Keeper of the Baggage

Free, Abu Rafi' chose to stay in the Prophet's ﷺ service. He was in charge of his baggage on journeys. On the Farewell Pilgrimage, when the Prophet ﷺ left Mina, Abu Rafi' went ahead on his own and pitched his tent at al-Abtah, and the Prophet ﷺ came and stopped there (Sahih Muslim 1313).

He also handled the Prophet's ﷺ dealings. The Prophet ﷺ had borrowed a young camel from a man, and when the camels of charity arrived he told Abu Rafi' to repay him. Abu Rafi' found only better, older camels. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Give it to him, for the best of people are those who are best in repaying" (Sahih Muslim 1600).

Once a man of Banu Makhzum, sent to collect charity, invited Abu Rafi' along so he could have a share. Abu Rafi' would not go until he had asked. The Prophet ﷺ told him: "Charity is not lawful for us, and the freed slaves of a people are of them" (Jami' al-Tirmidhi 657).

01Why it matters

Faithful service shows in small things: preparing the place before being asked, and asking before taking.

02Reflection

Before you take something that is offered, do you ask whether it is right for you?

03Sources

Sahih Muslim 1313 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih Muslim 1600 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Jami' al-Tirmidhi 657 Graded by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih · Al-Albani: Sahih · Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan Sahih · Zubair Ali Zai: SahihSahih

What the hadith grades mean

Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.

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