Khuzaimah ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه — “By considering you trustworthy, Messenger of Allah”
Khuzaimah ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه — "By considering you trustworthy, Messenger of Allah"
Khuzaimah ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه — "By considering you trustworthy, Messenger of Allah"
A Companion of the Prophet ﷺ — the uncle of Umarah ibn Khuzaymah — narrated how a simple purchase of a horse became the day Khuzaimah ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه received an honour no one else was given.
The Prophet ﷺ bought a horse from a Bedouin, and took him with him to pay him the price of his horse.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ walked quickly, and the Bedouin walked slowly.
Along the way, people stopped the Bedouin and began to bargain with him for the horse — and they did not know that the Prophet ﷺ had bought it.
The Bedouin called out to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying: "If you want this horse, (then buy it), otherwise I shall sell it."
The Prophet ﷺ stopped when he heard the call of the Bedouin, and said:
> «أَوَلَيْسَ قَدِ ابْتَعْتُهُ مِنْكَ»
"Have I not bought it from you?"
The Bedouin said: "I swear by Allah, I have not sold it to you."
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes, I have bought it from you."
The Bedouin began to say: "Bring a witness."
A deal made between two men on a road, with no one else present. The seller was now denying it in public, and asking for proof.
Then Khuzaimah ibn Thabit stepped forward and said:
"I bear witness that you have bought it."
The Prophet ﷺ turned to Khuzaymah and said:
> «بِمَ تَشْهَدُ»
"On what (grounds) do you bear witness?"
Khuzaimah had not been there. He had not seen the sale, and he did not pretend that he had. His answer was something else entirely:
> «بِتَصْدِيقِكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ»
"By considering you trustworthy, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)!"
Meaning: I believe everything you say — so when you say you bought it, that is enough for me to testify.
And then came the honour:
> «فَجَعَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم شَهَادَةَ خُزَيْمَةَ بِشَهَادَةِ رَجُلَيْنِ»
"The Prophet (ﷺ) made the witness of Khuzaymah equivalent to the witness of two people."
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🌿 Stop and Think About This Scene
Khuzaimah did not witness the sale. If he had claimed that he saw it, he would have been lying — and his testimony would have been worthless before Allah.
Instead he testified to something he did know, with complete certainty: that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ does not lie. Ever. About anything.
His witness was not about the horse. It was about the man.
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❤️ The Greatest Lesson
In Khuzaimah's answer — "By considering you trustworthy, Messenger of Allah" — is the foundation of the whole religion of a believer. We believe the Prophet ﷺ about Paradise and Hell, about the unseen and the Last Day. Khuzaimah simply showed that the one who believes him about the greatest matters does not hesitate to believe him about a horse.
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📚 Important Lessons From This Hadith
1. The Prophet ﷺ did not use his position to crush the Bedouin's denial — the matter proceeded by evidence: "Bring a witness."
2. Khuzaimah did not claim to have seen what he had not seen; he stated the true ground of his testimony: "On what (grounds) do you bear witness?" — "By considering you trustworthy, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)!"
3. Trust in the Prophet's ﷺ truthfulness is not partial — it covers the small claims and the great ones alike.
4. The Prophet ﷺ honoured that trust publicly: he "made the witness of Khuzaymah equivalent to the witness of two people."
5. A testimony must be built on knowledge — Khuzaimah's knowledge was certainty about the character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
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🏠 How Can We Apply This Hadith in Our Daily Lives?
When we are asked to stand witness — in a dispute, a contract, or a family matter — we can follow Khuzaimah's honesty: say exactly what we know, and name the ground we know it on. And in our faith, we can examine our own trust: if we say we believe the Prophet ﷺ about the Hereafter, his words about daily life deserve the same certainty.
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🌹 The Most Beautiful Message
One sentence of trust, spoken at the right moment on a dusty road, raised a man's testimony to the weight of two — forever. Khuzaimah was not the witness of a sale. He was the witness of a lifetime of truthfulness, and the Prophet ﷺ certified his certificate.
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📖 Authentic Reference
Sunan Abi Dawud 3607 — Chapter: If the judge knows that the testimony of one person is true, is it permissible for him to pass judgment on the basis of that — Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani) — Sunan Abi Dawud 3607