Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Wahb narrated to us, saying: My uncle narrated to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Yazīd narrated to me, from Ibn Shihāb, who said: ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr narrated to me that ʿĀ’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him that she asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Have you ever experienced a day more difficult than the day of Uhud?” He replied:

“I have suffered at the hands of your people, and the hardest ⦗111⦘ experience I had with them was on the day of al-ʿAqabah, when I presented myself to Ibn ʿAbd Yālīl ibn ʿAbd Kulāl, but he did not respond as I had hoped. I went on my way, overcome with sorrow, and did not become aware of my surroundings again until I was at Qarn al-Thaʿālib. I raised my head and saw a cloud shading me. I looked, and there was Gabriel, peace be upon him, within it. He called to me and said, ‘O Muhammad, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has heard what your people said to you and how they responded to you. Allah has sent the angel of the mountains so that you may command him to do whatever you wish concerning them.’”

He continued: “Then the angel of the mountains called to me and greeted me with peace. He then said, ‘O Muhammad, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has heard what your people said to you. I am the angel of the mountains, and your Lord has sent me to you to carry out your command and whatever you wish. If you wish me to crush them between the two mountains, al-Akhshabayn, I will do so.’”

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied to him:

“Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their descendants those who worship Allah without associating anything with Him.”