Ibn Abī Sahl, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Sabbāk, and ʿAlī ibn Sālim said:
Abū al-Fatḥ ibn Shātīl and Naṣr Allāh al-Qazzāz informed us, saying:
Abū al-Qāsim al-Rabaʿī informed us—ibn Shātīl added: and al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī also informed us—saying:
Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Bazzāz informed us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr al-Razzāz narrated to us; Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār narrated to us; Abū Muʿāwiyah narrated to us, from Ismāʿīl, from Qays, from Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched a detachment to Khathʿam. Some people sought protection by prostrating, yet killing overtook them swiftly. When this reached the Prophet ﷺ, he granted them half the blood-money and declared, ‘I am free of every Muslim who resides in the midst of the polytheists.’ They asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, why?’ He replied, ‘Their campfires should not be visible to one another.’” (1)
21 – Abū Muʿāwiyah al-Aswad *
One of the great friends of Allah.
He kept company with Sufyān al-Thawrī and Ibrāhīm ibn Adham,
(1) Reported by Abu Dawud (2645) in Kitab al-Jihad, “Chapter: The prohibition of killing someone who seeks refuge by prostration,” and by al-Tirmidhi (1604) in al-Siyar, “Chapter: The dislike of residing among the polytheists,” both through the chain of Hannad ibn al-Sari from Abu Muawiyah with this isnad. All the transmitters are reliable, except that most students of Ismail ibn Abi Khalid do not mention Jarir in the chain.
Al-Bukhari and others preferred the mursal version, yet the hadith is authentically established through other routes. It is also transmitted by al-Nasa i 7/148, Ahmad 4/365, and al-Bayhaqi 9/13 through the route of Abu Wail from Abu Nakhilah (or Nahilah) al-Bajali, who said: Jarir related, “I came to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—while he was accepting pledges. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, extend your hand so I may pledge allegiance to you; stipulate the terms, for you know best.’ He replied: ‘I take your pledge that you worship Allah, establish the prayer, give the zakat, offer sincere counsel to the Muslims, and separate yourself from the polytheists.’” Its chain is sound.
There is corroboration from Samurah ibn Jundub, marfu: “Whoever mixes with a polytheist and lives with him is like him,” recorded by Abu Dawud (2787) at the end of Kitab al-Jihad.
Another supporting report comes from Bahz ibn Hakim, from his father, from his grandfather: the Messenger of Allah said, “Allah does not accept any deed from a polytheist who has embraced Islam until he leaves the polytheists for the Muslims.” Recorded by al-Nasa i 5/83 and Ibn Majah (2536); its chain is hasan, and al-Hakim (4/600) declared it sahih, with al-Dhahabi concurring.
See also: Hilyat al-Awliya 8/271.