So we separated, and I said to myself, “Here is a man whose father and brother were slain at Badr.”

I then met ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl and repeated to him what I had said to Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah; he answered me exactly as Ṣafwān had done. I pleaded, “Keep this matter between us.” He replied, “I will not mention it.”

I returned home, ordered my mount to be prepared, and set out until I encountered ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥah. I thought, “He is my friend—should I tell him what I hope to do?” Then I remembered the men of his family who had been killed, and I disliked reminding him of it. Yet I said to myself, “What does it matter? I am leaving at once.” I told him how matters now stood, adding, “We are like a fox in its hole: if someone pours in a bucket of water, it must come out.” I spoke to him much as I had to my two companions, and he answered eagerly, saying, “This very morning I meant to set out. My camel is already hobbled at Fakh.”

We agreed to meet at Yaʾjaj: if he reached it before me, he would wait; if I arrived first, I would wait for him. We set off in the last part of the night, and before dawn we met at Yaʾjaj. We rode on until we reached al-Haddah, where we found ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ. He said, “Welcome, gentlemen.” We replied, “And to you.” Then he asked, “Where are you bound?” We said, “And what has brought you out?” He countered, “And what has brought you out?” We answered, “To enter Islam and follow Muḥammad ﷺ.” He said, “That is precisely why I am here.”

So we travelled together until we entered Madinah. We tethered our mounts behind al-Ḥarrah, and word of us reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He was pleased. I put on my best clothes and headed for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. My brother met me on the way and said, “Hurry— the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has been told of your arrival, he is delighted, and he is waiting for you.”

We quickened our pace, and when I caught sight of him he kept smiling at me until I stood before him. I greeted him with the greeting of prophethood, and he returned my greeting with a radiant face. I said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Come nearer.” Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Praise be to Allah who has guided you. I always recognized your intelligence and hoped it would lead you only to good.”

I said, “O Messenger of Allah, you have seen the positions I took against you, obstinately opposing the truth. Pray to Allah to forgive me for that.” He replied, “Islam wipes away whatever came before it.” I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, will you supplicate on that basis?” He said, “O Allah, forgive Khālid ibn al-Walīd for all the zeal with which he strove to turn people from Your path.”

Khālid continues: ʿUthmān and ʿAmr then stepped forward and pledged their allegiance to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Our arrival took place in Ṣafar of the eighth year AH.

By Allah, whenever a grave matter confronted him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not prefer anyone over me among his Companions.

The Expedition of Shujāʿ ibn Wahb al-Asadī against a Group of Hawāzin

Al-Wāqidī (d. 207 AH) said: [Ibn Abī Sabrah narrated] from Isḥāq ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Farwah, from ʿUmar ibn