“The time has come for you to unleash this lion, lashing his tail!” Ḥassān then stuck out his tongue and waggled it, adding, “By Him who sent you with the truth, I shall flay them as a tanner flays a hide.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “Do not be hasty. Abu Bakr knows the genealogies of Quraysh better than anyone, and I have ties of kinship among them; let him first set forth my lineage for you.” Ḥassān went to Abu Bakr and then returned, saying, “Messenger of Allah, your lineage has been fully clarified for me. By Him who sent you with the truth, I shall draw you from among them as a hair is drawn from dough.”

ʿĀʾishah said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say to Ḥassān, ‘The Holy Spirit will continue to support you so long as you defend Allah and His Messenger.’ I also heard him say, ‘Ḥassān lampooned them, bringing relief and requital.’” She then recited his verses, adding:

“You reviled Muhammad—upright, devout,
the Messenger of Allah whose hallmark is loyalty.
My father, his father, and my very honor
are a shield for Muhammad’s honor against you.
If you turn away from us, we shall perform ʿumrah;
then victory will come and the veil be lifted.
Allah has said: ‘I have sent a servant
who proclaims the truth, free of any concealment.’
Allah has said: ‘I have dispatched an army—
the Ansar—eager for the encounter.’
Day after day with the sons of Maʿad
we meet them with invective, with battle, or with satire.”

Muslim transmitted this report.

Sulaymān ibn al-Mughīrah and others relate: Thābit al-Bunnānī told us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rabāḥ, who said, “We visited Muʿāwiyah, accompanied by Abū Hurayrah. Some of us would prepare food for the others, and Abū Hurayrah was among those who prepared it in abundance and would invite us to his quarters. I said: …”