[Section]
Ibn Isḥāq (1) said: “The expedition of Tabūk was the last campaign undertaken by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”

Ḥassān ibn Thābit (2) — may Allah be pleased with him — enumerated the days of the Anṣār alongside the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, recalling their stations with him in the times of battle. Ibn Hishām adds: “The following lines are also attributed to his son, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥassān:”

[al-Basīṭ metre]
Am I not the noblest of all Maʿadd, in men and clan,
whether they be gathered together or counted one by one?

A people who, every one, stood at Badr with the Messenger,
never stinting, never failing him.

They pledged allegiance to him, and none among them broke it;
no hint of doubt ever touched their faith.

On the dawn he met the foe in the ravine of Uḥud,
they smote with steady blows, like fire’s searing blaze.

And on the day of Dhī Qarad, when he summoned them to mount,
they neither faltered nor turned back.

At Dhul-ʿUshayra they patrolled on horseback with the Messenger,
bright blades and lances raised above them.

On the day of Waddān they drove its people out in swift assault,
spurring their horses till ravine and mountain checked their charge.

A night they chased their enemy for Allah’s sake—
and Allah will repay them for what they did.

And a night at Ḥunayn they fought beside him,
overcoming the foe once their thirst was quenched.

In a raid on Najd they gained, with the Messenger,
both spoils and the extra share of booty.

In the expedition of al-Qāʿ we scattered the enemy through him
as flocks are scattered from a watering-place.

On the day the pledge was sworn, they were the people of his bayʿah,
steadfast in combat, healing his wounds, never swerving.

At the Conquest they stood in his vanguard,
holding their posts—neither panicked nor hasty.

On the day of Khaybar they marched in his battalion,
every one of them a fearless, valiant hero.

Their swords trembled naked in their right hands,
at times curving in the strike, then straightening again.

And when the Messenger of Allah set out—seeking reward—toward Tabūk,
they were his foremost banners.

Tacticians of war whenever war confronted them,
until advance was followed by the homeward march.

Those are the people—the Helpers of the Prophet; they are my folk
to whom I shall return when I depart.

They died as nobles; their pledges were never broken,
and they fell in Allah’s cause whenever they were slain.