and the Friday prayer caught up with him among Banu Salim ibn ʿAwf, so he led it with those who were with him.

The site of the mosque was a date-drying yard that belonged to two orphan boys—Sahl and Suhayl, the sons of Rafiʿ ibn ʿAmr of Banu al-Najjar, according to Musa ibn ʿUqbah—and they were under the guardianship of Asʿad ibn Zurara.

Ibn Ishaq says that the yard belonged to Sahl and Suhayl, the sons of ʿAmr, and that they were in the care of Muʿadh ibn ʿAfra.

Ibn Manda was mistaken, asserting that it belonged to Sahl and Suhayl, the sons of Baydaʾ, whereas the sons of Baydaʾ were among the Emigrants.

During his stay with Banu ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laid the foundations of the Qubaʾ Mosque, and he performed the Friday prayer with Banu Salim in the middle of the valley. Several of their men accompanied him—among them al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿUbada and ʿItban ibn Malik—and asked him to stay with them, but he said, “Leave the she-camel alone; she is under command.”

He continued on his way, the Ansar encircling him, until he reached Banu Bayada. Ziyad ibn Labid and Farwa ibn ʿAmr came out to greet him and invited him to alight among them; he replied, “Let her be, for she is under command.”

He then came to the dwellings of Banu ʿAdi ibn al-Najjar—maternal uncles of ʿAbd al-Muttalib. Sulayt ibn Qays and other men from Banu ʿAdi met him and asked him to stop and remain with them, but he said, “Let her be, for she is under command.”

He walked on until he reached the quarters of Banu Malik ibn al-Najjar. There the she-camel knelt at the very spot where the mosque would be built—a date yard that belonged to two orphan boys and contained palm trees, ruined walls, and the graves of idolaters. He did not dismount from her back; she rose and walked a little further—he ﷺ did not urge her—then turned back, returned to the same place, and knelt again. He dismounted, and Abū