al-Daghinah, who came to them. They said, “We gave Abu Bakr refuge on the understanding that he would worship his Lord inside his own house, but he has exceeded that: he has built a small mosque in the courtyard of his home and is praying and reciting aloud. We fear he may mislead our sons and our women. Go to him—if he wishes to restrict himself to worshipping his Lord in his house, let him do so; but if he insists on making it public, then ask him to release you from your guarantee, for we dislike to break our word to you, even though we will not accept Abu Bakr’s public display.”

ʿĀʾishah said: Ibn al-Daghinah went to Abu Bakr and said, “You know the terms on which I pledged my protection for you. Either abide by them, or return my pledge to me; I do not wish the Arabs to hear that I failed a man I guaranteed.”

Abu Bakr replied, “I return your protection to you, and I am content with the protection of Allah.”

At that time the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was still in Mecca. He said to the Muslims, “I have been shown the land of your emigration: a saline flat with date-palms between two lava ridges.” Those two ridges are the ḥarratān.

Therefore, those who intended to emigrate set out for Yathrib before the Prophet himself, once he had mentioned it, and some of those who had gone to Abyssinia came back to settle in Madinah. Abu Bakr also prepared to depart, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, “Take it easy, for I hope that I will soon be granted leave.” He asked, “May my father be ransomed for you—do you really expect that?” He replied, “Yes.”

So Abu Bakr held himself back in order to accompany the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and for four months he fed two riding animals he owned with samur leaves (acacia leaves).

One day, while we were sitting in our house at the height of noon, someone said to Abu Bakr, “Here is the Messenger of Allah coming with his head covered, at an hour when he never visits us.” Abu Bakr said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for him; by Allah, he comes at this hour only for something urgent.”

ʿĀʾishah continued: He arrived, asked permission to enter, was admitted, and said to Abu Bakr, “Send out those who are with you.” Abu Bakr replied, “They are only your family, may my father be ransomed for you, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Leave them, for I have been granted permission to depart.” Abu Bakr said, “Then take one of my two mounts.” He answered, “I will take it—but for its price.”

ʿĀʾishah said: We outfitted the two of them with all speed, and we