Takhrij Hadith 729: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ…"

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out [from Medina] at the time of Hudaybiyyah. When they were partway along the road, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Indeed, Khalid ibn al-Walid is at Al-Ghamim at the head of a cavalry vanguard for Quraysh, so take the route to the right". By Allah, Khalid did not realize they were there until he suddenly saw the dust of the [Muslim] army rising, whereupon he galloped away to warn Quraysh. The Prophet ﷺ traveled on until he reached the mountain pass from which he could descend upon them. There, his camel knelt down and refused to move. The people tried to urge her, shouting: "Hal! Hal!" (go on, go on!), but she stubbornly persisted. The people said: "Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn! Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn!" The Prophet ﷺ replied: "Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for such is not her nature. Rather, she has been stayed by the One who stayed the Elephant". He then said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, they will not ask me for any plan today in which they venerate the sacred ordinances of Allah except that I will grant it to them". He then nudged her, and she leaped up. He altered his course away from them until he encamped at the farthest edge of Hudaybiyyah, by a shallow well containing only a tiny trickle of water, which the people began to scoop up bit by bit. It was not long before they drained it completely, and they complained of thirst to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He drew an arrow from his quiver and commanded them to place it into the well. By Allah, the water continuously surged and boiled up for them with abundant quenching until everyone had fully departed from it. While they were in this state, Budayl ibn Warqa' al-Khuza'i arrived with a group of his people from the tribe of Khuza'ah, who were the trusted confidants of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ among the people of Tihamah. Budayl said: "I have left Ka'b ibn Lu'ay and 'Amir ibn Lu'ay encamped at the abundant springs of Hudaybiyyah. They have brought out breastfeeding camels and their young; they are determined to fight you and bar you from the Sacred House". The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied: "We have not come to fight anyone; rather, we have come only to perform the Lesser Pilgrimage ('Umrah). War has already exhausted Quraysh and ruined them. If they wish, I will grant them a truce for a fixed period, provided they leave me and the rest of mankind alone. If I prevail, they can enter into what the people enter into if they wish; otherwise, they will have rested [and regained strength]. But if they refuse, then by the One in Whose hand is my soul, I will fight them over this cause of mine until my neck is severed, and Allah will certainly execute His decree". Budayl said: "I shall convey to them what you say". He departed until he reached Quraysh and said: "We have come to you from this man, and we heard him say a statement. If you wish that we present it to you, we will do so". Their foolish ones replied: "We have no need for you to inform us of anything concerning him". But their men of sound judgment said: "Deliver what you heard him say". So Budayl related to them what the Prophet ﷺ had spoken. Thereupon, 'Urwah ibn Mas'ud stood up and said: "O my people! Are you not as a father to me?" They said: "Yes". He asked: "And am I not as a son to you?" They said: "Yes". He asked: "Do you suspect me of any treachery?" They said: "No". He asked: "Do you not know that I called upon the people of 'Ukaz for help, and when they refused me, I came to you with my own family, my children, and those who obeyed me?" They said: "Yes". He said: "This man has offered you a sound plan of right guidance, so accept it and let me go to him". They said: "Go to him". 'Urwah came to the Prophet ﷺ and began speaking to him. The Prophet ﷺ spoke to him in a manner similar to what he had said to Budayl. 'Urwah then said: "O Muhammad! Tell me, if you utterly destroy your own people, have you ever heard of any Arab before you wiping out his own kinsmen? And if the other outcome happens [and Quraysh defeat you], by Allah, I see faces here—I see a mixed rabble of people who are bound to flee and abandon you!" Hearing this, Abu Bakr barked at him with a severe insult, saying: "Go bite the clitoris of Al-Lat! Would we ever flee from him and abandon him?!" 'Urwah asked: "Who is that?" They replied: "Abu Bakr". 'Urwah said: "By the One in Whose hand is my soul, were it not for a favor you once did for me which I have not yet repaid you for, I would have answered you back!" 'Urwah resumed speaking to the Prophet ﷺ, and every time he spoke, he reached out to stroke the Prophet's beard. Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah was standing at the head of the Prophet ﷺ, holding a sword and wearing a helmet. Whenever 'Urwah extended his hand toward the Prophet's beard, Al-Mughirah struck his hand away with the flat scabbard of his sword, snapping: "Keep your hand away from the beard of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ!" 'Urwah raised his head and asked: "Who is this?" They said: "Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah". 'Urwah said: "O treacherous man! Am I not still working to resolve your act of treachery?" (For Al-Mughirah had accompanied a group of people during the days of Ignorance, killed them, seized their wealth, and then came to Medina to accept Islam. The Prophet ﷺ had told him at the time: "As for your Islam, I accept it; but as for the wealth, I have nothing to do with it.") 'Urwah then began scanning the companions of the Prophet ﷺ with his eyes, and said: “By Allah, he does not clear his throat to spit except that it lands in the palm of one of them, who then rubs it over his own face and skin. When he commands them, they rush to fulfill his command. When he performs ritual ablution (Wudu'), they nearly fight one another for the leftover water. When he speaks, they lower their voices in his presence, and they do not look him squarely in the eye out of sheer reverence for him”. He later returned to his companions and said: "O my people! By Allah, I have visited kings; I have visited Caesar, Chosroes, and the Negus. Yet, by Allah, I have never seen a king whose companions revere him the way the companions of Muhammad revere Muhammad ﷺ! By Allah, he does not clear his throat to spit except that it lands in the palm of one of them, who then rubs it over his own face and skin. When he commands them, they rush to fulfill his command. When he performs ritual ablution, they nearly fight one another for the leftover water. When he speaks, they lower their voices in his presence, and they do not look him squarely in the eye out of sheer reverence for him. He has offered you a sound plan of right guidance, so accept it!" A man from the tribe of Bani Kinanah said: "Let me go to him". They said: "Go". When he appeared before the Prophet ﷺ and his companions, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "This is so-and-so, and he belongs to a people who hold sacrificial camels in high esteem, so send the sacrificial animals out before him". They were sent out, and the people met him reciting the pilgrim's call (Talbiyah). When the man saw this, he exclaimed: "Subhan Allah! It is not right that such people should be barred from the House!" When he returned to his companions, he said: "I saw the sacrificial camels garlanded and marked on their humps. I do not hold that they should be barred from the House". Then a man among them called Mikraz ibn Hafs stood up and said: "Let me go to him". They said: "Go". When he appeared before them, the Prophet ﷺ said: "This is Mikraz, and he is a wicked man". He began speaking to the Prophet ﷺ, and while he was doing so, Suhayl ibn 'Amr arrived. (The sub-narrator Ma'mar noted: Ayyub informed me from 'Ikrimah that when Suhayl ibn 'Amr arrived, the Prophet ﷺ remarked: "Your matter has now become easy (Sahula) for you.") Ma'mar continued: Az-Zuhri said in his narration: Suhayl ibn 'Amr arrived and said: "Come, write a treaty document between us and you". The Prophet ﷺ called for a scribe and dictated: "In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful (Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim)". Suhayl objected: "As for Ar-Rahman, by Allah, I do not know what it is. Rather, write: 'In Your name, O Allah (Bismika Allahumma)' as you used to write". The Muslims said: "By Allah, we will write nothing except Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim!" But the Prophet ﷺ commanded: "Write: In Your name, O Allah". He then dictated: "This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed upon". Suhayl objected again: "By Allah, if we knew you were the Messenger of Allah, we would not have barred you from the House, nor would we have fought you. Rather, write: Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah". The Prophet ﷺ said: "By Allah, I am indeed the Messenger of Allah, even if you deny me. Write: Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah". (Az-Zuhri noted: This concession was due to his previous vow: "They will not ask me for any plan today in which they venerate the sacred ordinances of Allah except that I will grant it to them.") The Prophet ﷺ said to him: "On the condition that you allow us free passage to the House so that we may perform circumambulation (Tawaf) around it". Suhayl said: "By Allah, the Arabs must never say that we were taken by force or submitted to pressure; rather, this will take place next year". So it was written. Suhayl then stipulated: "And on the condition that no man comes to you from us—even if he follows your religion—except that you must return him to us". The Muslims cried out in shock: "Subhan Allah! How can a man be returned to the polytheists when he has come as a Muslim?!" While they were in this state, Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl ibn 'Amr suddenly came shackled in chains, stumbling along. He had managed to escape from the lower part of Mecca and threw himself down among the Muslims. Suhayl exclaimed: "This, O Muhammad, is the very first matter I hold you to under our treaty: that you return him to me!" The Prophet ﷺ said: "We have not yet finalized or signed the document". Suhayl said: "By Allah, then I will never conclude a peace treaty with you on anything ever!" The Prophet ﷺ said: "Then grant him to me as an exception". Suhayl said: "I will not grant him to you". The Prophet ﷺ insisted: "Rather, do it" He replied: "I shall not". Mikraz chimed in: "Rather, we have granted him to you". Abu Jandal cried out: "O assembly of Muslims! Am I to be returned to the polytheists when I have come as a Muslim? Do you not see what I have suffered?!" For he had been severely tortured for the sake of Allah. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated: I went to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and asked: "Are you not truly the Prophet of Allah?" He replied: "Yes, indeed" I asked: "Are we not upon the truth and our enemy upon falsehood?" He replied: "Yes, indeed". I asked: "Why then should we accept degradation in our religion?" He answered: "Indeed, I am the Messenger of Allah, and I do not disobey Him, and He is my Supporter". I asked: "Did you not use to tell us that we would go to the House and circumambulate it?" He replied: "Yes, but did I tell you that you would go to it this very year?" I said: "No". He said: "Verily, you shall go to it and circumambulate it". I then went to Abu Bakr and asked: "O Abu Bakr! Is this not truly the Prophet of Allah?" He replied: "Yes, indeed". I asked: "Are we not upon the truth and our enemy upon falsehood?" He replied: "Yes, indeed". I asked: "Why then should we accept degradation in our religion?" Abu Bakr replied: "O man! He is indeed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he does not disobey his Lord, and He is his Supporter. Therefore, hold fast to his stirrup (follow him strictly), for by Allah, he is upon the truth!" I asked: "Did he not use to tell us that we would go to the House and circumambulate it?" Abu Bakr replied: "Yes, but did he inform you that you would go to it this very year?" I said: "No." He said: "Verily, you shall go to it and circumambulate it". (Az-Zuhri noted: 'Umar said: "Because of that [misstep of mine], I performed many continuous righteous deeds [to expiate for my questioning].") When the writing of the treaty was concluded, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his companions: "Stand up, slaughter your sacrificial animals, and shave your heads". By Allah, not a single man among them stood up, even though he repeated his command three times. Seeing that no one stood up, he entered upon [his wife] Umm Salamah and recounted to her what he had encountered from the people. Umm Salamah responded wisely: "O Prophet of Allah, do you desire this? Go out, and do not speak a single word to any one of them until you have slaughtered your own sacrificial camels and called your barber to shave your head". He went out and spoke to no one until he did exactly that: he slaughtered his sacrificial camels and called his barber, who shaved his head. When the people saw that, they immediately stood up, slaughtered their animals, and began shaving one another's heads, to the point that they nearly crushed one another out of grief and distress. Soon after, believing women arrived as emigrants, and Allah revealed the verse: {O you who believe! When believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them...} up to the words {...and hold not to the marriage ties of disbelieving women}. On that day, 'Umar divorced two of his wives who were still polytheists; Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan married one of them, and Safwan ibn Umayyah married the other. The Prophet ﷺ then returned to Medina. Shortly after, Abu Basir, a man from Quraysh who had accepted Islam, arrived in Medina. Quraysh dispatched two men in pursuit of him, saying: "[Abide by] the covenant you made with us". So the Prophet ﷺ handed him over to the two men. They set out with him until they reached Dhu al-Hulaifah, where they dismounted to eat some of their dates. Abu Basir said to one of the two men: "By Allah, O so-and-so, I see that this sword of yours is of excellent quality". The other man drew it, boasting: "Yes, by Allah, it is excellent. I have tested it time and again". Abu Basir said: "Let me look closer at it". The man handed it over to him, whereupon Abu Basir struck him down with it until he died. The other man fled at top speed until he reached Medina, entering the Masjid running frantically. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw him, he remarked: "This man has seen something terrifying." When the man reached the Prophet ﷺ, he gasped: "By Allah, my companion has been killed, and I too am a dead man!" Abu Basir arrived right after and said: "O Prophet of Allah! By Allah, Allah has fully discharged your covenant. You returned me to them, but then Allah delivered me from them". The Prophet ﷺ exclaimed: "Woe to his mother! What a kindler of war he would be, if only he had other men to back him!" When Abu Basir heard this, he knew the Prophet ﷺ would return him to them again under the treaty terms, so he left Medina and headed down to the seashore. Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl also managed to slip away from them and joined Abu Basir. Subsequently, every single man from Quraysh who accepted Islam would escape and join Abu Basir, until a formidable band of men gathered around him. By Allah, whenever they heard of a trade caravan belonging to Quraysh setting out for the Levant (Sham), they intercepted it, slew them, and seized their wealth. Eventually, Quraysh were completely broken down and sent an urgent message to the Prophet ﷺ, imploring him by Allah and the ties of kinship to send word to them; whoever came to Medina from them would be safe [and would not be sent back]. The Prophet ﷺ sent word to them [to come to Medina]. Then Allah revealed the verse: {And He is the One Who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Mecca after He had given you victory over them...} up to the words {... pride—the pride of ˹pre-Islamic˺ ignorance }. Their pride and arrogance lay in the fact that they refused to acknowledge that he was the Prophet of Allah, refused to write Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, and barred them from accessing the Sacred House.