people of Abyssinia! Am I not the person who has the greatest claim upon you?”

They replied, “Indeed.”

He asked, “How have you found my conduct among you?”

They said, “The best of conduct.”

He continued, “Then what troubles you?”

They said, “You have abandoned our religion and you allege that Jesus is a servant.”

He asked, “And what do you yourselves say about him?”

They answered, “He is the son of God.”

So he placed his hand on his chest, over his tunic, and said, “He testifies that Jesus son of Mary—” adding nothing beyond that, meaning what he had written inside the document. They were satisfied and dispersed.

News of this reached the Prophet ﷺ. When the Negus died, the Prophet offered the funeral prayer for him and sought forgiveness for him. We have mentioned this incident here, although it occurred after Badr, only by way of digression. Allah knows best.

The Expedition of ʿUmayr ibn ʿAdī al-Khaṭmī

Al-Wāqidī reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched him five nights before the end of Ramadan against ʿAṣmāʾ bint Marwān of the clan of Banū Umayyah ibn Zayd. She used to speak ill of Islam, incite hostility toward the Prophet ﷺ, and compose satirical verses. ʿUmayr came to her at night and killed her stealthily.

The Raid on Banū Sulaym

Ibn Isḥāq said: After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned to Medina from Badr, he remained there only seven days before setting out in person against Banū Sulaym. He appointed Sābaʿ ʿUrfuṭah al-Ghifārī—though some say Ibn Umm Maktūm—as his deputy over Medina. He reached a watering-place called al-Kudr, stayed there three days, and then returned without encountering anyone.