Isra’il transmitted from Mukhāriq, from Ṭāriq ibn Shihāb, who said:
“I heard Ibn Masʿūd declare: ‘I witnessed a stance taken by al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad—had I been the one who uttered it, it would be dearer to me than anything else. He came to the Prophet ﷺ while the Prophet was invoking Allah against the idolaters and said: “We will not say as the people of Moses said: Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will remain here. Rather, we shall fight at your right and at your left, in front of you and behind you.” I saw the face of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ glow with joy.’”
Al-Bukhārī alone recorded this report, not Muslim; he cited it in several places of his Ṣaḥīḥ through the narration of Mukhāriq (1). Al-Nasāʾī (2) also transmitted it through his chain, and in his version he adds: “Al-Miqdād came on the Day of Badr mounted on a horse …,” and so forth.
Imām Aḥmad said (3): “ʿUbaydah—that is, Ibn Ḥumayd—narrated to us; Ḥumayd al-Ṭawīl narrated to us, from Anas, who said: ‘When the Prophet ﷺ sought advice about going out to Badr, Abū Bakr offered his counsel; he then sought their advice again and ʿUmar responded; he consulted them yet a third time. Some of the Anṣār said, “The Messenger of Allah means you, O company of Anṣār.” One of the Anṣār then said, “O Messenger of Allah (4), we shall not say as the Children of Israel said to Moses: Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will remain here. Rather, by Him who sent you with the truth, were you to drive the camels all the way to Bark al-Ghimād, we would follow you.”’ This three-tiered isnād is sound and meets the criteria of the authentic collections.
Aḥmad also said (5): “ʿAffān narrated to us; Ḥammād narrated to us, from Thābit, from Anas ibn Mālik: ‘When news reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that Abū Sufyān was approaching, he consulted the people. Abū Bakr spoke, but he turned away; then ʿUmar spoke, and he likewise turned away. Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah said, “He means us, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. By Him in whose hand my soul rests, if you commanded us to plunge into the sea we would plunge, and if you ordered us to spur the mounts to Bark al-Ghimād we would do so.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then summoned the people to set out.
‘They marched until they encamped at Badr. The water-carriers of Quraysh arrived, among them an Abyssinian youth belonging to Banū al-Ḥajjāj, and they captured him. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ questioned him about Abū Sufyān and those with him, but he replied, “I have no knowledge of Abū Sufyān. Here, however, are Abū Jahl ibn Hishām, ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah, [Shaybah], and Umayyah ibn Khalaf.” Whenever he said this they beat him; and when they beat him he would say, “Very well, I will tell you—Abū Sufyān is here.” When they released him and asked again, he would repeat, “I have no information about Abū Sufyān, but Abū Jahl, ʿUtbah, Shaybah and Umayyah [are among the people] (7).” Each time he said that, they beat him.
‘Meanwhile the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing in prayer. When he noticed what they were doing, he concluded the prayer and said, “By Him in whose hand my soul rests, you beat him when he tells you the truth and you leave him when he lies!”’ He said: and he added