When he shaded him with his cloak, the people recognized the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ then remained with the Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf for a little more than ten nights, and there the mosque that “was founded upon piety” (1) was established, in which he prayed.

After that he mounted his she-camel, and the people walked alongside him until the animal knelt at the place where the Messenger of Allah’s mosque now stands in Madinah. On that very day some Muslim men were already praying there. The spot was a date-drying yard that belonged to Suhayl and Sahl, two orphan boys under the guardianship of Asʿad ibn Zurārah. When the she-camel halted, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If Allah wills, this is the lodging.”

He summoned the two boys and bargained with them for the yard so that it might be made a mosque. They replied, “Rather, we give it to you, O Messenger of Allah!” He refused to accept it as a gift and did not take possession of it until he had purchased it from them, after which he built the mosque. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then began to carry bricks with the people, and as he carried he chanted:

(from al-rajaz)
“This burden is not the burden borne at Khaybar;
This is purer, more pleasing to our Lord.”

He also chanted:

(from al-rajaz)
“O Allah, the true reward is the reward of the Hereafter;
So show mercy to the Helpers and the Emigrants.”

He was quoting poetry composed by an unnamed Muslim (2).

Ibn Shihāb said, “We have not come across in the reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ever recited a complete line of poetry apart from these.”

These are al-Bukhārī’s exact words; he alone relates this report, though it is corroborated by other chains. His version does not contain the story of Umm Maʿbad al-Khuzaʿiyyah. We shall therefore set forth the material that suits our purpose in due order.

Imam Aḥmad (3) said: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad Abū Saʿīd al-ʿAnqazī narrated to us; Israel narrated to us from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said:

Abū Bakr bought a saddle from ʿĀzib for thirteen dirhams. Abū Bakr said to ʿĀzib, “Tell al-Barāʾ to carry it to my house.” He replied, “Not until you tell us how you fared when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out and you were with him.”

Abū Bakr said, “We departed under cover of night and pressed on through the day and the night until we had reached open ground. When the heat of midday rose I scanned the horizon for shade to which I could lead him. I spotted a rock, so I headed for it and found that a remnant of its shade remained. I smoothed it for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, spread a felt cloak, and said, ‘Lie down, O Messenger of Allah.’ He lay down, and I went out to see whether I could spot any of the pursuers—when suddenly I came upon a shepherd …”