His Pilgrimage—peace be upon him—to the Ancient House

Imām Aḥmad relates: Hushaym narrated to us; Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind narrated from Abū l-ʿĀliyah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed through the Valley of al-Azraq and asked, “What valley is this?” They replied, “The Valley of al-Azraq.” He said, “It is as though I can see Moses descending from that mountain pass, raising his voice to Allah with the talbiyah.”

When he came to the pass of Harshā he asked, “What pass is this?” They answered, “The pass of Harshā.” He said, “It is as though I can see Jonah son of Mattā on a red she-camel, wearing a wool cloak, the halter of his camel made of palm-fibre, chanting the talbiyah.” Hushaym added, “Khulbah means palm fibre,” and affirmed that Jonah was uttering the talbiyah.

Muslim records the same report through the chain of Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind.

Al-Ṭabarānī also transmits—on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, in a marfūʿ narration—that Moses performed the pilgrimage riding a red bull; this report is exceedingly unusual.

Imām Aḥmad further says: Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAdī narrated to us, from Ibn ʿAwn, from Mujāhid, who said: We were sitting with Ibn ʿAbbās when mention was made of the Antichrist. He said, “It is written between his eyes: kāf fā rā.” I asked, “What do people say about that?” They replied, “They say it is written between his eyes: kāf fā rā.” Ibn ʿAbbās responded, “I did not hear the Prophet say that. What I heard him say was: ‘As for Abraham—look to your companion; and as for Moses—he is a brown-skinned man with curly hair, riding a red camel whose bridle is of palm-fibre. It is as though I can see him coming down the valley, chanting the talbiyah.’” Hushaym explained that khulbah denotes palm fibre.

Imām Aḥmad likewise narrates—through Aswad, from Isrāʾīl, from ʿUthmān ibn al-Mughīrah, from Mujāhid, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I saw Jesus son of Mary, Moses, and Abraham. Jesus was fair-skinned, with curly hair and a broad chest; Moses was brown-complexioned and powerfully built.” They asked, “And Abraham?” He replied, “Look to your own companion.”

Imām Aḥmad also said: Yūnus narrated to us; Shaybān narrated to us; Qatādah related from Abū l-ʿĀliyah: “Our cousin narrated to us …”