the palm of one of them, whereupon he would rub it over his face and skin. Whenever he commanded them they hastened to obey; when he performed ablution they almost fought over the water he used; when he spoke they lowered their voices in his presence; and they did not stare at him out of reverence. He has put before you a proposal that is both sound and rightly guided, so accept it.’

A man from Banū Kinānah said, ‘Let me go to him.’ They replied, ‘Go to him.’ When he appeared before the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘This man belongs to a people who venerate the sacrificial camels; send the animals out to him.’ The camels were sent, and the Muslims received him while chanting the talbiyah. When he saw this he exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! Such people ought not to be barred from the House.’ He went back to his comrades and said, ‘I have seen the camels garlanded and marked; I do not think they should be prevented from entering the House.’

Then a man called Mikraz ibn Ḥafṣ stood up and said, ‘Let me go to him.’ They said, ‘Go to him.’ As he approached, the Prophet ﷺ remarked, ‘This is Mikraz—a wicked fellow.’ Mikraz began speaking with the Prophet ﷺ, and while he was doing so Suhayl ibn ʿAmr arrived.

Maʿmar related: Ayyūb told me, on the authority of ʿIkrimah, that when Suhayl came the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Your affair has now been made easy.’

Al-Zuhrī, in his version, said: Suhayl ibn ʿAmr came and said, ‘Bring a scribe so that we may write an agreement between us and you.’

The Prophet ﷺ summoned the scribe and dictated: ‘Write: In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate.’ Suhayl objected, ‘As for al-Raḥmān, by Allah I do not know who that is; instead write, “In Your name, O Allah,” as you used to write.’ The Muslims protested, ‘By Allah, we will write nothing but In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Write: In Your name, O Allah.’ He then continued, ‘This is what Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah, agrees upon.’ Suhayl retorted, ‘By Allah, if we acknowledged you as the Messenger of Allah we would not have barred you from the House nor fought you. Rather, write Muḥammad son of ʿAbd-Allāh.’ The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘I am the Messenger of Allah even though you deny it—write Muḥammad son of ʿAbd-Allāh.’

Al-Zuhrī added: This was in fulfillment of the Prophet’s statement: ‘They will not ask me for any proposal that magnifies the sanctities of Allah except that I grant it to them.’