Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas

Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas al-Ansari al-Khazraji, "the Ansar's orator", kunya Abu Ahmad — or it is said Abu Abd al-Rahman ¹.

Ibn al-Sakan relates from Anas that Thabit preached when the Messenger of God arrived at Medina, saying: "we will protect you as we protect ourselves and our children — so what is ours?" He said: "Paradise" — they said: "we are content" ¹.

The maghazi scholars do not name him among the Badriyya; they say his first battle was Uhud, and he witnessed all after it. The Prophet gave him glad tidings of Paradise in a famous story Musa ibn Anas related from his father — the hadith's root is in Muslim ¹. In al-Tirmidhi with a good chain, from Abu Hurayra: "what a fine man Thabit ibn Qays is" ¹.

Bukhari relates briefly and al-Tabarani at length, from Anas, that when the people were exposed on the day of al-Yamama Thabit was found applying hanut to himself, saying: "this is not how we fought with the Messenger of God — how ill is what you have accustomed your fellows to! My God, I disclaim to You what these have brought" — then he fought until he was killed ¹.

Ibn Hajar mentions that he had on a fine coat of mail which a passing Muslim took; then a sleeping man saw him in a dream, and he bequeathed that the man tell Khalid where the mail was, and tell Abu Bakr that he owed a debt and that so-and-so was freed. The man awoke, told Khalid, and the mail was brought; he told Abu Bakr his dream and Abu Bakr carried out the bequest ¹.