“Among those who lived before you, a man would be sawn completely in half and that would not make him abandon his religion. By Allah, He will certainly bring this affair to full completion, but you are being impatient.”(1)

Another proof is the report preserved by al-Bukhārī. He relates:

“Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAlāʾ told us; Ḥammād ibn Usāmah told us, from Burayd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Burdah, from his father, from his grandfather Abū Burdah, from Abū Mūsā—who, I think, attributed it to the Prophet ﷺ—who said:

‘I saw in a dream that I was emigrating from Mecca to a land in which there are date-palms. My mind first went to Yamāmah or Hajar, but it turned out to be Madinah—Yathrib. In that same vision I shook a sword and its blade snapped off at the front; that signified the believers who were struck down on the Day of Uḥud. I shook it again and it came back better than it had ever been; that was the victory Allah later granted and the uniting of the believers. I also saw cows, and by Allah that is goodness: they were the believers on the Day of Uḥud, and the goodness is what Allah afterwards bestowed—His bounty and the reward for the truthfulness He granted us after the Day of Badr.’”(3)

A further example is the story of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh and Umayyah ibn Khalaf when Saʿd visited Mecca.

Al-Bukhārī reports:

“Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us; ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā related to us; Isrāʾīl related to us, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, who said:

‘Saʿd ibn Muʿādh traveled for ʿumrah and stayed with Umayyah ibn Khalaf Abū Ṣafwān. Whenever Umayyah journeyed to Syria and passed through Madinah he would stay with Saʿd. Umayyah said to him, “Wait until the heat of midday, when the people are inattentive, and then go and perform your ṭawāf.” While Saʿd was circumambulating the Kaʿbah, Abū Jahl appeared and asked, “Who is this man circling the Kaʿbah?” Saʿd replied, “I am Saʿd.” Abū Jahl said, “You make ṭawāf here in safety when you have taken Muhammad and his companions under your protection?” Saʿd answered, “Yes.” The two men exchanged harsh words.

Umayyah said to Saʿd, “Do not raise your voice against Abū al-Ḥakam; he is the chief of this valley.” Saʿd retorted, “By Allah, if you keep me from making ṭawāf I will cut off your trade route to Syria!” Umayyah kept saying, “Lower your voice,” holding Saʿd back. Saʿd became angry and said, “Leave me! I heard Muhammad claim that he will kill you.” Umayyah asked, “Me?” Saʿd replied, “Yes.” Umayyah said, “By Allah, Muhammad never lies when he speaks.”

He returned home and said to his wife, “Do you know what my Yathribī brother told me?” She asked, “What did he tell you?” He replied, “He says he heard Muhammad claim he will kill me.” She said, “By Allah, Muhammad does not lie.”

‘When the call to arms for Badr came and the alarm was sounded, his wife reminded him, “Have you forgotten what your Yathribī brother told you?” He wanted to stay behind, but Abū Jahl said, “You are one of the nobles of the valley; march with us for a day or two.” So he went with them, and Allah caused him to be killed.’”(4)