Imrān ibn Ḥuṣayn related:

Al-ʿAdbāʾ belonged to a man of Banū ʿUqayl and was counted among the fastest racing camels of the pilgrims. That man was taken prisoner, and the camel was seized with him.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by the captive, who was bound in ropes, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was riding a donkey draped with a striped saddle-cloth. The captive called out, “O Muḥammad, for what reason do you seize me and the foremost camel of the pilgrims?”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “We have taken you because of the crime of your allies, Thaqīf,” for Thaqīf had captured two of the Prophet’s Companions.

The man then said, “I am a Muslim.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ answered, “Had you said that while you still had power over yourself, you would have triumphed completely.”

The Prophet ﷺ went on his way, and the man cried after him, “O Muḥammad, I am hungry—feed me! I am thirsty—give me drink!” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “That much I will grant you.”

The two Muslim captives were ransomed for him, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept al-ʿAdbāʾ for his own needs.

Later the idolaters raided the grazing herds of Madinah and drove them off; al-ʿAdbāʾ was among the animals, and they also carried off a Muslim woman. Whenever those raiders halted, they would leave their camels to rest in the open ground before their dwellings.

One night, after they had fallen asleep, the woman rose. Each camel she approached groaned aloud until she came to al-ʿAdbāʾ, then to a gentle, well-trained she-camel that bore a bell. She mounted her and headed for Madinah.

She vowed, “If Allah brings me safely upon this camel, I will slaughter her in gratitude.” When she reached Madinah she recognized the animal, and people said, “That is the camel of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was told of her vow—or she herself informed him—and he said, “What a wretched reward you have proposed for her!” or, “How badly you would repay her—that after Allah saved you on her back you intend to slaughter her!”

He then declared, “No vow is to be fulfilled if it involves disobedience to Allah, nor concerning anything the son of Adam does not own.”

Muslim also narrated this report through Abū al-Rabīʿ al-Zahrānī, from Ḥammād ibn Zayd.

Ibn Isḥāq said: Among the verses composed about the expedition of Dhū Qarad are the lines of Ḥassān ibn Thābit, may Allah be pleased with him:

Had they not met what they met, and had our taloned birds
not clawed them south of Sāyah yesterday in the rout,
We would have fallen on you bearing every mail-clad warrior,
defender of the truth, scion of noble grandfathers.
The sons of the foundling woman would have rejoiced to know
we kept the peace the morning Miqdād’s horsemen rode.
We were but eight, yet they a swelling host—
towering ranks we shattered with the points of our spears.
We stood nearest to them, ever urging forward
the bridle of every gallant steed.
By the Lord of the she-camels that dance on their way to Minā,
cleaving the passes of the towering mountains—
We shall loose our horses in your courtyards
and return with your womenfolk and children as captives,
Driving at ease every lean camel and noble mare
from every field of battle, ridge, and valley.