Earlier nations in the Sunnah 4 min read
This is a story the Prophet ﷺ told about two men of Banu Israel, one who lent a thousand dinars and one who was determined to repay it. It is reported by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, in Sahih al-Bukhari. It teaches trust in Allah, honesty in debts and keeping one's word.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ mentioned a man of Banu Israel who asked another man of Banu Israel for a loan of a thousand dinars. The full text is in Sahih al-Bukhari 2291. Sahih al-Bukhari 1498, 2063, 2734 and 6261 quote parts of the same narration in other chapters.
The lender said: bring me witnesses so that I can call them to witness. The borrower said: Allah is sufficient as a witness. The lender said: then bring me a guarantor. The borrower said: Allah is sufficient as a guarantor. The lender said: you have spoken the truth. And he gave him the money for a fixed term.
The borrower travelled by sea and finished his business. Then he looked for a ship to bring him back by the agreed time, and he could not find one. So he took a piece of wood and hollowed it out, put in it a thousand dinars and a letter to the lender, and sealed the place.
He came to the sea and said, in the meaning of his words: O Allah, You know that I borrowed a thousand dinars from so-and-so. He asked me for a guarantor and I said that Allah is sufficient, and he was pleased with You. He asked me for a witness and I said that Allah is sufficient, and he was pleased with You. I tried hard to find a ship to send him his money and I could not, and I entrust it to You.
His dua is plain and honest. He tells Allah the whole matter: what he borrowed, what he promised, what he tried and what he could not do, and then he leaves the rest to Him.
Then he threw the wood into the sea until it went in, and went away. He was still looking for a ship to take him home.
The lender went out to look whether a ship had come with his money. He found the piece of wood, took it home for his family as firewood, and when he split it he found the money and the letter.
Later the borrower arrived with a thousand dinars and said: by Allah, I kept trying to find a ship to bring you your money, and I did not find one before the ship I came on. The lender asked: did you send me anything? He said: I am telling you that I found no ship before this one.
The lender said: Allah has delivered on your behalf what you sent in the wood, so take your thousand dinars and go on your way, rightly guided.
Both men acted in good faith. The borrower did not claim anything he did not know, and the lender accepted his word.
The hadith does not give the names of the two men, their city, the length of the term, or how the wood reached the lender's shore. We should not add details that the Prophet ﷺ did not mention.
The story reports an event among two men of Banu Israel. The Quran's guidance to write down debts and to bring witnesses (Quran 2:282) stays as it is for us.
General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.
Updated 6 October 2026
The full text is in Sahih al-Bukhari 2291. Parts of it are quoted in Sahih al-Bukhari 1498, 2063, 2734 and 6261. It is reported by Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet ﷺ.
No. Quran 2:282 guides the believers to write down debts and call witnesses. The hadith reports what happened between two men of Banu Israel, and its lesson is about their trust and honesty.
He did not know whether the money he sent in the wood had reached the lender. So he kept looking for a ship and brought the money himself. The lender then told him that Allah had delivered the first payment.
