Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah said, “Messenger of Allah, lodge my people with me so that I may honor them, for I have only lately offended them.” He replied, “I do not prevent you from honoring your people, but their quarters must be where they can hear the Quran.”
The offense for which al-Mughīrah was blamed among his people was that, while employed by Thaqīf, he accompanied them on their return from Egypt. When they reached a place called Bisāq, he attacked them as they slept, killed them, and carried off their property. He then came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “Messenger of Allah, here is the one-fifth of this wealth of mine.” The Prophet asked, “What is its story?” When al-Mughīrah told him, he said, “We do not act treacherously,” and refused to accept the khums.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ lodged the Thaqīf delegation in the mosque and had tents pitched for them so that they might listen to the Quran and watch the people when they prayed. Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon, he would not mention himself. On hearing this, the delegation of Thaqīf said, “He commands us to testify that he is the Messenger of Allah, yet he does not testify to that in his sermon.” When this reached him he said, “I am the first to bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah.”
Each morning they visited the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, leaving ʿUthmān ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ in charge of their baggage. Whenever they returned and rested at midday, ʿUthmān would go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ask him about the religion, and request that he recite the Quran to him until he gained understanding and knowledge. If he found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asleep, he would go to Abū Bakr instead, concealing all of this from his companions. This pleased the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; he admired ʿUthmān and loved him.
The delegation continued to come and go to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he called them to Islam, and eventually they accepted it. Kinānah ibn ʿAbd Yalīl then said, “Will you settle terms with us so that we may return to our people?” He replied, “Yes—if you acknowledge Islam, I will settle terms with you; otherwise, there is neither settlement nor treaty between us.” They asked, “What about fornication? We are a traveling people and cannot do without it.” He said, “It is forbidden to you.” They asked, “And usury?” He said, “Yours—”