Zayd ibn Amr and His Search

Ibn Ishaq said: Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl held back and adopted neither Judaism nor Christianity. He left his people’s religion, avoided idols, carrion, blood, and animals sacrificed to idols, and forbade the killing of infant daughters. He said, “I worship the Lord of Abraham,” and openly criticized his people’s practices.

Ibn Ishaq related from Asma bint Abi Bakr: “I saw Zayd ibn Amr, an old man, leaning against the Ka‘bah and saying, ‘O Quraysh, by Him in whose hand is Zayd ibn Amr’s soul, none of you follows Abraham’s religion but me.’ He would then say, ‘O Allah, if I knew which way of worship You love most, I would worship You by it, but I do not know it,’ and he would prostrate on his palms.”

Al-Suhayli discusses why Zayd abstained from meat sacrificed to idols while the Messenger is reported to have eaten from a meal offered before revelation. He gives several legal explanations: the report may not say that the Prophet ate from that particular meal; Zayd may have acted by personal judgment before a revealed prohibition; or such meat may have remained lawful under an earlier dispensation until the Qur’an prohibited it (6:121). The editor also notes that Zayd is said to have rescued girls whom their fathers intended to bury alive, raising them until their families could take them back. Sa‘sa‘ah ibn Mu‘awiyah is reported to have done likewise; the Prophet told him that Islam would bring him its reward.