As the mother of this little boy taught him the Shahadah his little heart was filled with love for the Prophet ﷺ. He was filled with love for him by merely hearing about him. Oh how he wished that he could go to his beloved Nabi in Makkah or that his Nabi travels to Madinah so that he could be fortunate enough to see him and experience the delight of meeting him.

Not even a little time passed when he heard that his wish was coming true. His beloved Rasul was coming to Madinah. Happiness became prevelant in every house and joy filled the hearts of every individual as they watched the fortunate path that would be graced with his footsteps as he entered Madeenah.

The little children began to scream every morning, “Muhammad ﷺ has come!” Anas رضي الله عنه along with the other some other boys would run to see but would return dejected until one day it was announced that he is very near to Madeenah.

Group after group began racing each other in proceeding towards him. The children were the most excited, their faces and little heart filled with glee. In the forefront of these children was Anas ibn Malik Ansari رضي الله عنه.

On hearing the news, the women and little children ascended their roofs and began searching for him questioning, “Which one is he?” This was a day that was deeply engrained into the mind of Anas. His mother approached Nabi ﷺ saying that everyone had given him a gift and all she had to give him as a gift was her son.

Nabi ﷺ would affectionately call him Unais which is the diminutive of Anas. He was blessed with 10 years of serving Nabi ﷺ before he passed away. He tried his best to follow in the footsteps of his Nabi ﷺ. There were 2 days that he would mention most and would reminisce saying that he did not see another day like these. They were the day that he met  Nabi ﷺ for the first time and the day he separated from him for the last time. Whenever he would remember the former, he would be happy and buoyant and whenever he remembered the latter, he would sob and cry, causing those around him to cry as well.

One special dua that Nabi ﷺ made for him was:

اللهما رزقه مالا وولادا وبارك له

This dua of Nabi ﷺ was clearly accepted as Anas رضي الله عنه was amongst the wealthiest from the Ansaar. He was also blessed with a vast progeny, so vast that his children and granchildren exceeded 100 in number. He was blessed with a long life too. He lived for a full century, 100 years.

Before he passed away he made a wasiyyat that he be buried with a small staff that belonged to Nabi ﷺ. He passed away with the kalimah on his lips, buried with the staff of Nabi ﷺ in his kafn. How fortunate was he?