There was a man from amongst the Bedouins whose name was Zahir bin Haram. Whenever he came to Madinah for a need, he brought something for the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) as a gift, like cottage cheese or butter. Likewise, the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) would prepare something to give to him whenever he wanted to leave, such as dates and so on. The prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) used to love him and say: " Zahir is our Bedouin and we are his city-dwellers" Zahir was not very good looking. One day, Zahir- may Allah be pleased with him- left the desert and came to Allah's Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) but did not find him. He had some merchandise to sell so he went on to the marketplace.When the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) found out about his arrival, he went to the marketplace looking for him. When he arrived, he saw him selling his merchandise with sweat pouring down from his face, and he wore Bedouin clothes which did not smell good either. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) hugged him tightly from behind, while Zahir was unaware and could not see who it was.
Zahir became scared and said: " Let me! Who is this? " But the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) remained silent. Zahir tried to release himself from his grip and started to look right and left. When he saw the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) he relaxed and calmed down, placing his back against the Prophet's chest. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) began to joke with him, saying to the public: " Who will buy this slave?! Who will buy this slave?! "
Thereupon, Zahir looked at himself and thought of his extreme poverty, for he had neither wealth nor good looks.
He said: " You will find me unmarketable, O messenger of Allah."The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "but you are not unmarketable with Allah.
Perhaps just a smile at a poor man would raise you in rank in the sight of Allah
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