Salman Tests the Messenger with Gifts

A little food I had gathered was with me. In the evening I took it to the Messenger of Allah at Quba and said, ‘I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions who are strangers in need. This was intended as charity, and I thought you were more entitled to it than others.’ I brought it near him. He said to his Companions, ‘Eat,’ but he kept his hand away and did not eat. I said to myself, ‘This is one sign.’ I left, gathered something else, and the Messenger had moved to Medina. I brought it to him and said, ‘I saw that you do not eat charity. This is a gift with which I wish to honor you.’ He ate some of it and told his Companions to eat. I said to myself, ‘This is the second sign.’ Then I came to him at al-Baqi‘ al-Gharqad, where he had followed the funeral of one of his Companions… The report continues on page 220.

…I wore two simple wraps, and the Messenger sat among his Companions. I greeted him, then walked behind him to see whether I could find the Seal my companion had described. When the Messenger saw me circling behind him, he understood that I was checking for something described to me. He let his cloak fall from his back. I looked and recognized the Seal. I bent over him, kissing it and weeping. He said, ‘Turn around,’ so I sat before him and told him my story just as I have told you, Ibn ‘Abbas. The Messenger was pleased to let his Companions hear it. Slavery then kept Salman from joining the Messenger at Badr and Uhud.