Imam Aḥmad (1) relates: Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd told us, Ḥātim ibn Ismāʿīl told us, from Bukayr ibn Mismār, from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd, from his father, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say to him when he left him behind on one of his campaigns. ʿAlī therefore said, “O Messenger of Allah, will you leave me with the women and children?” He replied,
“O ʿAlī, are you not pleased to hold toward me the rank of Aaron to Moses—save that there is no prophet after me?”

Muslim and al-Tirmidhī (2) also transmitted this report through Qutaybah. Muslim added (together with Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād) the same wording from Ḥātim ibn Ismāʿīl. Al-Tirmidhī judged it “ḥasan, ṣaḥīḥ, and singular through this route.”

Ibn Isḥāq (3) continues: After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had marched for several days, Abū Khaythama turned back to his home on a scorching day. He found his two wives sitting in separate palm-leaf pavilions in his orchard; each had sprinkled her pavilion with water, cooled water for him, and set out food. When he entered he paused at the doorway, looked at what his wives had prepared, and said,
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is out in the blazing sun, wind, and heat, while Abū Khaythama enjoys cool shade, prepared food, and a beautiful wife, settled amid his wealth—this is no fairness! By Allah, I shall not enter either of your pavilions until I catch up with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Prepare provisions.”
They complied. He brought up his she-camel, saddled her, mounted, and set off after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, catching up with him when he had encamped at Tabūk. On the way he met ʿUmayr ibn Wahb al-Jumaḥī, likewise searching for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they traveled together. When they drew near Tabūk Abū Khaythama said to ʿUmayr, “I have sins, so wait behind me until I come to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” He did so. As Abū Khaythama approached, the people said, “A rider is coming down the road.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“Let it be Abū Khaythama.”
They said, “O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, it is indeed Abū Khaythama.” When he arrived he greeted the Prophet, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
“Welcome, Abū Khaythama!”
He then told the Prophet what had happened; the Prophet spoke well of him and prayed for his good.

ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr and Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah recount the story of Abū Khaythama similarly, in even greater detail, adding that his departure—may Allah be pleased with him—for Tabūk took place in the autumn season. Allah knows best.

Ibn Hishām (4) says that Abū Khaythama—whose name was Mālik ibn Qays—composed the following verses on that occasion:

When I beheld the people in faith dissembling,
I sought the course more chaste and nobler still;
With my right hand I pledged my hand to Muhammad,
And never earned a sin nor touched the ill.
I left a shaded bower and a date-palm stand,
Fine clusters dark, their ripeness clear to see;
And if the hypocrite ever faltered in resolve,
My soul inclined toward faith, wherever it might be.