“…with them.”
He went on: “I remained in the land of Daws calling them to Islam until the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, emigrated to Madinah and the battles of Badr, Uhud, and the Trench had passed. After that I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, bringing with me those of my people who had accepted Islam, while the Prophet was at Khaybar. We stayed in Madinah—seventy, or perhaps eighty, households from Daws—then joined the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, at Khaybar, and he allotted us shares alongside the other Muslims.
I remained in the company of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, until God granted him the conquest of Mecca. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, send me to Dhū al-Kaffayn, the idol of ʿAmr ibn Humamah, so that I may burn it.’
Ibn Ishaq (1) relates: He set out, and while al-Tufayl was setting fire to it he chanted:
O Two-Palmed One, never again shall I be your worshipper;
Our birth long precedes the moment you appeared.
Indeed, I have filled the core of your being with fire!
He then returned to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and stayed with him in Madinah until the Prophet passed away. When some of the Arabs apostatized, al-Tufayl went out with the Muslims. They marched until they had finished with Tulayhah and the whole Najd region, after which he advanced with the Muslims to al-Yamamah, accompanied by his son ʿAmr ibn al-Tufayl.
On the way to al-Yamamah he said to his companions, ‘I have seen a dream—interpret it for me. I saw my head shaved, a bird flying out of my mouth, a woman who took me into her womb, and I saw my son pursuing me eagerly but then being held back.’
They replied, ‘It is good.’
He said, ‘By Allah, I have interpreted it myself: the shaving of my head means it will be severed; the bird that flew out is my soul; the woman who took me into her womb is the earth—my grave will be dug and I shall be laid in it. As for my son’s pursuit of me and his being restrained, I see that he will strive to meet the same fate that meets me.’
He was—may Allah have mercy on him—martyred at al-Yamamah. His son received a severe wound but recovered, and was later martyred at Yarmuk during the caliphate of ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him.
Thus Muhammad ibn Ishaq recounts the story of al-Tufayl ibn ʿAmr as a mursal report, without an isnād; yet the account has corroboration in an authentic hadith. Imam Ahmad (3) said: Wakiʿ narrated to us; Sufyan narrated from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: ‘When al-Tufayl and his companions came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, they said, “Daws has proved obstinate.” He prayed, “O Allah, guide Daws and bring them here.”’