—the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; yet by the close of the day he was standing guard for him. [1]

He (Anas) continued: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stopped at the edge of al-Ḥarra and sent word to the Anṣār. They came, greeted the two of them, and said, “Mount on, in safety and with obedience.” [2] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abū Bakr mounted, while the Anṣār formed a circle around them with their weapons.

News spread through Madinah: “The Prophet of Allah ﷺ has arrived!” People hurried to high places, straining for a glimpse of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and repeating, “The Prophet of Allah has come!”

The Prophet ﷺ advanced until he halted beside the house of a neighbour of Abū Ayyūb. That neighbour was speaking with his family when ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām—who was in one of his family’s date-groves picking dates for them—heard the news. He hastily put down what he was gathering, came with the dates still in his hand, listened to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and then returned to his household.

The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Which of the houses of our people is nearest?”
Abū Ayyūb replied, “Mine, O Prophet of Allah; this is my house and this is my door.”
The Prophet said, “Then go and prepare a place for us to rest.” Abū Ayyūb went and arranged a midday resting-place for the two of them, then returned and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I have prepared it—come, with Allah’s blessing, and take your rest.”

When the Prophet ﷺ arrived, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām came and said, “I testify that you are truly the Prophet of Allah and that you have come with the truth. The Jews know that I am their leader, the son of their leader, and their most learned man, the son of their most learned man. Summon them and question them about me.” The Prophet ﷺ invited them, and they entered.

He said to them, “O assembly of Jews, woe to you! Fear Allah. By Him besides whom there is no deity, you know that I am indeed the Messenger of Allah and that I have come with the truth—accept Islam.” They replied, “We do not know that,” and they said it three times.

Al-Bukhārī likewise relates this report, transmitting it solely through Muḥammad—whose lineage he does not specify—from ʿAbd al-Ṣamad.

Ibn Isḥāq said: Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb told me, from Marthad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Yazanī, from Abū Ruhm al-Samāʿī, who said that Abū Ayyūb narrated:

“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lodged in my house, he stayed on the lower floor while Umm Ayyūb and I were on the upper floor. I said to him, ‘May my father and mother be your ransom, O Messenger of Allah! I find it hard and improper that I should be above you while you are beneath me. Please come up and stay on the upper floor, and we will go down and stay below.’

“He replied, ‘O Abū Ayyūb, it will be easier for us—and for those who visit us—if I remain on the lower level.’ Thus the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed below and we were above him. One night a water-jar of ours broke and spilled. Umm Ayyūb and I jumped up with our only quilt—we had no other blanket—and used it to blot up the water, fearing it might drip upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and disturb him.

“We used to prepare his supper and send it to him; and when he sent back what was left, Umm Ayyūb and I would single out the place where his blessed hand had touched the food …”