Account of the Prophet’s ﷺ dispatch of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq as commander of the Hajj in the ninth year (1) and the revelation of Sūrat al-Tawbah (“Barāʾah”)
Ibn Isḥāq, after relating in detail the arrival of the delegation from al-Ṭāʾif to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the month of Ramaḍān, said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained in Madinah for the rest of Ramaḍān, as well as the months of Shawwāl and Dhūl-Qaʿdah. He then appointed Abū Bakr as leader of the Hajj in the ninth year so that he might conduct the pilgrimage for the Muslims. At that time the polytheists still occupied their customary stations around the House; they had not yet been barred from it, and some of them possessed time-limited treaties that had not yet expired. When Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—set out with the Muslims who accompanied him and had left Madinah, Allah revealed the opening verses of Sūrat al-Tawbah:
“This is a declaration of immunity from Allah and His Messenger to those of the idolaters with whom you made a treaty. So travel freely in the land for four months…” (9:1–2),
and His words:
“And this is a proclamation from Allah and His Messenger to mankind on the Day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free of obligation to the idolaters, and so is His Messenger…” (9:3),
up to the end of the passage.
Ibn Isḥāq then began to comment on these verses, and we have already discussed them at length in our Tafsīr (2)—all praise and grace belong to Allah.
The point here is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—after Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq so that he might accompany him and personally deliver the proclamation of disavowal to the polytheists on behalf of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, since he was his cousin and a member of his immediate family.
Ibn Isḥāq (3) related: Ḥakīm ibn Ḥakīm ibn ʿAbbād ibn Ḥunayn transmitted to me from Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, who said:
When “Barāʾah” was revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—and he had already dispatched Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, to lead the people in the Hajj—someone said, “O Messenger of Allah, why not send it with Abū Bakr?” He replied, “None shall deliver it on my behalf except a man of my own household.”
He then summoned ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and said, “Go forth with this section from the beginning of ‘Barāʾah,’ and proclaim to the people on the Day of Sacrifice when they gather at Minā: Behold, no unbeliever shall enter Paradise, no polytheist shall perform the Hajj after this year, no one shall circumambulate the House naked, and whoever has a treaty with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ shall have it honored until its term ends.”
So ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib set out, riding the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, al-ʿAḍbāʾ, until he overtook Abū Bakr on the road. When Abū Bakr saw him he asked, “Have you come as commander or as subordinate?” He replied, “As subordinate.” They then continued on together, and Abū Bakr conducted the Hajj for the people while, that year, the Arabs still occupied their traditional stations of pilgrimage as