Ibn Hishām said: He is ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn Mālik ibn Juʿshum, and what he has related is sound.

When Suraqah returned, he would not meet any band of pursuers without turning them back, saying, “You have no need to search in that direction.” Once it became known that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had reached Madinah, Suraqah began to recount to the people what he had witnessed of the Prophet ﷺ and the affair of his horse, and the tale spread widely. The leaders of Quraysh feared the disgrace that might follow and worried that his story would lead many to embrace Islam. Suraqah, after all, was the chieftain of Banū Mudlij, so Abū Jahl—may Allah curse him—wrote to them:

(from al-Ṭawīl)
“O sons of Mudlij, I fear your reckless one—
Suraqah—has been enticed to help Muḥammad.
Seize him, lest he scatter your united ranks
And you awake divided after honor and glory.”

Suraqah ibn Mālik answered Abū Jahl, saying:

(from al-Ṭawīl)
“O Abū Ḥakam, by Allah, had you but witnessed
My mount when its forelegs sank deep in the earth,
You would have marveled, doubting no longer that Muḥammad
Is truly a Messenger—whose proof can oppose him?
So hold the people back from him, for I foresee a day
Whose signs will soon appear before our eyes—
A day you will yearn for victory, while they,
And indeed all mankind, incline toward peace.”

Al-Umawī cites these verses in his book on the campaigns with his chain of transmission from Abū Isḥāq. Abū Nuʿaym (1) also transmits them through Ziyād, from Ibn Isḥāq, adding further lines in Abū Jahl’s poem that contain flagrant unbelief. (2)

Al-Bukhārī (3), through his chain to Ibn Shihāb, reports that ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ met al-Zubayr in a party of Muslims—merchants returning from Syria. Al-Zubayr clothed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abū Bakr in white garments.

The Muslims in Madinah, having heard of the Prophet’s departure from Mecca, would go out every morning to the lava plain, awaiting him until the midday heat drove them back. One day, after a long wait, they had returned to their homes when a Jewish man climbed one of his people’s watch-towers for his own purpose. From there he saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions, all in white, shimmering through the mirage. (4)(5)

Unable to restrain himself, he cried at the top of his voice, “O assembly of Arabs, here is your good fortune that you have been awaiting!” The Muslims seized their weapons and hurried out to meet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at the rear of the lava plain. He turned with them to the right until he alighted among the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf, and that was on a Monday in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal.

Abū Bakr rose to address the people while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat silent. Those of the Anṣār who had not yet seen the Prophet ﷺ began greeting Abū Bakr, until the sun shone upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whereupon Abū Bakr stepped forward and shaded him.