The messenger (peace be upon him) was in the house of Abi Ayyub, who is from the tribe of Al-Najar (Khazraj): Abi Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) felt honoured with the ascent of the messenger (peace be upon him) on his home when he (the messenger) arrived in Al-Madina Al-Monawara (the enlightened city). The house of Abi Ayyub was split into two floors and this house was blessed along with the two floors by the ascent of the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as reported in the following two narrations: The first narration: he (the messenger) descended to the ground floor then he transitioned to the top floor: Muslim narrated with his chain of transmission on the authority of Abi Ayyub (may Allah be please with him), that the prophet (peace be upon him) ascended upon him, so the prophet (peace be upon him) descended to the ground floor with Abi Ayyub on the top floor. He said: Abi Ayyub contemplated one night, and he said: I am walking above the head of the messenger (peace be upon him). So, he moved and spent the night aside in a corner. Then he (Abi Ayyub) told this to the prophet (peace be upon him), so the prophet (peace be upon him) said: the bottom floor is easier for me. So, he (Abi Ayyub) said: I will not ascend to a floor that you are below. So, the prophet (peace be upon him) switched to the top floor, with Abi Ayyub in the bottom floor. He (Abi Ayyub) used to make the prophet (peace be upon him) food and if he (the messenger) brought it to him, he (Abi Ayyub) would ask about where he (the messenger) placed his fingers and he (Abi Ayyub) traced where his fingers had touched. So, he (Abi Ayyub) made him (the messenger) food with garlic in it, and when it was returned to him, he asks the prophet (peace be upon him) where he placed his fingers, so he (the messenger) said to him: he did not eat. So, he (Abi Ayyub) was distressed and went upstairs to him, and he said: is it haram (forbidden)? So, the prophet (peace be upon him) said: no, but I hate it. He (Abi Ayyub) said: So, I hate what you hate or what you used to hate. He (Abi Ayyub) said: the prophet (peace be upon him) was visited by angels. In the narration of Al-Hakim, there is another reason mentioned for the messenger’s (peace be upon him) ascent to the top floor:
The second narration: On the authority of Abi Ayyub, he said: when the prophet (people be upon him) ascended to me, I said: May my mother and father be sacrificed for you! I hate to be above you and you below me. So, the prophet (peace be upon him) said: it is easier for me to be in the bottom floor when people visit us. He (Abi Ayyub) said: I saw a jar of ours broke and the water in it was spilled, so Umm Ayyub and I got up and used a piece of velvet cloth, as we had no other cloth, and we dried the water with it so that nothing harmful reaches the prophet (peace be upon him).
This is a sahih (authentic) hadith according to Muslim but was not released/published by either Bukhari or Muslim. And he spent a period of 7 months in Abi Ayyub’s house as mentioned in Ibn Saad’s narration. A house that was lucky enough to host the prophet (peace be upon him) for 7 months. This hadith is filled with benefits and humour: Abi Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) received a great reward, in the place (his house), and he inhabited both floors. He (Abi Ayyub) possessed this great reward by honouring the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and eating from his food and following the traces of the messenger of Allah’s (peace be upon him) fingers. And from this we understand that he (Abi Ayyub) used to increase the amount of food in case he would not be able to trace the fingers of the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) if the food was little. The house of Abi Ayyub is currently located in the south-east side of Quba Al-Khadhra (the green dome), and it is around fifteen metres away from Quba Al-Khadhra. On its outer walls is stone engraved with prominent gold letters that read: (This is the house of Abi Ayyub Al-Ansari delegated to the prophet (peace be upon him) in 7 years, 1291 after hijrah).
