He spurred it on (1) until he died astride it on the way back.
Thereupon Allah revealed regarding the two of them:
“Allah knows what every female bears, what the wombs diminish and what they increase …” up to His words, “Over him are guardians, before him and behind him” — meaning Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him. He then mentioned Arbad and how He destroyed him, saying, “He sends the thunderbolts and strikes with them whom He wills” (al-Raʿd 8–13).
This passage confirms the earlier story of ʿĀmir and Arbad, for Saʿd ibn Muʿādh is named therein. Allah knows best.
We have already discussed the delegation of al-Ṭufayl ibn ʿĀmir al-Dawsī, may Allah be pleased with him, to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Mecca, his acceptance of Islam, how Allah placed a light between his eyes and then moved it to the tip of his whip at his request. We treated that episode in detail above, so there is no need to repeat it here as al-Bayhaqī and others have done.
The arrival of Ḍimām (2) ibn Thaʿlaba before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as the envoy of his people, Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr (3)
Ibn Isḥāq (4) said: Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd ibn Nuwayfiʿ related to me, from Kurayb, from Ibn ʿAbbās.
He said: The Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr dispatched (5) Ḍimām ibn Thaʿlaba as their envoy to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He arrived (6), made his camel kneel at the door of the mosque, hobbled it, and then entered while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was seated among his Companions. Ḍimām was a sturdy man with thick hair and two long braids. He advanced until he stood before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ among his Companions and said,
“Which of you is the son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib?”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “I am the son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib.”
He said, “Muḥammad.”
He answered, “Yes.”
He said, “Son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, I am going to ask you something and speak bluntly; do not take offense.”
He said, “I will not take offense; ask whatever you wish.”
He said, “I adjure you by Allah (7)—your Lord, the Lord of those before you, and the Lord of those who will come after you: has Allah sent you to us as a Messenger?”
He answered, “By Allah, yes.”
He said, “I adjure you by Allah—your Lord, the Lord of those before you, and the Lord of those who will come after you: did Allah command you to order us to worship Him alone, associate nothing with Him, and renounce these idols that our forefathers used to worship?”
He answered, “By Allah, yes.”
He said, “I adjure you by Allah—your Lord, the Lord of those before you, and the Lord of those who will come after you: did Allah command you that we perform these five prayers?”
He replied, “Yes.”
Then he began enumerating the obligations of Islam one by one—zakāt, fasting, pilgrimage, and the other ordinances—