimed, ‘ʿAdiyy ibn Hatim Al-Tā’ī has arrived! ʿAdiyy ibn Hatim Al-Tā’ī has arrived!’ The Prophet said to me, ‘O ʿAdiyy ibn Hatim Al-Tā’ī [7], accept Islam and you will be safe.’ I replied, ‘I am already following a religion.’ He said, ‘I know your religion better than you do.’ I responded, ‘You know my religion better than I do?!’ He said, ‘Yes,’ and repeated this three times. Then he asked, ‘Are you not a Rakusian? [8] I replied, ‘Yes” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Are you not one of your people’s leaders?” I replied, “Yes.” He asked, “Do you not take one-fourth of the spoils (al-mirbāʿ)?” I replied, “Yes.” He said, “That is not permissible for you in your religion.” I felt uncomfortable hearing this. Then he continued, “Perhaps you feel that when you accept Islam, you will experience need and hardship while seeing that the people have united against us. Have you seen Al-Hira?” I said, “No [9], but I know of it.” He said, “The time will come when a woman will travel from Al-Hira, circling the Ka’ba without needing any protection, and Allah will open for us the treasures of Kisra (Khosrow) son of Hormuz.” I asked, “Kisra son of Hormuz?” He replied, “Yes, the treasures of Kisra son of Hormuz. Wealth will become so abundant that a man will be worried about who will accept his charity.”
ʿAdiyy then said: “I have indeed seen a woman traveling from Al-Hira without needing any protection, and I was among the first of the horsemen to raid the Madāʾin (Ctesiphon) [10]. By Allah, the third promise will also come to pass. This is the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”
[1] This hadith is narrated by Imam Ahmad in Musnad (4/378-379), al-Tirmidhi in Tafsir (5/204), where he said: “This is a good and rare narration, and we do not know it except through the narration of Simak ibn Harb.” Al-Hakim authenticated it in Al-Mustadrak (4/518-519). Also, see Sirah Ibn Hisham (2/343) along with Al-Rawd Al-Unuf, and Takhrij Ahadith al-Kashani by Al-Zaylaʿi (6/77). It is also mentioned in Tabaqat Ibn Saʿd (1/322).
[2] In (Library of Haj Bashir Agha, 1151 AH): “Do you not affirm that Allah…?”
[3] In (Library of Haj Bashir Agha, 1151 AH): “His face brightened.
[4] In (Library of Haj Bashir Agha, 1151 AH): “ashraf” is a typo, and in (Yeni Cami Library, 1066 AH) “al-suq.”
[5] Al-Mirbāʿ” refers to one-fourth of the war spoils.
[6] This is from Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (7/296): [from a man]
[7] Omitted from (Library of Haj Bashir Agha, 1151 AH).
[8] Rakusian refers to a religious sect between Christianity and the Sabians.
[9] In (Yeni Cami Library, 1066 AH: “I replied, No, I have not seen it…
[10] TN: Ctesiphon was an ancient city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, near modern-day Baghdad, Iraq. It served as the capital of the Parthian and later the Sasanian Empire. Today, its remains, including the iconic Taq Kasra (Arch of Ctesiphon), are located near Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad. Frye, R.N. (1983). The History of Ancient Iran. Munich: C.H. Beck.
Taken from Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. Hidayat al-Hiyari fi Ajwibat al-Yahud wa al-Nasara. Edited by ʿUthman Jumʿa Dumayriyyah and supervised by Bakr ibn ʿAbdullah Abu Zayd. Riyadh: Dar ʿAlam al-Kutub, pp. 66-69.