[in matters of their pilgrimage, marriages, and commercial dealings], and he never once associated anything with Allah—may Allah’s everlasting blessings and peace be upon him.

I say: From these words it is also understood that he used to stand at ʿArafāt before revelation came to him, and this was a divine facilitation granted to him by Allah.

Imām Aḥmad likewise narrated it (1) through Yaʿqūb, from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, and his wording is:

“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ before revelation descended upon him; he was mounted on his camel, standing with the people at ʿArafāt until they left together [from there]. (2) This was a grace from Allah.”

Imām Aḥmad further said (3): Sufyān related to us, from ʿAmr, from (4) Muḥammad ibn Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim, from his father, who said:

“I lost a camel of mine at ʿArafah, so I went looking for it and found the Prophet ﷺ standing there. I exclaimed, ‘This man is one of al-Hums (5); what is he doing here?’”

The two Shaykhs also recorded it (6) through Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah with this chain.

His ﷺ Presence at the War of al-Fijār

Ibn Isḥāq said (7): The War of al-Fijār flared up when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was twenty years old. It was called “the day of sacrilege” because the two tribes—Kinānah and Qays ʿAylān—violated what was sacrosanct between them. The commander of Quraysh and Kinānah was Ḥarb ibn Umayyah ibn ʿAbd Shams. At the start of the day victory belonged to Qays over Kinānah, but by midday Kinānah had prevailed over Qays.

Ibn Hishām said (8): When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached fourteen—or fifteen—years of age, as Abū ʿUbaydah the philologist related to me from Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ, the War of al-Fijār broke out between Quraysh and their Kinānah allies on one side and Qays ʿAylān on the other. The spark that ignited it was that ʿUrwah al-Raḥḥāl ibn ʿUtbah ibn Jaʿfar ibn Kilāb ibn Rabīʿah ibn ʿĀmir ibn