Al-Bukhārī (1) reported on the authority of ʿĀʾishah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I was shown your place of emigration: a land of date-palms lying between two lava beds.” Accordingly, those who emigrated set out for Madinah, and most of those who had previously migrated to Abyssinia also returned to Madinah. The same report is transmitted from Abū Mūsā and Asmāʾ, may Allah be pleased with them, from the Prophet ﷺ.

The ḥadīth of Abū Mūsā has already been cited; it is found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs (2). The narration of Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays will be mentioned later, after the conquest of Khaybar, when the last group of the Abyssinian emigrants arrived—God willing, for in Him we place our trust (3).

Al-Bukhārī (4) also said: Yahyā ibn Ḥammād related to us—Abū ʿAwānah related to us—from Sulaymān, from Ibrāhīm, from ʿAlqamah, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said:
“We used to greet the Prophet ﷺ while he was praying and he would return our greeting. When we came back from the Negus (al-Najāshī), we greeted him but he did not return it. We asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we used to greet you and you answered us; why did you not do so after our return from the Negus?’ He replied, ‘During the prayer one is occupied.’”

Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwud and al-Nasāʾī have likewise reported the same narration through other chains from Sulaymān ibn Mihrān al-Aʿmash (5). This supports the explanation offered for the authentic ḥadīth of Zayd ibn Arqam, recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs (6): “We used to speak during the prayer until the verse, ‘And stand before Allah in devout obedience’ (Q 2:238) was revealed; thereafter we were commanded to remain silent and forbidden to speak.”

The reference is to the Companions as a class: Zayd was an Anṣārī from Madinah, whereas the prohibition of speaking in prayer was established in Mecca, so the report must be understood as outlined above. Citing a Medinan verse in this context is problematic; perhaps Zayd thought it was the verse that imposed the ban, while in fact another verse—together with it—was the actual basis. Allah knows best.

Ibn Isḥāq (7) said: Among those who entered into the protection (jiwār) of others were ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn under the protection of al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, and Abū Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Asad under the protection of his maternal uncle Abū Ṭālib, for his mother was Barrah bint ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. As for ʿUthmān ibn