The Prophet’s Donkey, Yafur

Beautiful Miracle of the Final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

The Prophet’s Donkey, YaꜤfūr

Mawlana Sayyid Imran Akhtar Attari Madani

The mercy and compassion of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is not limited to humans, it extends to animals too. Here is a beautiful incident which illustrates the immense compassion of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and includes a miracle.

When the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم conquered Khaybar, a dark donkey came to him. They conversed and the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم asked, “What is your name?”

The donkey replied:

Yazīd b. Shihāb. From my lineage, Allah created seven donkeys that were only conveyances for prophets عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم. I request you to give me the honour of being your conveyance. Nobody has survived from my lineage, and the line of the prophetsعَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَام  ends with you. A Jew owned me before you, and I would throw him down on purpose, so he kept me hungry and beat me.

The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “From now on, your name is YaꜤfūr.”

Whenever the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم sent the donkey to anyone, it stood at the door and knocked on it with its head. When the person opened the door, YaꜤfūr would signal with his head to tell him to go and visit the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. After the Prophet’s passing, YaꜤfūr threw himself into the well of Abū Haytham out of grief.^[1]

There are numerous points we deduce from this incident:

*    It is a miracle of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم that he understood what animals were saying, and they understood what he said.

*   Acquiring love for the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is a blessing of Allah that even animals receive. The people who gain it are very fortunate, whereas it is a great misfortune for those who are deprived of it.

*   Animals can be named to distinguish them from others, just as the names of the Prophet’s animals can be found from reliable sources. The names of the Prophet’s horses were لَحِیْف, ظَرِبْ, لِزَاز and سَکْبْ. His saddle was called دَاجْ, his mule دُلْدُلْ, his female camel قَصْوَاء, and his donkey يَعْفُوْر.^[2]

 Even though the custom of riding donkeys is very rare now, remember the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم took one as a conveyance. As such, refrain from saying unsuitable things about them. In fact, a hadith mentions the special virtues of this animal, as riding it protects one from arrogance.^[3]

By the blessings of being around the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, YaꜤfūr gained a high level of understanding, in that he travelled to the homes of the Companions رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ without any difficulty and called them by the Prophet’s command.