Zaid bin Amr - A Monotheist in the Era of Ignorance
Hazrat Saeed’s (ra) father, Zaid bin Amr, used to worship the One God during the period of jahiliyyah [era of ignorance prior to the advent of Islam] and used to seek the religion of Prophet Abraham (as). He used to say, “Whoever is the God of Abraham (as) is also my God and whatever is the religion of Abraham (as) is also my religion.”
(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, p. 476, Saeed bin Zaid, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, p. 368, Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)
Monotheists existed even during that period as well. Some children also ask as to which religion the Holy Prophet (sa) used to follow and whom he used to worship before Islam. So, the Holy Prophet (sa) was the greatest of all the monotheists and he also used to worship the One God.
Zaid bin Amr used to refrain from all kinds of transgressions and evils, so much so that he even abstained from meat slaughtered by the idolaters. Once he met the Holy Prophet (sa) prior to his prophethood. The details of that meeting are recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari as follows:
Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (ra) narrates, “The Holy Prophet (sa) met Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail at the bottom of [the valley of] Baldah and this took place before the Holy Prophet (sa) had received any divine revelation.”
It means that this incident is from the time before the Holy Prophet (sa) was commissioned as a prophet. As for Baldah, it is the name of a valley which is located to the west of Mecca and comes on the route to Tamim from Mecca.
“A meal was presented to the Holy Prophet (sa) but he refused to eat from it. Zaid also said, ‘I also do not eat anything which is slaughtered in the name of the idols.’”
The Holy Prophet (sa) did not eat from it due to the caution that was required regarding animals that have been slaughtered in the name of those other than Allah. Zaid said that he also did not eat animals on which the names of those other than Allah had been mentioned.
The narration continues as follows:
“Zaid bin Amr did not approve of the animals slaughtered by the Quraish and used to say, ‘Allah has created the sheep and He has sent the water for it from the sky and He has grown the grass for it from the earth; yet you slaughter it in the names of those other than Allah.’”
It means that he used to dislike the slaughtering of animals carried out in the name of those other than Allah and he deemed it a great sin.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fada‘il Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Hadith Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail, Hadith 3626) (Farhang Sirat, p. 61, Zawwar Academy Publications, Karachi, 2003)
When Zaid bin Amr began to abhor disbelief and polytheism, he also travelled to faraway lands in search of the truth. With regard to his travels, it is written in another narration of Bukhari, in which Hazrat Ibn Umar (ra) narrates:
“Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail went to Syria in search of which faith to follow. He met a Jewish [religious] scholar and asked him about his religion. Zaid bin Amr said, ‘It is possible that I may embrace your religion; tell me about your faith.’ The Jew replied, ‘You should not embrace our religion as it has become corrupted and you will receive your share of Allah’s wrath.’ Zaid said, ‘I do not run except from Allah’s wrath and I could never face the wrath of Allah as I do not have the strength to bear it.’ Zaid then asked, ‘Can you tell me of another religion?’ The Jew replied, ‘I do not know any other religion except that one ought to be haneef.’ Zaid enquired, ‘What is haneef?’ He said, ‘Haneef is the religion of Abraham (as) who was neither a Jew, nor a Christian and used to worship none but Allah Alone.’
“Then Zaid left and met a Christian religious scholar and made the same enquiry. The Christian replied, ‘Do not embrace our religion, for otherwise you will partake of Allah’s curse.’ Zaid replied, ‘I do not run except from Allah’s Curse, nor do I have the strength to bear His curse and wrath; thus will you tell me of another religion?’ The Christian replied, ‘I do not know of any other religion except one ought to be a haneef.’ Zaid enquired, ‘What is haneef?’ He replied, ‘Haneef is the religion of Abraham (as) who was neither a Jew, nor a Christian and used to worship none but Allah Alone.’ When Zaid heard their opinions about [the religion of] Abraham (as), he left and upon stepping outside, raised both his hands and said, ‘O Allah! I affirm that I follow the religion of Abraham (as).’”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fada‘il Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Hadith Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail, Hadith 3627)
Zaid bin Amr met with the Holy Prophet (sa) in his lifetime, however he passed away prior to the advent of his prophethood. Hazrat Aamir (ra) bin Rabi‘ah narrates that Zaid bin Amr was always in search of the correct faith. He expressed aversion to Christianity, Judaism and idolatry and would disagree with his people about this matter. He would preach to them so they would abandon idol worship and that which their forefathers worshipped. He would not eat of their slaughtered meat. On one occasion, he said to him, “O Aamir! I am at odds with my people, I follow the religion of Abraham (as) and worship according to how he worshipped (i.e. Prophet Abraham) and after him, I follow the practice of Hazrat Ishmael (as), who would pray in this very direction. Moreover, I await a prophet from among the progeny of Ishmael (as), however, I feel that I will not live long enough to accept him and bear testimony to the truthfulness of his prophethood. O Aamir! If you live long enough to witness the era of that prophet, then convey my greetings to him.”
Hazrat Aamir (ra) narrates, “When the Holy Prophet (sa) was commissioned by God Almighty, I became a Muslim and conveyed the message of Zaid bin Amr and his greetings to the Holy Prophet (sa). The Holy Prophet (sa) returned the greeting and praying for his forgiveness, he said, ‘I have seen him in paradise in a manner whereby he was straightening his robe.’”
(Roshan Sitarey az Ghulam Bari Saif Sahib, Vol. 2, p. 156) (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 290, Saeed bin Zaid, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)
Zaid bin Amr was proud of the fact that he was a monotheist.
Hazrat Asma bint Abi Bakr (ra) narrates an incident from the period of jahiliyyah:
“I saw Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail standing with his back against the Ka‘bah and saying, ‘O people of Quraish! By Allah, none of you, apart from myself, is following the religion of Abraham (as).’ Zaid did not bury his daughters alive as was the custom of some Arab tribes at the time, Zaid however did not do such a thing. In fact, if he came to know of someone intending to kill his daughter, he would say to him, ‘Do not kill her! I will provide for her and feed her on your behalf’. And so, he would take her and after she had reached an age of maturity, he would say to her father, ‘If you wish, I will return her to you and if you so want, I will fulfil all her other needs as well.’” That is, he would bear the costs of her marriage etc. as well.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Fada‘il Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Hadith Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail, Hadith 3828)
In another narration, Hazrat Asma bint Abi Bakr (ra) narrates the following: the first narration was from Bukhari and this one is taken from Usdul Ghabah, which is one of the books detailing the accounts of the Companions (ra). Hazrat Asma bint Abi Bakr (ra) narrates:
“I saw Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail standing with his back against the Ka‘bah, saying, ‘O people of Quraish! By that Being in Whose hands lies Zaid’s life, none of you, apart from myself, has entered the morning in a state that he is a follower of the religion of Abraham (as).’ He also used to say, ‘O Allah! Only if I knew Your desired way of worship so that I could worship you in that manner. However, I am unaware of it.’ Following this, he would prostrate with his head resting on his hands.”
(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, pp. 369-370, Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)
Saeed bin Musayyib narrates that Zaid bin Amr passed away five years prior to the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (sa). At that time, the Quraish were building the Ka‘bah. When he passed away, he said that he was following the religion of Abraham (as).
Once, Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid and Hazrat Umar (ra) bin Khattab presented themselves before the Holy Prophet (sa) and enquired of him about Zaid bin Amr, in other words the father of Hazrat Saeed (ra). Upon this, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “May Allah forgive Zaid bin Amr and may He have mercy on him as he passed away in a state whereby he was following the religion of Abraham (as).” Following this, whenever Muslims mentioned Zaid bin Amr, they would pray for him to be shown mercy and forgiveness.
(Roshan Sitarey az Ghulam Bari Saif Sahib, Vol. 2, pp. 156-157) (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 291, Saeed bin Zaid wa min Bani Adiyy bin Ka‘b bin Lu‘ayy, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)
In another narration, it is mentioned that when the Holy Prophet (sa) was asked about Zaid bin Amr, the Holy Prophet (sa) said that on the Day of Judgment, he would be raised equivalent to an entire nation.
(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, p. 368, Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003)