and said, “Stay in the valley of Yaʾjaj until Zaynab passes by you.” That took place one month after Badr.

Abū al-ʿĀṣ was counted among the foremost men of Quraysh for wealth, probity, and commercial skill. Islam, however, had already separated him from Zaynab, though the Prophet ﷺ himself had no legal means to part them.

Yūnus related, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ḥazm told me:
“Abū al-ʿĀṣ set out as a merchant to Syria; he was a man people trusted. With him were goods belonging to Quraysh. On his return a detachment of the Prophet ﷺ met him, drove off his caravan, and he escaped. They brought what they had taken to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he divided it among them. Abū al-ʿĀṣ then made his way to Zaynab, sought her protection, and asked her to request from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that his property be returned.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ summoned the detachment and said, ‘You know this man’s relationship to us. You have taken his wealth and that of others that was with him; it is legitimate booty. If you see fit to return it to him, then do so; but if you prefer otherwise, the right remains yours.’

They replied, ‘Rather, we will return it to him.’ By Allah, they gave back everything they had taken—one man brought a waterskin, another a small leather flask, another a rope—until not a single item remained with them.

Abū al-ʿĀṣ then left for Mecca, returned every consignment to its owner, and when he had finished said, ‘People of Quraysh, is there anyone whose property is still with me?’ They answered, ‘No; may God reward you well.’

He continued, ‘By Allah, nothing kept me from accepting Islam before this moment except the fear that you would think I had done so only to abscond with your wealth. I now bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.’

Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, however, stated that Abū al-ʿĀṣ’s goods were actually seized later, during the armistice, by Abū Baṣīr.

Ibn Numayr reported—from Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, from al-Shaʿbī—that Abū al-ʿĀṣ returned from Syria carrying the polytheists’ funds after his wife Zaynab had already become Muslim and emigrated. He was told, ‘Why not embrace Islam and keep the wealth you have with you?’ He replied, ‘What a wretched way it would be to begin my Islam—by betraying a trust!’ His wife then guaranteed on his behalf that