1139 — Abū Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Sālih al-Bukhārī informed us, saying: Ibn Abī Umar al-Adanī and Ishāq—meaning Ibn Ibrāhīm al-Marwazī—narrated to us. They said: Yahyā ibn Sulaym narrated to us, from Ibn Khuthaym, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansārī.
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1140 — Abū al-Qāsim Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Azīz al-Baghawī also narrated to us, saying: Khalaf ibn Hishām al-Bazzār narrated to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abd al-Rahmān narrated to us, from Abd Allah ibn Khuthaym, from Abū al-Zubayr Muhammad ibn Muslim, who narrated to him from Jābir ibn Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) spent ten years going among the pilgrims in their encampments during the pilgrimage season, at Majanna and Ukāz, and in their encampments at Minā, saying:

“Who will shelter me and support me until I convey my Lord’s messages? Paradise shall be his.”

Yet he found no one to support or shelter him. Indeed, a man would journey from Egypt or Yemen to a relative of his, whereupon his people would come to him and say, “Beware of the young man of Quraysh, lest he lead you astray.” The Prophet would walk among their tents, calling them to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, while they pointed at him with their fingers.

This continued until Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent us forth from Yathrib. A man from among us would go to him and believe in him, and the Prophet would teach him the Quran. He would then return to his family, who would embrace Islam because he had done so. Eventually, not a single household in Yathrib remained without a group of Muslims openly professing Islam.

Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent us to him. We conferred together, and seventy men from among us assembled. We said, “How long shall we leave the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to be driven about the mountains of Mecca in fear?” We therefore set out and came to him during the pilgrimage season, and he arranged to meet us at the ravine of al-Aqaba.

His uncle al-Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “My nephew, I do not know who these people who have come to you are. I know the people of Yathrib well.” We gathered around the Prophet, coming one or two at a time. When al-Abbās looked at our faces, he said, “These are people whom we do not know. They are young men.”

We asked, “O Messenger of Allah, upon what shall we pledge allegiance to you?”

He replied, “You shall pledge allegiance to me that you will listen and obey, whether energetic or weary; that you will spend in hardship and ease; that you will enjoin what is right and forbid ⦗1660⦘ what is wrong; that you will speak for Allah’s sake, undeterred by the reproach of any critic; and that you will support me when I come to you and protect me as you protect yourselves, your wives, and your children. In return, you shall have Paradise.”

We rose to pledge allegiance to him, but Asad ibn Zurāra took hold of his hand. He was the youngest of the seventy apart from me. He said, “Wait, people of Yathrib! We have not driven our camels all this way to him without knowing that he is the Messenger of Allah. Taking him away today means breaking with all the Arabs, the killing of your finest men, and having swords bite into you. If you are people who will endure the swords when they strike you, the killing of your finest men, and the severing of ties with all the Arabs, then take him in, and your reward rests with Allah, Mighty and Majestic. But if you harbor fear within yourselves, then leave him, for that will be more excusable for you before Allah, Mighty and Majestic.”

They said, “Asad, take your hand away! By Allah, we will neither abandon this pledge nor ask to be released from it.”

We then approached him one by one. He bound us to the condition laid down by al-Abbās and promised us Paradise in return.

1141 — Abū Ahmad Hārūn ibn Yūsuf also narrated to us, saying: Ibn Abī Umar narrated to us, saying: Yahyā ibn Sulaym narrated to me, from Ibn Khuthaym, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir; and he related the hadith in full in the same manner.