We are told in the Qur’an that earlier Messengers informed their people of the advent of the last Prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is mentioned by name and description in the Torah, the Gospel and other scriptures. These references were removed at a later stage by those who were determined to oppose the message of Islam. It is, however, confirmed by authentic reports that a number of Jewish rabbis and Christian priests heralded the last messenger’s advent close to the start of Islamic revelations. When the Prophet began his efforts of delivering his message, it was only natural that people who were aware of this promised message should try to determine if he was truly the one described in their scriptures. One of these was Abdullah ibn Sallam, a highly respected Jewish rabbi who was quick to embrace Islam. Another was Zayd ibn Su’nah who made every effort to make sure that Muhammad matched every detail of the last Prophet’s description in the Torah. It is Abdullah ibn Sallam who reports some of Zayd’s doings in this regard on Zayd’s own authority who says: “I was able to recognize every detail of the signs of prophethood in Muhammad’s face when I saw him, with the exception of two qualities: That forbearance is quicker to him than anger, and that the more irritating to him others are, the more forbearing he is. Therefore, I used to go to him, and watch how he conducted himself so that I could see how forbearing he was.
“One day he came out of his home, accompanied by Ali ibn Abi Talib. A man on his camel came along, looking like a Bedouin. He said to him: ‘Messenger of God! The people of this village embraced Islam. I had said to them that should they embrace Islam, they would have plentiful provisions. Yet they have been experiencing drought that has done away with much of their provisions, and they are experiencing very hard times. I fear that they may reject Islam hoping to receive some aid, just like they declared themselves Muslims in hope of reward. You may wish to send them some relief supplies.’
“Here I intervened saying: ‘I will buy for you a consignment of supplies, and you take it from me. I undid my money belt and gave him 80 dinars (the gold currency at the time).’ He took it from me and gave it to the man, saying: ‘Move at speed, and use this to get them some relief.’
“It was one or two or three days before repayment of my loan was due when the Prophet went out to attend a burial at the Al-Baqee’ cemetery, with Abu Bakr, Umar and a number of his companions. When he had finished the janazah prayer and moved close to the wall, I pulled his upper garment strongly and it fell off his shoulders. I turned a grim face toward him and said harshly: ‘Muhammad! Would you not repay me my debt? You, the Abd Al-Muttalib clan, are known for your delay of paying back your debts. I have dealt with you in the past!’ As he saw this, Umar was exceedingly angry, like a round celestial body, and he looked hard at me and said: ‘You, enemy of God! Do you say this to God’s Messenger (peace be upon him), and do to him what I have seen and say what I have heard? By God who has sent him with the message of truth, had it not been for what I fear to miss, your head would roll now.’
“God’s Messenger was looking calmly at Umar, and then he smiled and said: ‘Both he and I are in need of something different. You should have told me to repay my debt well in time and told him to make his demand in a good manner.’ He then gave some instructions to Umar, who took me away and repaid me in full, and gave me twenty measures of dates extra. I asked him why he was giving me that, and he said: ‘God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has ordered me to give you extra because I had frightened you.’ I said: ‘Umar! Do you know me?’ He said: ‘No! Who are you?’ I said: ‘I am Zayd ibn Su’nah.’ He asked: ‘The rabbi?’ I confirmed that. He then asked me why did I do what I did to God’s Messenger. I said to him: ‘Every mark of prophethood I made sure he had, except for two qualities: That forbearance is quicker to him than anger, and that the more irritating to him others are, the more forbearing he is. I wanted to test him in order to confirm these. I want you to bear witness, Umar, that I am well satisfied and believe in God as the only Lord and in Muhammad as the Prophet. Also bear witness that I am giving away half of my wealth, for I am one of the wealthiest people here, in charity for Muhammad’s community.’ He said: ‘or for some of them, because you cannot give to all of them.’ I said what he suggested.”
“Umar and Zayd went back to see the Prophet and when they were there, Zayd said: “I bear witness that there is no deity other than God, and that Muhammad is God’s servant and Messenger.” Thus, Zayd ibn Su’nah became a believer and was a companion of the Prophet, fighting with him in several battles, until he fell a martyr in the Tabuk expedition.”
In this Hadith we have a clear insight of the Prophet’s character. The Hadith cites the case of a learned rabbi who wants to follow the truth, but also wants to be absolutely clear about it. His aim is to make sure that all the marks that distinguish a prophet, particularly the last of God’s messengers, and mentioned in his own holy book are true of the man claiming this status. Visible indications were clear to him the day he saw the Prophet, but the last two are personal characteristics that can be observed only when a relevant situation arises. Zayd, the rabbi, sought to confirm these through being present with the Prophet as frequently as possible. But even then, no situation arose. He is eager to establish the facts, but he cannot wait indefinitely. Suppose such a situation arises when he is not present. He will only hear about it second hand. Hence he engineers such a situation.
The first thing he does is to offer to lend the Prophet a large sum of money, which the Prophet uses to send relief supplies to certain villagers suffering from drought. The loan is made for a specific period, but a couple of days before its due date, Zayd deliberately provokes the Prophet, treating him very harshly, pulling him by the collar, accusing his clan of not honoring their commitments, and insinuating that he himself is doing the same. Apparently his action was so rough that Umar thought of killing him. But the Prophet gave Umar sound counsel, placing himself on equal footing with the rude rabbi, telling Umar that he should have advised him (i.e. the Prophet) to be more prompt in honoring his commitment and advised the rabbi to make his demand politely. But the Prophet does not stop at that. He orders Umar to give a good measure extra to compensate the man for the threats Umar made.
No one could have attained such a sublime level of kindness other than the Prophet. To think of the man who has just manhandled him and the fear he felt when Umar threatened him is beyond ordinary forbearance. Hence, the rabbi got all the confirmation he needed and did not hesitate to declare his acceptance of Islam, but followed that with donating half his wealth for charity.