Suhayb · a Light

He handed over everything he owned to be allowed to leave

Suhayb ibn Sinan was an Arab boy captured by Byzantine raiders and raised in their territory, which is why Makkah called him ar-Rumi, the Roman. He was freed, became a merchant and grew wealthy. When he tried to migrate to Madinah, Quraysh stopped him and told him he had arrived among them with nothing and would not leave with a fortune. He asked whether they would let him go if he gave them all of it. They agreed, and he told them where the money was buried and rode out with nothing. Early commentators connect his case to the verse about the man who sells himself seeking the pleasure of Allah, and the reports say the Prophet ﷺ told him twice that the sale had been profitable.

Suhayb ibn Sinan ar-Rumi · Makkah to Madinah, 622