to emerge, and I shall emerge. I shall travel throughout the earth, entering every town within forty nights except Mecca and Taybah, both of which are forbidden to me. Whenever I try to enter either one [feminine]—or one [masculine]—of them, an angel will confront me with an unsheathed sword in his hand and bar me from it. Every mountain pass (1) leading into either city is guarded by angels.”

She said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ—striking the pulpit with his staff (2)—said, “This is Taybah! This is Taybah! This is Taybah!”—meaning Medina. “Did I not tell you this?” The people replied, “Yes.” He said, “Indeed, Tamīm’s account pleased me because it agreed with what I had been telling you concerning him, Medina, and Mecca. He is in the sea of al-Shām, or the sea of Yemen. No! Rather, he is toward the east! He is toward the east! He is toward the east!” (He gestured eastward with his hand.)

She said, “I memorized this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (3).”

Ibn Hajar said, “Some have mistakenly supposed it—that is, the hadith of Fātimah bint Qays—to be a singular, solitary report. That is not so, for in addition to Fātimah bint Qays, it was narrated by Abū Hurayrah, Ā’ishah, and Jābir” (4); ﵃.