Zahir ibn Haram

ProfileZahir ibn Haram

Zahir ibn Haram (may Allah be pleased with him) was a bedouin of the Ashja', a branch of Ghatafan, one of the desert tribes to the north of Madinah. According to the early biographies, the tribe was close to Madinah, and was among those who joined the allies who came against the Prophet ﷺ at the Trench. According to the early biographies, Zahir was a poor young man without a strong tribe to protect him, who was not good-looking, and who did not think much of himself.

According to the early biographies, he accepted Islam on one of his visits to Madinah, where he came to sell the produce of the desert. Anas told that there was a man of the desert whose name was Zahir, who used to bring the Prophet ﷺ a gift from the desert, and the Prophet ﷺ would equip him when he wished to go back. The Prophet ﷺ said that Zahir was their desert and that they were his towns. The Prophet ﷺ loved him, though he was a plain-looking man. One day the Prophet ﷺ came to him while he was selling his goods, and embraced him from behind, so that he could not see who it was. Zahir said, "Who is this? Let me go!" Then he turned and knew the Prophet ﷺ, and pressed his back against the Prophet's ﷺ chest. The Prophet ﷺ began to say, "Who will buy this slave?" Zahir said, "O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, you will find me unsellable." The Prophet ﷺ said that in the sight of Allah he was not unsellable, or that he was precious to Allah (Ash-Shama'il al-Muhammadiyyah).

According to the early biographies, he probably went back to his tribe, and died there, and nothing more is recorded of him. According to the early biographies, Ibn Abd al-Barr counted him among those who were at Badr.

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