Hadith No: 1
Al-Tabarani - al-Mu'jam al-Kabir - Chapter on the Letter Ha
Those Named al-Harith - al-Harith ibn Dharrar al-Khuza'i
Volume: (3) - Page Number: (274)
3395 - Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated to us, who said: Muhammad ibn Abi Atabb Abu Bakr al-A'yun narrated to me, and Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Hadharami narrated to us, from Abdullah ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi Ziyad al-Qutwani, and Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hammal al-Isbahani narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Isa al-Zajjaj, who said: Muhammad ibn Saabiq narrated to me, from Isa ibn Dinar al-Mu'min, who told me that his father heard al-Harith ibn Dharrar al-Huday say: "I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), and he invited me to Islam, so I entered into it and affirmed it. Then he invited me to zakat (almsgiving), and I affirmed it. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, return to my people and invite them to Islam and the fulfillment of zakat. Whoever among them responds to me, I will collect their zakat, and you, O Messenger of Allah, send a messenger on such and such a date to receive what I have collected of zakat.'" When al-Harith had collected the zakat from those who responded to him and the time that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) intended to send was approaching, the messenger stopped and did not come to him. Al-Harith thought that this indicated some displeasure from Allah or His Messenger (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), so he called the leaders of his people and said to them: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) had set a time for me to send his messenger to receive what I had of zakat, and it is not the way of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) to delay. I do not see the withholding of his messenger except as a result of some displeasure that has occurred." So, they went, and we will go to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)."
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) sent al-Walid ibn Uqbah to al-Harith to receive what he had collected of zakat. However, when al-Walid had traveled some distance along the way, he became afraid and returned. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, al-Harith has denied me the zakat and intends to kill me." Then, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) struck out the expedition to al-Harith. Al-Harith set out with his companions, and when he met the expedition that was departing from the city, al-Harith said: "This is al-Harith." When he approached them, he asked, "To whom have you been sent?" They said, "To you." He asked, "Why?" They replied, "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) sent al-Walid ibn Uqbah, but he returned and claimed that you denied him zakat and intended to kill him." Al-Harith replied, "No, by the One who sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) with the truth, I did not see him, nor did he come to me, and I only came back when a messenger was delayed, fearing it might be displeasure from Allah or His Messenger (peace be upon him and his holy progeny)." Then, the following verses were revealed in Surah al-Hujurat:
{ O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with a report, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful. }(Surah al-Hujurat 49:6)
up to this point{ Favour from Allah and a blessing, and Allah is Knowing and Wise. }(Surah al-Hujurat 49:8).