toward the rock, looking for the same thing I was—shade. I asked him, “Whose shepherd are you?” He answered, “I belong to a man of Quraysh,” and he named him, so I recognized him. I said, “Is there any milk in your flock?” He said, “Yes.” I then asked, “Would you milk some for me?” He replied, “Certainly.” I told him to single out a ewe, to wipe the dust from its udder, and to clean his hands by striking one against the other. He milked for me a good bowlful. I had with me a small water-skin for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ whose mouth was tied with a cloth; I poured water over the milk until the bottom of the vessel cooled. Then I went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and found that he had awakened. I said, “Drink, O Messenger of Allah.” He drank until I was satisfied, after which I said, “It is time to move on.”

So we mounted and set out, while the people were searching for us. No one caught up with us except Suraqah ibn Malik ibn Juʿshum on his horse. I said, “Messenger of Allah, the pursuer has reached us.” He replied, “Do not grieve; Allah is with us” (Qur’an 9:40). When Suraqah drew nearer—only two or three spear-lengths separated us—I repeated, “Messenger of Allah, the pursuer has reached us,” and I began to weep. He asked, “What makes you cry?” I said, “By Allah, I do not weep for myself; I weep for you.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ invoked against him, saying, “O Allah, protect us from him however You will.” At once the legs of Suraqah’s horse sank into the ground up to its belly, and he dismounted. He called out, “O Muhammad, I know this is your doing. Pray to Allah to deliver me from what I am in, and, by Allah, I will mislead those who are pursuing you. Here is my quiver—take an arrow from it. You will pass by my camels and sheep at such-and-such a place; take from them whatever you need.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “We have no need of your camels or sheep,” but he prayed for him. Suraqah then turned back to his companions, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and I continued on until we reached Medina by night.

This report is recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim through the narration of Zuhayr ibn Muʿāwiyah—“I heard Abū Isḥāq say, ‘I heard al-Barāʾ…’.” Al-Bukhārī also transmitted it through Isrāʾīl, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn