Some people came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Send with us some men to teach us the Qur'an and the Sunnah." So he sent to them seventy men from the Ansār who were called "the reciters"; among them was my maternal uncle Harām
Authentic hadithعن أنس رضي الله عنه قال: جاء ناس إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن ابعث معنا رجالاً يعلمونا القرآن والسنة، فبعث إليهم سبعين رجلا ًمن الأنصار يقال لهم: القراء، فيهم خالي حَرامٌ، يقرؤون القرآن، ويتدارسون بالليل يتعلمون، وكانوا بالنهار يَجِيئُون بالماء، فيضعونه في المسجد، ويحتطبون فيبيعونه، ويشترون به الطعام لأهل الصُّفَّةِ، وللفقراء، فبعثهم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فَعَرَضُوا لهم فقتلوهم قبل أن يبلغوا المكان، فقالوا: اللهم بلَغِّ ْعَنَّا نبينا أنا قد لَقِينَاك فرضينا عنك ورَضِيتَ عَنَّا، وأتى رجلٌ حَرَاماً خال أنس من خلفه، فطعنه برُمْحٍ حتى أَنْفَذَهُ، فقال حَرَامٌ: فُزْتُ ورَبِّ الكعبة، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «إن إخوانكم قد قُتِلُوا وإنهم قالوا: اللهم بلغ عنا نبينا أنا قد لقيناك فرضينا عنك ورضيت عنا».
Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Some people came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Send with us some men to teach us the Qur'an and the Sunnah." So he sent to them seventy men from the Ansār who were called "the reciters"; among them was my maternal uncle Harām. They used to recite the Qur'an and collectively study it and discuss its meaning at night. In the day they used to bring water and pour it into containers in the mosque, and they would collect firewood and sell it. With the sale proceeds of the wood they would buy food for the people of Suffah and the needy. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent these reciters with the people who asked but they treacherously attacked them and killed them before they reached their destination. (While dying) they supplicated: "O Allah, convey to our Prophet on our behalf that we have met You in a way that we are pleased with You and You are pleased with us." (The narrator said) A man attacked Harām, Anas's uncle, from behind and stabbed him with a spear piercing him, whereupon Harām said: "By the Lord of the Ka‘bah, I have won!" Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to his Companions: "Your brothers have been slain and they said: "O Allah, convey to our Prophet on our behalf that we have met You in a way that we are pleased with You and You are pleased with us."
Explanation
A delegation from some Bedouin tribes came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pretending that they had accepted Islam. They asked the Prophet to send them some people to teach them the Qur'an, so the Prophet sent seventy men who were known as the reciters, because they were diligent in learning the Qur'an and studying it. Their preoccupation with reciting the Qur'an did not prevent them from earning a living and working. Anas says that during the day, they would fetch water and fill the water containers in the mosque to be used for making ablution or drinking or any other purpose. They would collect firewood and sell it and buy food for the people of Suffah and the poor with the proceeds. The people of Suffah were poor people who had no family in Madīnah and slept at the back of the Prophet's mosque in a canopied area called Suffah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sent the reciters with those people but when they dismounted at the well of Ma‘ūnah, before reaching their destination - the house of Abu Barā’ ibn Mulā‘ib al-Asinnah - a group of men led by ‘Āmir ibn At-Tufayl attacked the reciters and killed them all. As they were dying they said: "O Allah, convey to our Prophet on our behalf that we have met You in a way that we are pleased with You and You are pleased with us." In another narration they said: "Convey to our people on our behalf that we have truly met our Lord and He was pleased with us and made us pleased." Archangel Jibrīl informed the Prophet that they have met their Lord and that He was pleased with them and He made them pleased, as mentioned in Al-Bukhāri's narration. The Messenger of Allah conveyed this news to his Companions in Madīnah, saying: "Your brothers have been killed and they said: 'O Allah, convey to our Prophet on our behalf that we have met You in a way that we are pleased with You and You are pleased with us.'" This statement of theirs means that Allah, the Almighty, was pleased with them due to their obedience to Him, and that they were pleased with Him due to what He had blessed them with and bestowed upon them of generous favors. The pleasure of Allah with a person entails showering him with His mercy, kindness and all good things.
Source · Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).