Benefits of the Hadith: (… Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah said: I went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a military expedition, but my camel lagged behind me, so I caught up with the Messenger of Allah

The Shaykh : This hadith has a broader context than the previous one, and it contains several benefits. One of them is a sign of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the story of the camel, because this camel had become exhausted, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) caught up with it, struck the camel, and made a supplication, so it became the strongest of camels. It also contains the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) good care for his people, in that he would stay at the rear to check on anyone who lagged behind for a valid excuse, to help and assist them. It also contains the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and among its benefits is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged Jabir to be prudent when he arrived at his family, because he was longing for them, as evidenced by the fact that he hastened his pace. So what is prudence? Prudence is intelligence, or acumen, or something similar. This is because when a person arrives at his family while longing for them, his desire may overcome him, and he may not look into the woman’s condition before he touches her, and she might be menstruating or in a state that is not pleasing. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted him to be alert to this and not to rush into the matter. Among the benefits of this hadith is the permissibility of a man buying from his followers, or an imam buying from his followers, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bought from Jabir, and he even bargained with him, saying, "Sell it to me for an uqiyah." He said, "No." He said, "Sell it to me," until he sold it to him. Among the benefits of this hadith is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) good treatment of his Companions, in that when he gave him the price, he said to Bilal: Weigh it and make it heavier, because the uqiyah is a weight, not a number, so he said, "Weigh it and make it heavier," and this is part of good faithfulness. It is similar to the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) borrowing a she-camel and returning a superior four-toothed she-camel, and he said: If someone were to ask: Is this permissible in the case of repaying a loan? We say: As for the quality, yes, as indicated by the hadith we mentioned earlier. For example, if you lend someone a sa' of wheat and he repays you with a sa' of better quality, there is nothing wrong with it, because this is an increase in quality. But as for the quantity, no, meaning if you lend someone ten and he repays you with eleven, it is not permissible. But if, after the repayment and after parting ways, he gives him a gift in return, there is nothing wrong with it, but not along with the repayment. It also contains the fact that in the time of the Messenger (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him), currency was used by weight and by number, and it is still so; sometimes they use it by weight and sometimes by number. It also contains the recommendation of praying two rak'ahs for one who arrives in a town, and this sunnah (recommended practice) is established by the words and actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So the first thing he would do is enter the mosque and pray two rak'ahs in it, and here he ordered Jabir to pray two rak'ahs. Many people do not know this sunnah, but should one pray in the mosque of his neighborhood or in any mosque in the town? The apparent view is the latter. But in the time of the Prophet (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him), there were only a few mosques in scattered, distant neighborhoods. However, if the town is built up, the apparent view is that if a person passes by the first mosque and prays two rak'ahs in it, the purpose is achieved. It also contains the fact that the Messenger (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him) returned the camel to Jabir after he had bargained with him in its sale. Why? Some scholars said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to give charity to Jabir, so he made the matter in the form of a sale and purchase. But this is a very weak, indeed ridiculous, opinion. What prevents the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from giving charity to Jabir? No one prevents him. But the Messenger (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him) wanted to show the condition of a person. This camel was with Jabir and was despised, to the extent that he wanted to abandon it because it could not keep up with the rest of the group, so he wanted to leave it behind. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bought it from him and bargained with him after striking it and walking at a pace he had never walked before. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to show the condition of a person: at first he wanted to abandon it, but then it became the most valuable thing he had, to the extent that he refused to sell it to the Messenger (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him) for an uqiyah. As for his returning it to him later, this is from his generosity (may Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him), in that he returned to him his camel, which is his camel and which he has no other, as it appears, because when he sold it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he excepted its load to Medina. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to bestow upon him by gifting it to him. Yes.