while he addressed the Muslims from the pulpit, quoting the words:

“Then the banner was taken up by a sword from the swords of Allah, and Allah granted victory through him.”

After that pronouncement the Muslims never again called those men “deserters.” On the contrary, they received them with honour and esteem. The rebuke and the handfuls of dust were reserved only for the few who had fled and abandoned their comrades—among them ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him.

Imām Aḥmad (1) said: Ḥasan related to us; Zuhayr related to us; Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād related to us, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar who said:

“I was with one of the Messenger of Allah’s detachments. The people broke ranks, and I was among those who broke. We said, ‘What are we to do? We have fled from the battlefield and incurred wrath.’ Then we said, ‘Let us enter Madinah and spend the night.’ Afterwards we said, ‘Rather, let us present ourselves to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him; if repentance is open to us we shall remain, otherwise we shall depart.’ We came to him before the dawn prayer. He came out and asked: ‘Who are you?’ We replied, ‘We are the fugitives.’ He said, ‘No; you are the returning attackers (al-ʿakkārūn). I am your rallying point, and I am the rallying point of the Muslims.’ We then approached him and kissed his hand.”

He (Aḥmad) also transmitted it through Ghundar (2), from Shuʿbah, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, from Ibn Abī Laylā, from Ibn ʿUmar who said:

“We were in a detachment and fled; we even thought of boarding a ship. We came to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we are the fugitives.’ He replied, ‘No; you are the returning attackers.’”

Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah (3) likewise reported it through the narration of Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād. Al-Tirmidhī remarked, “It is ḥasan; we know it only from his narration.”

Aḥmad (4) also said: Isḥāq ibn ʿĪsā and Aswad ibn ʿĀmir both related to us: Shurayk related to us, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ziyād, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from Ibn ʿUmar who said:

“The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—sent us on an expedition. When we met the enemy we turned our backs in the very first morning skirmish. We reached Madinah by night, a small band of us, and hid ourselves. Then we said, ‘Let us go out to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and apologise.’ We went to him, and when we met him we said, ‘Messenger of Allah, we are the fugitives.’ He said, ‘Rather, you are the returning attackers, and I am your rallying point.’ Aswad added, ‘And I am the rallying point of every Muslim.’

Ibn Isḥāq (5) said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm narrated to me, from ʿĀmir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, [from a member of the household of al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām, who were his maternal uncles] that Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said to the wife of Salamah ibn Hishām al-Mughīrah: “Why is it that I do not see Salamah attending the prayer with the Messenger of Allah and the Muslims?” She replied, “He is unable to …”