“This is one of the three matters my master charged me to note.” I therefore drew an arrow from my quiver and wrote it on the leather of my sword. The Prophet then passed the letter to the man on his left.

I asked, “Who is the custodian of your correspondence, the one who reads it for you?”
They answered, “Muʿāwiyah.”

In my master’s letter it said: “You summon me to a Garden whose breadth is the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing; so where, then, is the Fire?”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “Glory be to Allah! Where is the night once the day has come?” I again took an arrow from my quiver and wrote that on the leather of my sword.

When he had finished reading my letter he said, “You have a right, for you are an envoy. Had we anything to give, we would reward you, but we are travelers with scant provisions.”

A man in the gathering called out, “I will reward him.” He opened his saddlebag and produced a Ṣafūriyyah cloak, which he placed in my lap. I asked, “Who offered this gift?” and was told, “ʿUthmān.”

The Messenger of Allah then said, “Which of you will host this man?” A young man from the Anṣār replied, “I will.” The Anṣārī rose, and I rose with him. When I had left part of the assembly, the Messenger of Allah called, “Come back, brother of Tanūkh.” I hurried to him and stood once more before him. He loosened the cloth wrapped about his back and said, “Here—carry out what you were commanded.”

I examined his back and there, between the folds of the shoulder, I saw the Seal—like a large cupping mark.

This ḥadīth is singular; its chain of transmission is acceptable, and Imām Aḥmad alone recorded it.

His peace accord with Yūḥannah ibn Ruʾbah, the ruler of Aylah, and with the people of Jarbāʾ and Adhruh while he was encamped at Tabūk before his return

Ibn Isḥāq (1) said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached Tabūk, Yūḥannah ibn Ruʾbah, the governor of Aylah, came to him, concluded a treaty, and paid the jizyah. The people of Jarbāʾ and Adhruh likewise brought the jizyah, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wrote them a document that is still in their possession. He wrote for Yūḥannah ibn Ruʾbah and the people of Aylah:

“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

This is a covenant of security from Allah and Muhammad, the Prophet, the Messenger of Allah, for Yūḥannah ibn Ruʾbah and the people of Aylah. Their ships and their caravans, whether on land or sea, are under the protection of Allah and of Muhammad the Prophet, and of those who are with them from the people of Syria, Yemen, and the sea. Whoever among them commits an offense, his wealth shall not shield him from his person; it is lawful to whoever seizes it. It is not permissible for them to bar anyone from a water source they reach nor from a road they travel, whether by land or by sea.”

Yūnus ibn Bukayr (2) added, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, after this: “This is the document of Juhaym ibn al-Ṣalt and Shuraḥbīl ibn Ḥasnah, issued with the permission of the Messenger of Allah.”