Proofs of Prophethood – a distinguished work – relates:

(1) Safwān ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Dimashqī narrated to us; al-Walīd narrated to us; Ibn Jābir narrated.

(With another chain) ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ibrāhīm al-Dimashqī narrated to us; al-Walīd and ʿAmr – meaning Ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid – said: Ibn Jābir narrated to us:

I heard Sulaym ibn ʿĀmir al-Khabāyrī say:

Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī told me that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

“While I was asleep two men came to me. They took hold of my upper arms and brought me to a rugged mountain and said, ‘Climb.’ I replied, ‘I cannot.’ They said, ‘We shall make it easy for you.’ I climbed, and when I reached the middle of the mountain I heard loud cries. I asked, ‘What are those sounds?’ They answered, ‘The howling of the people of Hell.’

“They took me on until we came to people hanging upside-down by their heels, their mouths torn open and blood flowing from them. I asked, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘Those who break their fast before it is time to do so.’

“The Prophet then said, ‘Ruined are the Jews and the Christians.’

“Sulaym added, ‘I do not know whether he heard that from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or whether it was his own remark.’

“Then they went on with me until we came to people grossly swollen and giving off the most repulsive stench, like the smell of latrines. I asked, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘Those slain while disbelieving in God.’

“They continued with me until we reached others, even more swollen and foul-smelling. I asked, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘The men and women who committed fornication.’

“Then they brought me to women whose breasts were being bitten by snakes. I asked, ‘What is the matter with these women?’ They said, ‘They are the ones who withheld their milk from their children.’

“Next they took me to boys playing between two rivers. I asked, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘These are the children of the believers.’

“After that they raised me to a height where I saw three men drinking their wine. I asked, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib, Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah.’

“Then they lifted me to another height, and there were three more men. I asked, ‘Who are these?’ They said, ‘Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them); they are waiting for you.’” (2)

Section: Verses composed about the expedition of Muʾtah

Ibn Isḥāq (3) said: Among the elegies recited for the martyrs of Muʾtah are the lines of Ḥassān (4):

(from the Ṭawīl metre)

A night in Yathrib, harsh and haunting, came back to me,
while care, when others sleep, refuses me slumber.