Saying
What is the matter between you and your people? Why is there animosity?
Asked of Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl, who had turned away from the idolatry of the Quraysh and was estranged from his people for it.
I cannot worship idols.
Of the four hunafa', Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl alone accepted neither Christianity nor Judaism, telling the rabbis and priests he met on his search that theirs was not the true religion of Ibrahim AS either. He returned to Makkah and, once mature and respected among his people, openly declared that no one in the whole city remained upon the religion of Ibrahim AS besides himself.
Asma bint Abi Bakr RA, the older sister of Aisha RA, recalled as a young child seeing Zayd ibn Amr rebuke the Quraysh for worshiping idols, for offering meat to them, and for burying their infant daughters alive. Whenever a man of Quraysh wanted to kill his daughter, Zayd would intervene and ask to raise the girl himself as his own, showing his generosity and refusal to take any part in their idolatry.
The Prophet ﷺ, still a young man before his own mission began, once asked Zayd ibn Amr what was the matter between him and his people, and why there was such animosity, an early sign of the Prophet ﷺ's own inquisitive mind. Zayd answered simply that he could not worship idols, and the Prophet ﷺ, who himself had never worshiped an idol, found in him a kindred spirit. Zayd ibn Amr continued upon his tawhid until he died, about five years before the Prophet ﷺ began preaching Islam.
Zayd ibn Amr is described by the Prophet ﷺ as a one-man ummah, proof that sincerity in rejecting falsehood could lead a person to the truth even without a prophet or scripture to guide him.
Other events recorded around the same time. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
What is the matter between you and your people? Why is there animosity?
Asked of Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl, who had turned away from the idolatry of the Quraysh and was estranged from his people for it.
I cannot worship idols.
Give her over to me, I will take care of her and I will bring her up. She will become my daughter.
Said to Qurashi fathers about to bury their infant daughters alive, whom he took in and raised himself.
O people of Quraysh! There is no one left upon the religion of Ibrahim in this whole city other than me!
Died about five years before the Prophet ﷺ began preaching Islam, having remained the sole adherent of the pure religion of Ibrahim AS in Makkah.
As a young child, I remember seeing Zayd ibn Amr rebuking the Quraysh: for worshiping idols, for giving meat to the idols, and for trying to bury their daughters alive.